Trump renews Mexico cartel claims
Original reporting: El Imparcial
What happened
El Imparcial reported that Trump questioned Mexico’s ability to confront cartels and signaled stronger ground operations without announcing an operation in Mexico. Its account also revisits Sheinbaum’s rejection of U.S. troops entering the country.
Reporting and context
President Donald Trump again claimed that drug cartels control Mexico and said the United States would intensify operations against drug trafficking on land, according to El Imparcial’s October 15 report, which cites the EFE news agency. Speaking at a White House garden lunch, he said he had raised his assessment directly with President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Trump questioned Mexico’s ability to confront the cartels while praising Sheinbaum personally. He said U.S. authorities knew where cartel figures lived and intended to strike harder. He also said a full ground offensive had not begun and that his administration continued working with Mexico. El Imparcial reported that he did not announce an operation inside Mexican territory.
The president defended U.S. attacks on boats that his government says carry drugs. He claimed the maritime campaign had sharply reduced trafficking, but the article said the figures were not accompanied by independent supporting data. For context, it noted that Trump had already claimed a 97% reduction in maritime drug trafficking in his September 22 address to the United Nations General Assembly, citing the White House record. That percentage remains Trump’s claim, rather than an independently established result.
The report also described criticism of deaths in the boat strikes, including allegations of possible extrajudicial executions and harm to fishermen. The source’s accompanying Southcom video image is labeled archival; it does not document a newly announced operation in Mexico.
Sheinbaum has rejected assertions that Mexico has lost control of its territory. El Imparcial cited her September 10 remarks pointing to reduced homicides and arrests, and her March 9 confirmation that she had rejected proposals for U.S. troops to enter Mexico.
Her stated position allows intelligence sharing and coordination while requiring Mexican authorities to carry out security operations on Mexican soil. The dispute therefore concerns both the two governments’ assessments of cartel power and the limits of bilateral security cooperation.
Original reporting: El Imparcial.