General Discussion

Backlash has not seemed to temper Trump’s military ambitions, however, even hinting at other potential targets, including Cuba and Mexico. Trump earlier mentioned Mexico, saying Saturday that “something’s going to have to be done” with the country’s drug problem. He said he had offered Mexican leader Claudia Sheinbaum U.S. assistance to “take out” the cartels, but Sheinbaum reportedly refused, with Trump saying that she was “very frightened” by them.

Sheinbaum has downplayed the likelihood of U.S. unilateral action on Mexican soil. “I don’t believe in [the possibility of] invasion, I don’t believe even that it’s something they are taking seriously,” she said on Monday. “Organized crime is not taken care with [foreign military] intervention.”

The Mexican President also reasserted the sovereignty of Mexico and other Latin American states: “We categorically reject intervention in the internal affairs of other countries. … For Mexico, sovereignty and self-determination are neither optional nor negotiable.”