Sheinbaum denies US allegation tying Mexico’s government to cartels
Mexico’s president said the DEA chief’s accusation lacked evidence and urged Washington to focus on drug demand and money laundering at home.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected a senior US drug official’s claim that her government is aligned with criminal cartels, escalating a dispute over how Washington describes Mexico’s security crisis. The comments matter because President Donald Trump’s administration has been pressing Mexico to take a harder line against organised crime while expanding US pressure on cartel groups.
At her daily news conference on Wednesday, Sheinbaum said remarks by Terry Cole, administrator of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, sounded “more like a political statement than one backed by evidence,” according to Al Jazeera and Reuters.
Cole had said on Tuesday that Mexico’s government and cartel networks were “one and the same,” the outlets reported. Mexico’s government rejected that characterisation, saying it did not reflect the country’s cooperation with the United States against criminal groups.
Sheinbaum said the DEA should give more attention to trafficking, distribution and money laundering inside the United States. She also said the US is the world’s largest market for illegal drugs, according to the report.
Mexico says cooperation must respect sovereignty
Mexico’s government said it remains willing to work with Washington on crime, but only if Mexican sovereignty is respected, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported. That position has become a repeated point in Sheinbaum’s response to US pressure since Trump returned to office.
Sheinbaum has promised close cooperation with the US on security while opposing what the report described as Trump’s more militaristic posture toward Latin America. Her administration has repeatedly ruled out US military operations on Mexican territory without approval from Mexico’s federal government.
Trump and members of his administration have repeatedly accused Mexico of being “run” by cartels, according to the report. The relationship between the two leaders began on a warmer note, with Trump praising Sheinbaum as “marvellous,” but she has more recently sharpened her criticism of US actions.
In April, Sheinbaum criticised the US after an indictment was issued against Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha. The case involved allegations that Rocha’s campaign worked with the Sinaloa Cartel to violently influence the 2021 state election, but Sheinbaum said the US had not produced evidence and argued that corruption cases should be handled domestically, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported.
US expands cartel terrorism designations
Sheinbaum’s response came the same day the US Department of the Treasury announced new designations against two Mexican criminal organisations: the Juarez Cartel and Los Viagras. The Treasury labelled them both foreign terrorist organisations and specially designated global terrorists, according to the report.
The Trump administration has used similar designations before as it casts its Latin America policy as a campaign against what it calls “narco-terrorists.” Mexico has pushed back against any approach that could imply unilateral US action on Mexican soil.
The latest dispute also follows another point of friction this week. Mexico filed criminal complaints with US prosecutors over the deaths of Mexican nationals caught up in Trump’s mass deportation campaign, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.