Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is considering legal action against Elon Musk over accusations on his X platform that link her to drug trafficking and cartel leaders.

The world’s wealthiest man posted on X that Sheinbaum is “just saying what her cartel bosses tell her to say,” while sharing a video clip of Sheinbaum’s morning press conference at the National Palace, in which she says that “returning to the war on drugs is not an option.”

Musk’s X post followed the violent events that took place in several parts of western Mexico after the killing on Sunday of cartel leader Nemesio Rubén “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, one of the world’s most wanted criminals. So in effect, Musk was accusing the president of Mexico of taking orders from a drug lord her army had just taken down.

Sheinbaum reacted to Musk’s post by saying that accusing her of leading a narco-government is “absurd.” 

“If it was absurd to say it before, it’s even more so now,” the president said in her morning press conference. “It falls apart on its own. They don’t even know what to invent, honestly. It’s laughable to read them.” 

She added that her legal team is studying the possibility of taking legal action and that nothing is certain yet. 

Musks’ post echoes accusations made by U.S. President Donald Trump last year claiming that Sheinbaum had no control over the country, even though he regarded her as a “brave woman.”

“The problem is that she’s petrified by the cartels. They could remove the president in two minutes,” Trump said at the time, adding that “the cartels run Mexico.”

Musk’s X post dovetailed with accusations of complicity with the cartels often hurled by opposition figures against incumbents, usually— though not always — without evidence. 

Several legislators from the ruling Morena party immediately came to Sheinbaum’s defense, including Morena party president Luisa Alcalde.

“Wealth does not give moral authority,” she wrote on her official social media channels, adding that Musk should use his platform and X social media network to fight drug consumption, addiction and disinformation.

Meanwhile, Senator Alejandro Murat defended Sheinbaum’s policy, adding that the military operation conducted Sunday “demonstrates that the Mexican armed forces and security forces should not be underestimated: they have acted with resilience and dedication, protecting both Mexican and American citizens,” he said. 

With reports from Reuters and El Universal