Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum addressed on Thursday a recent report discussing how members from the incoming Donald Trump administration are considering what has been described as a "soft invasion" of Mexico.
The term, reported by Rolling Stone magazine quoting anonymous sources close to Trump, would involve sending special forces across the border to take on powerful cartels. The report also included discussions from transition officials about "how much to invade" Mexico.
Asked directly about this, Sheinbaum dismissed it by calling it "entirely a movie." "What I base myself on is the conversation – the two conversations – that I had with President Trump, and then, at the moment, the communication we will have with his work team and when he takes office," Sheinbaum said.
She went on to emphasize that Mexicans "will always defend our sovereignty." "Mexico is a free, independent, sovereign country – and that is above everything else," she added.
The report claims that Trump has warmed to the "soft invasion" idea over the course of the year, largely involving covert operations by U.S. special forces aimed at assassinating top cartel leaders.
The plans presented to Trump include drone strikes or airstrikes on cartel infrastructure, sending military trainers and "advisers" to Mexico and killing or abducting top cartel leaders on Mexican soil.
Other incoming senior members of the future administration have publicly supported the idea of deploying the U.S. military in Mexico, including the nominees for secretaries of Defense and State, Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio.
Hegseth said it could be in the national interest of the U.S. to do so, saying cartels are "terrorist-like organizations poisoning our population." "If it takes military action, that's what it may take, eventually," he said.
"Obviously, you're gonna have to be smart about it. Obviously, the precision strikes. But if you put the fear in the minds of the drug lords, at least as a start, [and] they can't operate in the open with impunity, [it] changes the way they operate. You combine that with actual border security ... now you're cooking with gas and you've got a chance."
Rubio, on his end, said he would back such a scenario if "there is cooperation" and "coordination" with the Mexican government.
Other incoming top officials like Rep. Mike Waltz and Tom Homan, Trump's picks for national security adviser and "border czar," respectively, have also been warm to the idea. Waltz co-introduced legislation last year to authorize military force targeting Mexican cartels, saying it would "give the president sophisticated military cyber, intelligence, and surveillance resources to disrupt cartel operations that are endangering Americans." However, the moves would pose several challenges and have sparked widespread debate over their feasibility.
To assess the potential outcomes of U.S. military intervention in Mexico, the Latin Times recently spoke with Dr. Jeremi Suri, an award-winning global affairs lecturer and author. Suri believes Trump's plans could ultimately backfire and unintentionally strengthen the criminal organizations he aims to dismantle.
According to the global affairs expert, militarizing the border, combined with mass deportations, could ultimately boost cartels' recruitment efforts, drive Mexican authorities to collaborate with these criminal organizations, and position cartel members as 'heroes' in the public eye by undermining Mexico's perceived sovereignty.
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