Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Thursday that she plans to propose constitutional changes to safeguard the country’s sovereignty amid concerns the U.S. military could cross the border to target Mexican drug cartels.
Her statement came after the Trump administration categorized six Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. This move has raised fears that former U.S. President Donald Trump might be opening the door to potential military involvement in Mexico.
“The people of Mexico will not tolerate any form of intervention, interference, or external actions that threaten the nation’s independence, integrity, or sovereignty,” Sheinbaum stated.
The Trump administration’s list includes Mexican cartels such as Sinaloa, Jalisco, Zetas, Gulf Cartels, Cartel Unidos, and La Nueva Familia Michoacana. It also mentions groups like the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua and the Salvadoran gang Mara Salvatrucha, known as MS-13.
Sheinbaum noted that Mexico was not consulted about this decision and has consistently opposed the classification of its cartels as terrorist organizations by the U.S.
Her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, had already enacted laws restricting the activities of foreign agents in Mexico.
These rules limited their autonomy and required that Mexican officials be informed of their actions. Fox News reports that Sheinbaum now seeks to embed these restrictions into the country’s Constitution.
“We want to clarify one thing: sovereignty is non-negotiable,” she said. “This designation cannot serve as an excuse for the United States to undermine our sovereignty.”
Additionally, she proposed a constitutional reform to introduce stricter punishments for both Mexican citizens and foreigners involved in gun trafficking.
Mexico has repeatedly called on the U.S. to take stronger action against the flow of firearms being smuggled from the U.S. into Mexican territory.
