Sheinbaum says she rejected Trump offer to send US troops to Mexico
The Mexican president says she told her US counterpart that her country’s sovereignty is inviolable and is not for sale
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Saturday that she had rejected an offer from US President Donald Trump to send American troops to her country to help combat drug trafficking.
“I told him, ‘No, President Trump, our territory is inviolable, our sovereignty is inviolable, our sovereignty is not for sale,’” she said at a public event, referring to a recent report in The Wall Street Journal that described a tense exchange between the leaders.
During the recent call, Sheinbaum said, Trump had asked how he could help fight organised crime and suggested sending US troops.
She said she declined, telling him that “we will never accept the presence of the United States Army in our territory”.
A spokesperson for the US National Security Council said that Trump had been “crystal clear that Mexico must do more to combat these gangs and cartels and the United States stands ready to assist and expand the already close cooperation between our two countries”.
Sheinbaum said she did offer to collaborate, including through greater information-sharing.