MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated Saturday that U.S. President Donald Trump proposed sending American troops into Mexico to assist her administration combat drug trafficking however that she rejected it.
Her remarks to supporters in jap Mexico got here in response to a Wall Road Journal article printed the day earlier than, describing a tense telephone name final month wherein Trump reportedly pressured her to simply accept a much bigger position for the U.S. navy in combating drug cartels in Mexico.
“He said, ‘How can we help you fight drug trafficking? I propose that the United States military come in and help you.’ And you know what I said to him? ‘No, President Trump.’”
She added: “Sovereignty is not for sale. Sovereignty is loved and defended.”
White Home Nationwide Safety Council spokesman James Hewitt stated in an announcement later Saturday that Trump has labored intently with Mexico’s president “to achieve the most secure southwest border in history.”
“Dangerous Foreign Terrorist Organizations, however, continue to threaten our shared security and the drugs and crime they spread threaten American communities across the country,” the assertion stated. “The President has been crystal clear that Mexico must do more do combat these gangs and cartels and the United States stands ready to assist and expand the already close cooperation between our two countries.”
The U.S. navy presence has elevated steadily alongside its southern border with Mexico in latest months, following Trump’s order in January to extend the military’s position in stemming the circulation of migrants.
The U.S. Northern Command has surged troops and tools to the border, elevated manned surveillance flights to observe fentanyl trafficking alongside the border and sought expanded authority for U.S. Particular Forces to work intently with Mexican forces conducting operations in opposition to cartels.
However Sheinbaum’s hardline stance Saturday signaled that U.S. stress for unilateral navy intervention would put her and Trump on a collision course after months of cooperation on immigration and commerce.
“We can work together, but you in your territory and us in ours,” Sheinbaum stated.
