Mexican President Claudia Shainbaum once again sparked controversy by denying praise from U.S. officials who had complimented her country’s increased efforts to fight cartels. Sheinbaum said that is not true and that her government is heavily restricting any work by foreign agents in her country.
This week, Terrence Cole, the administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, praised Sheinbaum during a series of interviews, claiming that Mexico was cooperating with U.S. authorities at unprecedented levels.
When asked about those comments during her most recent news conference, Sheinbaum dismissed them, claiming that her country is not doing anything new. The Mexican politician said that there is some collaboration, just like there has been in the past, but it is nothing new. She claimed that some U.S. agents do work in Mexico, but they must go through her country’s Foreign Relations Ministry (SRE) and abide by Mexico’s National Security Law. In the past, Sheinbaum has claimed that her country is one of those that has the most restrictions placed on foreign agents.
When asked about the possibility of the U.S. government carrying out drone strikes on cartel targets, Sheinbaum said that it would not happen and that the nation was ready to fight in case it did.
“Mexico is a country that is free, independent, and sovereign,” Sheinbaum said. “No foreign government would dare to violate our sovereignty, it’s not like before. Mexico is very strong.”
Sheinbaum cited the national anthem of Mexico, claiming that each Mexican was a soldier given to the nation, and they were ready to fight.
The Mexican president’s comments follow days of discussion between Sheinbaum and the DEA. As Breitbart Texas reported earlier this week, the DEA announced a new program called Gatekeeper, where they would be working closely with Mexican authorities to identify key cartel operators. However, just one day after the announcement, Sheinbaum called out the DEA, saying it was not true and that her government had not made any agreements with that agency.
Sheinbaum has been at the center of much controversy in recent months as the Trump administration has threatened Mexico with tariffs for not having done enough to fight drug cartels. At that time, the White House accused Mexico’s government of having an intolerable relationship with drug cartels responsible for the fentanyl crisis. Since then, Sheinbaum has been working to appease U.S. President Donald Trump in an attempt to avoid the tariffs.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
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