Trump pressures Mexican government to have US military lead war against cartels

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump is pressuring Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to allow greater involvement of the U.S. military in combating drug cartels in Mexico. Citing anonymous sources familiar with the discussions, the Journal revealed that the two leaders had a tense 45-minute phone call on April 16.

During the call, Trump repeatedly pressed for U.S. leadership in the fight against the cartels, many of which have been designated as terrorist organizations by U.S. authorities. While the tone of the conversation remained cordial, the Journal reported that Sheinbaum firmly rejected the idea of allowing the U.S. military to carry out direct actions against these groups on Mexican soil. Although the newspaper did not mention any other recent phone conversations between the two leaders, it emphasized that the Trump administration has continued to push for greater involvement.

"Mexico is very, very afraid of the cartels"

Since the beginning of his second term, the Republican frontrunner has made combating Mexican drug cartels a key focus, aligning with his broader goal of securing the southern border and curbing the flow of fentanyl. Following his phone call with Sheinbaum, Trump issued a controversial statement during an interview on Fox News, where he publicly claimed that the Mexican government was under the influence of the cartels. "Mexico is very, very afraid of the cartels. We want to help her. We want to help Mexico, because you can’t run a country like that. You just can’t."

Following the U.S. designation of several cartels as terrorist organizations, the Mexican president pushed for a constitutional reform aimed at strengthening her country's sovereignty. "The Mexican people will under no circumstances accept interventions, intrusions, or any other action from abroad that are detrimental to the integrity, independence, or sovereignty of the nation… (including) violations of Mexican territory, whether by land, sea, or air," Sheinbaum said in a statement.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), "The deadly reach of the Mexican Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels into U.S. communities is extended by the wholesale-level traffickers and street dealers bringing the cartels’ drugs to market, sometimes creating their own deadly drug mixtures, and exploiting social media and messaging applications to advertise and sell to customers."