Trump clash with Sheinbaum. US President Donald Trump reiterated Thursday his claim that drug cartels control Mexico and said he has told Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum the same.
«Unfortunately, the cartels control Mexico. I'm telling the President of Mexico. She's not happy. She's a great woman, a wonderful woman. But the cartels control Mexico,» he said during a luncheon in the White House gardens.
🚨🇺🇸 US President Donald Trump stated that he told President Claudia Sheinbaum that cartels «control Mexico».
The US president warned that his large-scale offensive against these criminal organizations has not yet begun on land, although he assured that actions are already underway. https://t.co/nKvGWUJQ3E
— Azucena Uresti (@azucenau) October 15, 2026
During his remarks, Trump promoted the military campaign against boats that, he said, transport drugs by sea and warned that he has not yet launched a «total land attack».
«We know where all the bad guys are. The cartels. We know where they live and we're hitting them hard,» the president added, arguing that «Mexico should do it, but honestly, they're not capable right now».
Trump even mimicked the sound of missiles striking the alleged drug boats and said he feels no compassion for the people on board because, in his view, «each of those boats kills thousands and thousands of people» with fentanyl.
«The bad thing about all this is that nobody goes fishing anymore,» the Republican joked, amid criticism that these operations have resulted in the extrajudicial killing of fishermen.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that organized crime controls Mexican territory and, during his September speech before the UN General Assembly, said Mexico is the «epicenter» of drug trafficking.
The president is pressuring Mexico to allow US military operations inside its territory against cartels, something Sheinbaum opposes because she considers it a threat to the country's sovereignty.
