Trump presses Mexico over alleged cartel-linked officials
El País México reports that Trump’s memorandum recognizes some Mexican counternarcotics efforts but demands arrests and stronger action against criminal groups and alleged official collaborators.
U.S. President Donald Trump is urging Mexico to arrest and prosecute what he described as corrupt public officials who have collaborated with criminal groups, according to a memorandum sent to Congress and reported by El País México.
The memorandum updates the U.S. list of countries considered producers or transit points for illicit drugs. Trump’s document recognizes actions by President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration, including drug seizures, the dismantling of clandestine laboratories and the deployment of additional military and police resources along the shared border. It also credits U.S.-Mexico security cooperation with helping eliminate several high-profile cartel leaders, including Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” while saying Mexico must do more against organizations that control large areas and threaten Americans.
The pressure comes as Mexico approaches the second year of Sheinbaum’s government and as the United States heads toward congressional elections in roughly six weeks, El País México reported. The outlet said the Mexican government has highlighted a reported decline of more than 50 percent in homicides during Sheinbaum’s first year and a half in office, while Trump’s memorandum calls for stronger supply-chain controls, greater private-sector participation and significantly more inspections at ports of entry. El País México also described a broader dispute over migration and cited a Bloomberg report about an alleged reprimand by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Roberto Velasco; that account remains attributed to the outlets.