President Claudia Sheinbaum began her Monday morning press conference shortly after 9 a.m. — much later than usual — as she had a telephone call with Donald Trump earlier in the day.
The conversation between the two leaders took place four days after Trump said that the United States was going to start “hitting” cartels on land, a remark that increased expectations that a U.S. military strike on a cartel target in Mexico would occur.
As expected, the call was the central focus of Sheinbaum’s mañanera. (Read Mexico News Daily’s initial report here.)
The president described her conversation with Trump as “very good” and “respectful.”
The outcome appeared to be exceedingly positive for Mexico, as Sheinbaum apparently staved off — at least for now — the prospect of a unilateral U.S. attack on cartels within Mexican territory.
Asked whether a U.S. “military action” in Mexico could be “ruled out” following her call with Trump, the president responded “yes.”
Sheinbaum rules out US military action in Mexico after Trump call
Among other remarks, Sheinbaum noted that she expressed to Trump Mexico’s opposition to the United States’ intervention in Venezuela based on the constitutional principle of non-intervention.
“He said, ‘OK, I understand that’s your constitution,’ and essentially that was the conversation about the issue of Venezuela,” she said.
Sheinbaum sought call with Trump
Sheinbaum reminded reporters that in light of Trump’s declaration that the United States would target Mexican cartels on land, she directed Foreign Affairs Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente to make contact with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“They spoke yesterday,” she noted.
“And I also made the decision to reach out to President Trump in a call,” Sheinbaum said, adding that the Trump administration “gave us” the Monday morning slot for the conversation on Friday.
“In these conditions, it’s always better to seek dialogue,” she said.
Sheinbaum said that dialogue with the U.S. has “worked for us” since she took office and “worked today.”
The call was brief, but the leaders plan to speak again soon
Sheinbaum said that her call with Trump lasted around 15 minutes. She said they agreed to another call soon in order to discuss “other issues,” including trade.
“We agreed to continue speaking to discuss all necessary issues in the bilateral relationship,” she said.
Sheinbaum noted that a bilateral security meeting is scheduled to take place on Jan. 22 and 23.
Later in the year, officials from the Mexican, U.S. and Canadian governments will meet to review the USMCA free trade pact, which Trump has undermined by imposing tariffs on a range of products from both Mexico and Canada.
Sheinbaum: Trump didn’t say anything about planned incursions into Mexico
Asked whether Trump spoke about planned U.S. “incursions” into Mexico to combat cartels — as the U.S. president has indicated he is prepared to undertake — Sheinbaum said he didn’t mention the issue.
“He didn’t talk about it, he didn’t talk about it,” she stressed.
Sheinbaum did acknowledge, however, that Trump offered to provide additional assistance to Mexico to combat organized crime within Mexican territory, including with a U.S. military deployment, if the Mexican government wants such help.
“I told him, ‘not that.’ I’ve already said several times that that’s not on the table, but we continue collaborating within the framework of our sovereignties,” she said.
NBC News reported in November that the Trump administration had begun planning a “potential mission” on Mexican soil that would target Mexico’s notorious drug cartels, including with drone strikes.
Mexico can do ‘a lot more’ to combat cartels, says Sheinbaum
Sheinbaum said that Trump acknowledged the efforts Mexico has made to combat organized crime, including by arresting a huge number of cartel suspects and dismantling clandestine drug labs. However, she noted that the U.S. president expressed that Mexico could do even more.
“I said, ‘Yes indeed, we can do a lot more, but we’re working, and the important thing is to maintain this relationship of respect and collaboration,’” Sheinbaum said.
The president didn’t go into specifics as to how her government could ramp up its fight against Mexican cartels, six of which have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government. Sheinbaum made no mention of having committed to undertake any specific action to appease Trump.
Last Thursday, Security Minister Omar García Harfuch reported that more than 40,000 people have been arrested for “high-impact crimes” during the term of the current government, while over 318 tonnes of drugs and 21,400 firearms have been seized.
He also said that the army and navy have dismantled 1,887 methamphetamine labs since Sheinbaum took office on Oct. 1, 2024.
Sheinbaum: ‘We operate in Mexico, no one else’
Sheinbaum said that the U.S. government knows how important sovereignty and territorial integrity are for Mexico.
“So they can give us intelligence information, we work together, but we operate in Mexico, no one else,” she said.
“Even the agents they have … in Mexico know their limitations very well, and they’re marked by law,” Sheinbaum said.
She highlighted that there are four central tenets to the security collaboration between Mexico and the United States, including “respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity” and “cooperation without subordination.”
Sheinbaum: ‘Organized crime can’t be classified as terrorism’
A reporter noted that the U.S. State Department spoke about “narcoterrorism” in a statement it issued on Sunday after Rubio’s call with de la Fuente. She asked the president whether Mexico accepted the use of the term to describe the activities of drug cartels.
“We don’t agree,” Sheinbaum responded.
“Our constitution and our laws speak about terrorism in another sense. Organized crime can’t be classified as terrorism. Terrorism has to do with actions against the government, … and other schemes. So, it’s not in the framework of our legislation to describe [organized crime] that way,” she said.
Sheinbaum added that her government doesn’t agree with the designation of cartel activities as “terrorism” being used as justification for “an intervention in our country.”
She noted that the Mexican Constitution was recently modified to make it clear that “the people of Mexico” are opposed to “any interventionism” by a foreign country.
Sheinbaum: Mexico must maintain a good relationship with US
Sheinbaum noted that her government doesn’t agree with the Trump administration on “many issues.”
Nevertheless, “we want to have a good relationship [with the United States] and that’s the way it must be,” she said.
Sheinbaum said that a good bilateral relationship is necessary “because we’re neighbors [and] trade partners, and because we always have to seek a good understanding without violating our principles.”
She said that her government’s relationship with the Trump administration has been good until now — despite the various differences — and that she wants that to continue to be the case.
A message for the Mexican people
🇺🇸🫷 Llamada de Sheinbaum y #Trump: la presidenta de México afirmó que el mandatario insistió en el envío de militares a #México para ayudar a nuestro país a combatir a los cárteles, sin embargo, recalcó que “nunca negociaré soberanía de México” pic.twitter.com/K6O1rkbzjd
— El Financiero (@ElFinanciero_Mx) January 12, 2026
Asked whether she had a message for the people of Mexico in light of Trump’s remarks last week and her conversation with the U.S. president on Monday morning, Sheinbaum said:
“The people of Mexico must firstly know that their president will never negotiate sovereignty or territorial integrity — never. Secondly, that we seek coordination [with the U.S.] without subordination, as equals. And thirdly that … communication [with the U.S.], coordination and the defense of the people of Mexico here and there [in the U.S.] … is permanent.”
Mexico could mediate US-Cuba talks, says Sheinbaum
Asked whether Trump inquired about the oil Mexico sends to Cuba, Sheinbaum responded that “we didn’t speak about the Cuba issue.”
“That could be an issue we speak about later,” she said.
Sheinbaum also said that Mexico could act as an intermediary in talks between the United States and Cuba, a country that Trump, on Sunday, urged to “make a deal” with his government “before it is too late.”
She said that Mexico is in “the best position” to mediate talks between the U.S. and Cuba, but acknowledged that both countries would have to agree to engage with each other before such discussions can take place.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
Source: Mexico News Daily
