In a Fox News interview, President Donald Trump declared U.S. forces would begin "hitting land with regard to the cartels," whom he accused of "running Mexico". This threat of unilateral cross-border military action represents a severe escalation and follows the recent U.S. operation that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. The White House justified the posture as part of reasserting American dominance in the hemisphere, a policy it has branded the "Don-roe Doctrine".
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has issued a categorical and repeated rejection of any U.S. military intervention on Mexican soil. She emphasized the need for "cooperation, yes; subordination and intervention, no," firmly defending Mexico's sovereignty. The Mexican government has highlighted its own security efforts, citing a significant drop in homicides under a new intelligence-led strategy. The threats have alarmed a Mexican public with deep historical memories of U.S. invasions.
Security analysts widely interpret Trump's threats not as a genuine plan for invasion but as a "negotiation weapon" for extracting concessions. With the vital U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement up for revision, the administration is seen applying pressure to gain commercial, diplomatic, and security advantages. The goal is to force Mexico into deeper cooperation, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio often playing a smoothing "good cop" role following Trump's threats.
Unilateral action carries profound risks. It would violate international law, rupture vital security cooperation with a top trade partner, and could trigger retaliatory violence. Experts also question its effectiveness, noting that Mexico's criminal landscape has fragmented into hundreds of groups, making military decapitation strategies unlikely to succeed. Such action could instead increase instability, fragmenting cartels into more violent factions and potentially sparking retaliation on U.S. soil.