President Donald Trump confirmed Sunday that he volunteered to deploy U.S. troops to Mexico to combat brutal drug cartels, only to be rebuffed by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who he claims is paralyzed by fear of the criminal organizations.
“She is so afraid of the cartels she can’t walk,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One while returning to Washington from Florida. “The president of Mexico is a lovely woman, but she is so afraid of the cartels that she can’t even think straight.”
The 78-year-old president’s offer to send American soldiers into Mexico was first reported Friday by the Wall Street Journal and confirmed by both leaders over the weekend. The proposal came during an April 16 phone call between the two heads of state.
“It’s true,” Trump acknowledged Sunday night. “They [the cartels] are horrible people that have been killing people left and right and have been — they’ve made a fortune on selling drugs and destroying our people.”
🚨NEW: Trump CONFIRMS he offered to send U.S. troops to Mexico to fight cartels🚨
"Do you think I'm gonna answer that question? I will answer it: It's true."
"The cartels are trying to destroy our country. They're evil!"
"The president of Mexico is a lovely woman, but she is… pic.twitter.com/gQQscYcc0H
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) May 5, 2025
The U.S. recorded at least 87,000 drug overdose deaths between October 2023 and September 2024, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly 58,000 of those deaths were fentanyl-related between September 2023 and August 2024.
Sheinbaum, 62, bragged about rejecting Trump’s offer of military assistance while speaking at a Mexican university on Saturday.
“And do you know what I told him? No, President Trump,” Sheinbaum recounted. “The territory cannot be violated. Sovereignty cannot be sold. Sovereignty is cherished and defended.”
“We can collaborate. We can work together,” she continued, “but with you in your territory and us in ours. We can share information, but we will never accept the presence of the United States Army on our territory.”
Trump has made battling drug cartels a top objective of his administration. Earlier this year, he slapped a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico, exempting goods subject to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The tariffs were intended to leverage concessions regarding the fentanyl crisis and illegal immigration from America’s largest trading partner.
“They are bad news,” Trump said of the cartels. “If Mexico wanted help with the cartels, we would be honored to go in and do it. I told her that. I would be honored to go in and do it. The cartels are trying to destroy our country. They’re evil.”
Despite the trade tensions, Trump has maintained a more cordial relationship with Sheinbaum than with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom he frequently bashed on social media.
The idea of using military force in Mexico to curtail the fentanyl crisis first gained traction during the 2024 Republican primary, with multiple contenders, including former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, floating similar proposals.
In February, Trump designated many cartels smuggling drugs into the U.S. as “foreign terrorist organizations,” giving law enforcement expanded resources to combat them. His administration has also deployed troops to the southern border and cracked down on human trafficking and smuggling.