Report says Trump presses for U.S. role in Mexico cartel operations

Reporting and context

According to El Diario de Juárez, citing a New York Times report, the Trump administration has increased pressure on Mexico to allow U.S. security personnel to accompany armed operations against cartels inside Mexican territory.

The report, which cites officials from both countries, says Washington recently delivered a formal memorandum proposing direct participation by U.S. agents in field operations and broader intelligence sharing. It describes the White House as seeking a security achievement it can present to voters before the U.S. midterm elections.

President Claudia Sheinbaum has maintained her opposition to a U.S. military or operational presence in Mexico, with respect for national sovereignty described as her firm red line. El Diario de Juárez reported that Mexico nevertheless acted on a U.S. list of priority targets in an effort to avert a unilateral incursion.

The account attributes high-profile captures or deaths to those Mexican operations and includes Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho” and identified as the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, among the figures concerned. It does not distinguish individual outcomes in that passage. Pressure continued despite those operations, with adviser Stephen Miller among its advocates, the report says.

White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis told The New York Times that foreign terrorist organizations' control of broad areas along Mexico's border was unacceptable. The account also says U.S. military and security officials warned internally that unilateral action could rupture cooperation with Mexico, trigger cartel violence and cause a migration crisis at the border.

Original report — El Diario de Juárez