EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – The President of Mexico says she’s not worried about a sudden U.S. military intervention in her country, such as the one that plucked Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from his bedroom on Saturday.
She also doubts American boots on the ground in her country would solve the root causes of drug trafficking, such as lack of economic opportunities for young people in Mexico and drug demand in the United States.
“Few Mexicans agree with an intervention. Not only does it not help – who are they going to bomb? – but also our sovereignty will be defended,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday. “Last time there was an intervention, they took half of our territory. Intervention is not an option.”
She was referring to the Mexican-American War of 1846, although the U.S. again intervened in Mexico in 1916 when Gen. John “Blackjack” Pershing led 6,000 troops into Mexico to chase Pancho Villa after he raided Columbus, New Mexico.
On Sunday, President Trump told reporters he has offered to send U.S. troops to Mexico because “the cartels are running Mexico.”
“You have to do something with Mexico. Mexico has to get its act together because (drugs) are pouring through Mexico and we’re going to have to do something,” Trump told Associated Press and others.
The comments just a day after Maduro’s capture struck a nerve in Mexican society on social media. Sheinbaum downplayed the possibility that Trump may unilaterally decide to go after fugitive drug lords — such as Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the two remaining sons of Sinaloa cartel cofounder Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
“Some people believe that, but I don’t believe it will happen,” Sheinbaum said. “If we didn’t have communication, if Secretary (of State Marco) Rubio and President Trump and his spokeswoman had not alluded to the good communication and coordination we have, maybe we would be worried.”
At her morning news conference broadcast on YouTube, she emphasized a U.S. intervention “would not solve anything” and reiterated her position that Maduro’s capture violated another country’s sovereignity.
Sheinbaum displayed a chart with the four operating principles of U.S.-Mexico relations, starting with respect for the other country’s sovereignty and territory. When a reporter asked how she could be sure Trump would respect that when he doesn’t “seem to respect his own laws,” Sheinbaum talked about the strong economic and public safety ties between the two countries, and how 40 million individuals of Mexican descent live and work in the United States.
“We aren’t going anywhere. We are neighbors forever,” she said. But she also called on the leadership of the United Nations to “come out of their slumber.”
Trump on Sunday publicly called Sheinbaum a “terrific person” but she fears the cartels operating inside her country. He said he offers to send troops into Mexico every time the two have a conversation.
“She is concerned, she is a little afraid. The cartels are running Mexico,” Trump said.
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