After speaking with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday morning, President Claudia Sheinbaum once again asserted that a U.S military intervention against drug cartels in Mexico won’t happen.
The call between the two leaders took place four days after Trump said that the United States was “going to start now hitting land, with regard to the cartels,” a remark that increased expectations that a U.S. military strike on a cartel target in Mexico would occur.
Asked at her morning press conference whether a U.S. “military action” in Mexico could be “ruled out” following her call with Trump, Sheinbaum responded “yes.”
She said that Trump told her that the United States could provide additional assistance to combat cartels if Mexico requested such help.
“We told him, ‘so far we’re doing very well [so] it’s not necessary,'” said Sheinbaum, who has previously declined offers from Trump to send the U.S. military into Mexico.
“In addition, there is Mexico’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” she said, adding that Trump “understood” her position.
“It was a very friendly conversation,” said Sheinbaum, who has consistently maintained that the United States won’t make a unilateral attack on cartels in Mexico and attributed Trump’s remarks to the contrary to his unique “way of communicating.”
The president said that she spoke to her U.S. counterpart about the “very significant results” Mexico has achieved in the fight against organized crime.
Sheinbaum sobre su llamada a Trump: “Hablamos sobre el trabajo conjunto que se ha hecho en temas de seguridad (…) insistió en que si nosotros lo pedíamos podían ayudar en otros temas (…) él lo entendió”. pic.twitter.com/w0LgINQOmR
— Emeequis (@emeequis) January 12, 2026
She said she told Trump about the 40% reduction in homicides (in December compared to the final month of Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidency), the disbandment of clandestine drug laboratories and the thousands of organized-crime related arrests that have been made during her administration.
Sheinbaum also said that they spoke about the reduction in the trafficking of fentanyl from Mexico to the United States — as indicated by a reduction in fentanyl seizures by U.S. authorities at the border — and the decline in overdose deaths in the U.S.
She said that Trump acknowledged Mexico’s security efforts, but told her that more can be done.
“I said, ‘Yes indeed we can do a lot more, but we’re working, and the important thing is to maintain this relationship of respect and collaboration,'” Sheinbaum said.
“… In the end, we said we’re going to continue collaborating,” she said, noting that a bilateral security meeting will take place later this month.
Before her morning press conference — which started at the later time of 9 a.m. — Sheinbaum wrote on social media that she had had a “very good conversation” with Trump.
“We spoke about different issues, including security with respect for our sovereignties, the reduction of drug trafficking, trade and investments. Collaboration and cooperation within a framework of mutual respect always yield results,” she wrote.
The president was accompanied during the call by Foreign Affairs Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente, Deputy Foreign Minister for North America Roberto Velasco and Security Minister Omar García Harfuch.
De la Fuente spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday after Sheinbaum requested that he make “direct contact” with the U.S. official in light of Trump’s declarations that the U.S. would hit cartels on land and that “the cartels are running Mexico.”
.@SecRubio spoke with Mexican Foreign Secretary de la Fuente @SRE_mx on the need for concrete actions to dismantle Mexico’s violent narcoterrorists networks and stop the trafficking of fentanyl and weapons.
— Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (@WHAAsstSecty) January 12, 2026
The U.S. State Department said that Rubio spoke with de la Fuente “to discuss the need for stronger cooperation to dismantle Mexico’s violent narcoterrorist networks and stop the trafficking of fentanyl and weapons.”
“Secretary Rubio reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to stopping narcoterrorism and stressed the need for tangible results to protect our homeland and hemisphere,” said a statement issued by the State Department’s Office of the Spokesperson.
Leaders discuss Mexico’s position on Venezuela
During what she said was a 15-minute telephone conversation, Sheinbaum said that Trump asked her what her position was with regard to the United States’ intervention in Venezuela and capture of the South American nation’s leader, Nicolás Maduro.
She said she told him that her view was the same as Mexico’s “public position,” which is one of condemnation of the United States’ actions.
Sheinbaum said that she explained to Trump that in accordance with Mexico’s constitution, the Mexican government is opposed to “military interventions.”
“He said, ‘OK, I understand that’s your constitution,’ and essentially that was the conversation about the issue of Venezuela,” she said.
With reports from Reforma, Milenio and El Universal
