Sheinbaum dismisses US claim linking her government to cartels

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected a claim from the head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that there is a deadly connection between her government and the country's influential criminal cartels. During her daily news conference on Wednesday, Sheinbaum pushed back, saying the DEA's remarks seemed "more like a political statement than one backed by evidence."

She added that the DEA should focus on combating drug trafficking, distribution and money laundering within its own country, noting that the U.S. is the world's largest market for illicit drugs. Sheinbaum has repeatedly faced accusations under U.S. President Donald Trump that her country is "run" by cartels. Several Trump officials have mirrored that assertion. On Tuesday, DEA Administrator Terry Cole said the Mexican government and cartel networks were "one and the same."

The Mexican government responded by saying Cole's remarks did not reflect its efforts to work with the U.S. to combat cartels. It added that Mexico continues to be willing to collaborate with the U.S. to combat crime, as long as its sovereignty is respected. Since Trump took office for a second term, Sheinbaum has faced pressure from her northern neighbor to crack down on crime. In response, she has pledged close cooperation with the U.S., while pushing back against Trump's militaristic approach to Latin America.

Her administration has repeatedly rejected the prospect of the U.S. conducting military operations on its soil without the federal government's consent. Initially, Trump and Sheinbaum appeared to forge warm relations, with the U.S. president praising his Mexican counterpart as "marvellous." But Sheinbaum has become increasingly vocal in her criticism of the Trump administration in recent months.

In April, she rebuked the U.S. for issuing an indictment against Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha amid allegations his campaign worked with the Sinaloa Cartel to violently influence the 2021 gubernatorial election. Sheinbaum said no evidence had been produced to back the U.S. claim against Rocha. She also argued that rooting out corruption was a domestic issue, not an international one.

Earlier this week, Mexico filed criminal complaints with U.S. prosecutors over the deaths of Mexican nationals swept up in Trump's mass deportation campaign. Sheinbaum's remarks on Wednesday came as the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that two more criminal organizations in Mexico — the Juarez Cartel and Los Viagras — had been designated "foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists." The Trump administration has made such designations in the past, as it has sought to frame its actions in Latin America as a war on so-called "narco-terrorists."