Mexico City, Mexico — President Claudia Sheinbaum says she declined the proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump to allow American military to fight in Mexico. “We will never accept the presence of the United States military on our territory,” President Sheinbaum said Saturday.
“No President Trump. Territory is inviolable, sovereignty is inviolable, sovereignty is not for sale. Sovereignty is cherished and defended,” she said in response to Trump’s proposal during a phone conversation Friday.
Sheinbaum said she has rejected the proposal made by her U.S. counterpart regarding the U.S. military entering Mexico to assist in the fight against drug trafficking. Sheinbaum says Mexican territory is inviolable and sovereignty is not for sale. On the contrary, it is cherished and defended.
“Yesterday, a United States newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, reported that President Trump, in one of his calls, told me that it was important for the United States Army to enter Mexico to help us in the fight against drug trafficking.
“I want to say it’s true that in some of the calls — but not in the way he mentioned it — he said, ‘How can we help you fight drug trafficking? I propose that the United States Army enter to help you.’
“And do you know what I told him? ‘No, President Trump. The territory is inviolable, sovereignty is inviolable, sovereignty is not for sale. Sovereignty is loved and defended.’
“There’s no need. We can collaborate, we can work together but you on your territory, we on ours. We can share information but we will never accept the presence of the United States military on our territory,” she reiterated.
Sheinbaum said that the Mexican government collaborates and coordinates with the U.S. administration, but each country takes appropriate action within its own territory on issues of interest to both countries.
“Collaboration, yes, cooperation, yes, subordination, no. Always in defense of Mexico’s sovereignty. Mexico is a free, independent, and sovereign country. That is what the people of Mexico want and that is why it is what the President of the Republic always defends. That is the greatness of Mexico,” she stated.
Regarding collaboration between the two countries, Sheinbaum reported that during talks, she asked President Trump to prevent the entry of weapons from the U.S. into Mexico.
On Friday, “President Trump issued an order to ensure that everything necessary is in place to prevent weapons from entering our country from the United States,” she said.
Sheinbaum said she was referring to the U.S. President’s instruction to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) of the U.S. Department of Justice to halt arms trafficking to prevent them from being used by organized crime.
