The United States is intensifying aggressive demands to deploy American military personnel inside Mexico, including Special Operations forces and CIA officers, to conduct raids targeting suspected fentanyl laboratories . This unprecedented request for unilateral intervention follows a familiar pattern of military threats from the Trump administration and comes on the heels of a major U.S. operation that forcibly captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro . President Donald Trump has publicly justified these threats by declaring "the cartels are running Mexico," signaling his willingness to "start now hitting land" with military strikes .
The Mexican government has issued a firm and unambiguous rejection of any foreign military intervention on its sovereign territory. President Claudia Sheinbaum stated after a conversation with Trump that such action is "not necessary," and she has consistently emphasized the country's position: "cooperation, yes; subordination and intervention, no" . Officials have pointed to their own security results, including a significant drop in homicides and U.S. fentanyl seizures, to argue that bilateral cooperation is already effective without American boots on the ground . This stance is rooted in deep historical memories of past U.S. invasions and is strongly supported by Mexico's nationalist political and military institutions .
Analysts widely view Trump's rhetoric as a coercive tool to pressure Mexico, even as experts detail why a direct military campaign would be both disastrous and ineffective. The criminal landscape in Mexico has transformed into a complex web of approximately 400 different groups, making it impossible to defeat with a simple "kingpin" strategy . As one social media commenter cynically noted, "The CIA!! Yeah right . The CIA is the big US cartel," highlighting public skepticism about U.S. motives and the nation's own role in regional instability . Experts warn that military action would likely fragment cartels further, spark brutal internal wars, and potentially destabilize the Mexican state without stemming the drug supply, which is ultimately driven by U.S. demand .
The shadow of the Venezuelan operation, codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve, looms large over these threats, demonstrating the administration's willingness to use overwhelming force in the hemisphere . That intervention, which Trump stated was partly motivated by gaining control of Venezuela's massive oil reserves, resulted in numerous Venezuelan and Cuban casualties and has been condemned internationally as a violation of sovereignty . The administration's explicit revival of the 19th-century "Monroe Doctrine" to justify its actions confirms a policy of reasserting dominance over Latin America, treating sovereign nations as a backyard for economic and military imposition .
This escalating pressure creates a dangerous diplomatic crisis with the United States' top trade partner. While the Mexican government maintains a pragmatic dialogue, the constant threat of unilateral force undermines trust and cooperation. The situation exposes a stark contradiction in U.S. policy: advocating for a law-enforcement approach in Venezuela to justify regime change while simultaneously pushing for a militarized solution in Mexico, with both actions serving to expand American political and economic influence under the guise of combating narcotics.