Trump says Sheinbaum is 'afraid' of drug cartels

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that his Mexican counterpart, Claudia Sheinbaum, rejected his offer to send military forces to Mexico to combat drug trafficking, citing "fear" of the cartels.

The Mexican leader revealed on Saturday during a public event that she had turned down Trump’s offer to send U.S. military forces to Mexico to combat drug trafficking. She explained that, instead, she proposed collaborating and sharing information with the U.S. president.

"The president of Mexico is a lovely woman, but she's so afraid of the cartels that she can't even think straight," Trump told a group of journalists, when asked if he was disappointed by Sheinbaum's refusal.

The Republican emphasized the need for Sheinbaum to send troops, describing the cartels as "horrible people who have been killing people left and right," according to reports. "They have made a fortune selling drugs and destroying our people (...) We lost 300,000 people last year to fentanyl and drugs," he said.

"If Mexico wanted help with the cartels, we would be honored to go in and do it. I told her that. I would be honored," he added.

Donald Trump acknowledged last week in an interview with The Blaze that he had offered to assist Mexico in combating the cartels. It was the first time Sheinbaum publicly addressed the country’s refusal.

Sheinbaum also emphasized last Saturday that Mexican territory "is inviolable." "We will never accept the presence of the U.S. Army in our territory," she said, claiming that she conveyed this message to the president. 

Mexico's struggle to combat the trafficking of migrants and drugs, particularly fentanyl, to the U.S.

While the president stated in early March that Mexico’s southern neighbor was "completely dominated by criminal cartels that murder, rape, and torture," Mexico argues that it is Washington’s failure to stop the flow of weapons that fuels Mexican criminal gangs.

Mexico has endured nearly two decades of drug-related violence, which has resulted in over 450,000 deaths, the majority of them at the hands of criminals, according to official figures.

Trump has repeatedly criticized Mexico for not doing enough to curb the trafficking of migrants and drugs, particularly fentanyl, into the United States. This is one of the key arguments he uses to justify imposing tariffs on the country.