Above photo: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum during a press conference on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. N+.
US President Donald Trump lashed out Monday at Mexico and Colombia, threatening to bomb their territories as part of the US “fight” against drug trafficking.
“Would I launch attacks against Mexico to stop drug trafficking? I have no problem with that,” he said during a press conference from the Oval Office of the White House. “Whatever it takes to stop drug trafficking,” he added in reference to the illegal US missile strikes, conducted under the auspices of an alleged “war on drugs,” that have killed 83 civilians from various countries in the region.
During his statements, the US ruler reiterated his alleged willingness to conduct diplomatic talks with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. This comes despite the US killing spree in the region, the raise on the bounty on the head of the Venezuelan leader, and the unprecedented US military build-up in the Caribbean, whereby more than 15,000 US troops are stationed aboard ships off the coast of Venezuela.
President Maduro has requested diplomatic talks on several occasions to avoid a military confrontation, but Trump has dismissed all requests. Analysts consider that this new move by Trump might only represent a distraction strategy before the US launches air strikes against Venezuela in an attempt to assassinate President Maduro and carry out decapitation strikes on the Chavista leadership.
Trump continued his threats: “We have lost hundreds of thousands of people every year… and a large proportion of those deaths occur in Mexico. So, to be clear: I am not happy with Mexico.”
Trump added that his government is prepared to take more aggressive actions to curb drug trafficking from Latin America, referring to the military deployment in the Caribbean Sea that has killed 83 civilians under the alleged “war on drugs.” These actions have been interpreted as flagrant violations of international law by the United Nations experts; legal experts; international leaders, including presidents of several nations; and even by US officials.
The president went so far as raising the possibility of undertaking military operations in Mexico and Colombia. “Colombia has cocaine factories where they produce it,” said the current leader of the US regime. “Would I dismantle them? I would do it proudly, personally? … I didn’t say I would, but I would do it proudly, because we would save millions of lives.”
Response of Mexico’s President Sheinbaum
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded Tuesday to Trump’s statements. During her daily press conference, Sheinbaum said that “it’s not going to happen; in fact, there was a clarification later.” She recalled that Trump had suggested US military interventions in Mexico on several occasions.
“I have told him on every occasion that we can collaborate, but that we operate in our territory and do not accept any intervention from any foreign government,” she said. She added that the issue was discussed with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his visit to Mexico last September.
“They have understood it,” the Mexican president said. “So much so that the understanding we have is one of collaboration and coordination, and in the first points, respect for sovereignty and our territoriality is very clear.”
The head of state stated that following Trump’s statements, Washington clarified that any potential military intervention would only occur if Mexico requested it. “And we are not going to ask for it,” she reiterated.
Color revolutions
President Sheinbaum also referred to the protests reported in Mexico. She claimed that the demonstration on Saturday, supposedly called for by “Generation Z youth,” and the orchestrated social media campaign that attempted to establish the narrative that the Mexican government is repressing young people, will not faze her.
“Do they think they’re going to weaken the president? No. Do they think they’re going to do anything to me? No, we are strong with the people, strong, very strong,” the Mexican president said at the press conference. “We will never back down,” she added.
The president noted that most of the people who attended Saturday’s demonstration—which ended with scenes of violence and attacks on Mexico City police, leaving 100 officers injured—were not young and were not from Generation Z.
According to the head of state, those who participated in the demonstration were the same political actors from the far-right opposition groups, such as Guadalupe Acosta Naranjo, Fernando Belaunzarán, and others, who mobilized against the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador before hers.
