Hegseth threatens to enter Mexico militarily to confront cartels if the government does not crack down on drug trafficking

The Wall Street Journal revealed that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told top Mexico military officials during a phone call on Jan. 31 that the U.S. military would take unilateral action if the Mexican government did not solve the problem of "collusion" with the country's drug cartels. While senior Mexican officials who participated in the conversation expressed their surprise and indignation with Hegseth at his suggestion of military intervention to combat the cartels, the newspaper detailed that these actions were also focused on trade negotiations and 25% tariffs against all Mexican products entering U.S. soil.

According to the media outlet, senior officials in President Claudia Sheinbaum's government explained that, currently, Mexican authorities are completely focused on showing the U.S. government concrete results both in the fight against drugs and on the southern border. The main objective of these efforts is to show progress to  President Donald Trump, so that he does not execute tariffs against Mexican products. Although the two leaders had a telephone conversation in the morning, neither government has commented on the matter.

Concessions to Trump

The newspaper also revealed that Mexican officials—whose identity details were not disclosed—explained that Mexico's surrender of 29 drug lords wanted in the United States was nothing more than a concession to the Trump administration. Said officials also explained that the different actions taken in recent days by the Sheinbaum administration against Chinese products, including substituting imports from the Asian giant and opening anti-dumping investigations, were also part of the same strategy to avoid the tariff battle.

Regarding the transfer of these drug lords, Mexico's Attorney General, Alejandro Gertz, explained in a press conference that the sending of these prisoners to U.S. soil was carried out at the request of the Trump administration. Likewise, Gertz commented that the extradition of many of these criminals had been stalled in Mexican courts. At the end of his press conference in Mexico City, and after stating that these drug bosses represented a threat to the security of both countries, Gertz explained that "there is no way to justify sanctions against Mexico."

Following the surrender of these criminals, the U.S. Department of State spokesperson, Tammy Bruce, explained in a statement that "Both parties agreed upon the importance of making sure there was continued action beyond meetings and suggested the implementation of a timetable and touchbacks to target clear goals and sustainable results."