President Donald Trump’s escalating efforts to confront the Mexican drug cartels took a bold and controversial turn this week, with the former president revealing that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum flatly rejected his offer to deploy U.S. troops into Mexico to assist in cartel eradication efforts. Her reasoning, according to Trump? Fear.
“She’s so afraid of the cartels she can’t walk,” Trump told reporters Sunday aboard Air Force One. “And I think she’s a lovely woman…but she is so afraid of the cartels that she can’t even think straight.”
The remarks—unscripted, blunt, and characteristic of Trump’s rhetorical style—come amid rising tensions between the two governments over how best to tackle the cartels, which Trump continues to frame as an existential threat to the U.S. homeland. Trump said he extended the offer during a phone call last month, and Sheinbaum confirmed it—only to rebuff the idea of American military boots on Mexican soil.
“No, President Trump, our territory is inalienable, sovereignty is inalienable,” Sheinbaum said, adding, “We can collaborate. We can work together, but with you in your territory and us in ours.”
At the heart of the exchange is a core dispute over sovereignty—Mexico’s refusal to permit foreign military presence—and security, particularly the flood of fentanyl, meth, and violence pouring across the U.S. southern border. Trump has prioritized this issue since retaking office in January, increasing the military presence at the border, issuing an executive order to expand surveillance flights, and deploying U.S. Northern Command assets to tighten the grip on cartel operations.
Notably, in February, Trump designated multiple cartels and drug-smuggling gangs as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs)—a move that unlocks more resources for U.S. law enforcement and adds diplomatic pressure on foreign governments like Mexico’s.
Trump’s framing of Sheinbaum as paralyzed by fear—while calling her a “lovely woman” in the same breath—is not merely rhetorical. It reflects growing frustration within the Trump administration over what it perceives as Mexico’s inability or unwillingness to confront cartel dominance in its own territory. And it places pressure on Sheinbaum, newly installed and already walking a diplomatic tightrope between internal political sovereignty and external security realities.
Meanwhile, Trump’s message to the American public is clear: If Mexico won’t deal with the cartels, the U.S. will—with or without permission.
By characterizing the cartels as terrorist groups and offering direct U.S. intervention, Trump is effectively shifting the framework from law enforcement to counterterrorism. That pivot carries enormous implications. It means the U.S. military would be justified in launching kinetic operations (including drone strikes and raids) against cartel targets—potentially even unilaterally, if diplomatic channels fail.
While Sheinbaum clings to the language of sovereignty, Trump is articulating a doctrine of cross-border preemption, arguing that cartel violence and narcotrafficking represent not just a shared problem, but a direct assault on American soil.
“The cartels are trying to destroy our country,” Trump said. “They’re evil.”
