Mexico will never tolerate an invasion of its national sovereignty by the United States, the country's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, warned Thursday after Washington designated Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations.
"This cannot be an opportunity for the US to invade our sovereignty," she said. "With Mexico it is cooperation and coordination, never subjugation or interference, much less invasion."
On Wednesday, the Trump administration officially labeled eight cartels as terrorist groups. They include the two main drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, the Jalisco New Generation and Sinaloa cartels.
Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in the White House saying the cartels "pose a threat to national security beyond that posed by traditional organized crime."
This move has raised speculation about possible military action.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who has been given a key role in the Trump administration, said on social media that the designation "means they have the right to drone strikes."
Experts, however, said bombing Mexican cartels or sending troops across the border still seemed unlikely, although Trump's unpredictability makes complete exclusion impossible.