There was testimony that anxiety in Mexico is rising after U.S. President Donald Trump carried out a surprise strike on Venezuela on the 3rd and captured President Nicolás Maduro. Since taking office, Trump has kept up pressure on Mexico under the pretext of wiping out drug cartels.
On the 11th (local time), the New York Times (NYT) reported that Mexico's leadership has remained on edge after President Trump hinted at the possibility of a ground attack targeting cartel facilities inside Mexico. In a Fox News interview on the 8th, Trump said, "We will start ground strikes related to the drug cartels," and claimed, "The cartels control Mexico."
In response, a Mexican government source said President Claudia Sheinbaum is in deep deliberation. Sheinbaum showed a calm reaction immediately after Trump's remarks, saying, "Talk of a ground attack is part of his way of speaking," and that she would "strengthen communication with the United States," but in reality she is being extremely cautious about what tone and wording to use in response.
Previously, the Trump administration designated fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction and labeled major drug organizations operating out of Mexico, including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Sinaloa Cartel, as foreign terrorist organizations (FTO). On that basis, Trump's plan is to strike the cartels directly to block drug smuggling at its source.
What the Mexican government particularly fears is that Mexico is mentioned 25 times in Maduro's indictment. U.S. prosecutors believe Maduro colluded with Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel to distribute cocaine in the United States and then sent the criminal revenue back to Venezuela. Recognizing the gravity of the matter, Sheinbaum is said to have instructed the foreign minister to call U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio immediately after Trump's interview.
Sheinbaum, who has pursued pragmatic diplomacy with the United States, has maintained a diplomatic balance between the United States and the international community, but some say she has already irked Trump. Right after the U.S. airstrike on Venezuela, she quoted on X (formerly Twitter) a clause from the U.N. Charter that "the use of force against national sovereignty should be refrained from," prompting Trump to say, "Sheinbaum is a good person, but Mexico is controlled by the cartels."
The Mexican government has reportedly analyzed Trump's remarks and U.S. media coverage closely over the past week to gauge the level of risk. According to internal data comparing mentions of Mexico with Colombia, Greenland, and Cuba, mentions of Mexico surged immediately after the attack on Venezuela, then dropped sharply after Trump expressed an intention to annex Greenland. Some within the government say, "For now, it's a relief to be out of the spotlight."
However, cabinet members remain divided over how far to go in responding. There is a consensus that Mexico should in principle oppose the U.S. military attack and the arrest of Maduro, but there are concerns that excessive public criticism could backfire diplomatically. Some ministers are reportedly wary that hard-line remarks could adversely affect the review talks on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) scheduled for this year.
For now, the Mexican government is taking a cooperative stance with the United States in a bid to "appease Trump." After recently tightening border security, it raided drug manufacturing facilities and expanded security cooperation by extraditing about 55 drug traffickers the United States had sought. Jesús Silva Herzog, a political analyst in Mexico City, said, "The president is cornered at home and abroad."