Mexico is reportedly rushing to prepare for Donald Trump’s upcoming presidency, fearing he might take military action against the country’s powerful drug cartels.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has started cracking down on the Sinaloa cartel, considered one of the world’s most powerful drug trafficking groups.
Mexican police have seized record amounts of fentanyl from the cartel, and Sheinbaum sent her security minister to Sinaloa to take charge of efforts to regain control of the state, which is heavily influenced by organized crime.
Mexico is also forming a special security team that will be trained and screened by U.S. experts to fight the cartels more effectively.
Rebeccah Heinrichs, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, said Trump’s strong stance against Mexico, even before officially returning to office, is already having an impact and could save American lives.
Sheinbaum, Mexico’s new left-wing president, has tried to reassure her country that there won’t be a U.S. invasion, saying, “It’s not going to happen.
However, Mexican officials are trying to assess how serious Trump’s threats are, especially since two of his picks for key positions—Rep. Mike Waltz as national security adviser and Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense—support the idea of military action against the cartels.
During his campaign, Trump said he would take military action to fight drug cartels, which contribute to over 100,000 American deaths each year.
He also suggested using the U.S. Navy to block fentanyl supplies from China to Mexico and designating cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO). Trump also warned of high tariffs if Mexico doesn’t stop illegal immigration and drug trafficking across the border.
The report also noted Trump’s choice of Ron Johnson, a former Green Beret and intelligence officer, as ambassador to Mexico. This decision is expected to have a big impact, with one analyst, Eduardo Guerrero, saying the ambassador could act like a member of Mexico’s security team.
