At her Monday morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum once again expressed her opposition to any kind of U.S. military incursion to combat Mexican organized crime groups, six of which were designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government earlier this year.
She also provided an update on the number of Mexicans detained at the Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention facility in Florida and announced that she would be making a brief international trip this Friday.
Sheinbaum: ‘We would never allow’ the US army to set foot on Mexican soil
Asked about CIA drone flights over Mexican territory, Sheinbaum said that none are currently taking place. She stressed that flights of U.S. drones over Mexico can only occur under Mexican supervision and at the request of Mexican authorities.
“It has to be within the framework of collaboration,” Sheinbaum said.
“It has to be made very clear to all Mexicans … [that] we will never put our sovereignty at risk, never,” she said.
“We will never put the independence of Mexico at risk. Mexico is a free, sovereign, independent country,” Sheinbaum said.
“We collaborate, we coordinate on security issues and other issues, but we never subordinate ourselves. And we would never allow the United States Army or any other institution of the United States to set foot on Mexican territory, never,” she said.
That remark came three days after the president declared that there will be no U.S. military “invasion” of Mexico after news broke that President Donald Trump had “secretly signed a directive to the Pentagon to begin using military force against certain Latin American drug cartels.”
Asked last Tuesday about the possibility of a U.S. military intervention against criminal groups in Mexico, Sheinbaum reminded reporters that she previously rejected an offer from U.S. President Donald Trump to send the U.S. army into Mexico.
“They can insist again, but that issue is not on the table,” said the president, a staunch defender of the sovereignty of Mexico, which lost a huge portion of its territory to the United States in the 19th century.
During the 2018-24 presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mexico’s Congress approved legislation that regulates the activities of foreign agents in Mexico, removes their diplomatic immunity and allows for their expulsion from the country. The legislation was seen as being aimed primarily at the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents who have long operated in Mexico.
U.S. soldiers have also come to Mexico in recent years, but only to undertake joint training operations with the Mexican Army.
Sheinbaum: 81 Mexicans have been detained at Alligator Alcatraz
Sheinbaum told reporters that officials at the Mexican Consulate in Miami, Florida, have met with 81 Mexicans detained at the Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention center, located in the Everglades region of the “Sunshine State.”
She said that Mexico’s consul general in Miami, former Chiapas governor Rutilio Escandón, is making regular visits to the facility “to see what the Mexicans imprisoned there need.”
Sheinbaum said that her government is working at a “diplomatic level” to advocate the immediate deportation of Mexicans who wish to return to their country of origin.
Por instrucciones de nuestra Presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, acudí nuevamente al Centro de Detención de los Everglades (Alcatraz de los Caimanes), con el firme compromiso de dar seguimiento puntual a los casos de nuestros connacionales detenidos por temas migratorios. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/EIEMyfzIXZ
— Rutilio Escandón (@RutilioEscandon) August 5, 2025
She didn’t say how many Mexicans have returned to Mexico after being detained at Alligator Alcatraz, the official name of the state-run facility.
Sheinbaum said that some of the detainees don’t want to be immediately sent to Mexico as they want to take their cases to courts in the United States.
She said there had been no reports of the violation of the human rights of Mexicans held at Alligator Alcatraz, so named due to the presence of the reptiles in the Florida Everglades.
“Obviously we don’t agree with these types of places of imprisonment,” Sheinbaum said.
Sheinbaum to meet with President Arévalo in Guatemala
Sheinbaum said that she would meet with President Bernardo Arévalo of Guatemala in the Central American country this Friday.
The president, who said last Thursday that she planned to meet Arévalo somewhere in the southeast of Mexico, didn’t specify where in Guatemala she would meet with her counterpart.
However, Sheinbaum said she would hold her mañanera on Friday in Chetumal, the capital of the state of Quintana Roo. From Chetumal she will travel to Guatemala to meet with Arévalo, president since early 2024.
Sheinbaum said she spoke with the Guatemalan president on Friday and noted that he invited her to Guatemala.
“And yes, we’re going to be in Guatemala a few hours,” she said.
“… We love, respect and admire President Arévalo of Guatemala, so we’re going to go to Guatemala for a few hours,” Sheinbaum said.
“After we’ll return to Calakmul,” she said, referring to the archaeological site in Campeche that is just 35 kilometers from the border with Guatemala.
“We’re going to welcome the prime minister of Belize there,” Sheinbaum said, noting that Arévalo will also make the trip to Calakmul for a trilateral meeting with Belizean Prime Minister Johnny Briceño.
She said that there will be “very interesting issues” to discuss with the two Central American leaders, but didn’t disclose what they will be.
“They can be an article for that day, the surprise of that day,” Sheinbaum said.
“There are many agreements we have made with the countries on our southern border, with whom we have an excellent relationship,” she said.
“We’re going to announce them on Friday,” Sheinbaum said.
Plans (or hopes) to extend the Maya Train railroad into Guatemala and Belize could form part of the discussions between Mexico’s president and the two Central American leaders.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
