Sheinbaum rejects US claim that Mexico’s government is linked to cartels

play Live Sign upShow navigation menuNavigation menuNewsShow more news sectionsAfricaAsiaUS & CanadaLatin AmericaEuropeAsia PacificWorld CupMiddle EastExplainedOpinionVideoMoreShow more sectionsFeaturesEconomySportHuman RightsClimate CrisisInvestigationsInteractivesIn PicturesScience & TechnologyPodcastsTravelSponsored Contentplay Live Click here to searchsearchSign upNavigation menucaret-leftDonald TrumpICE kills 26-year-old in Maine: What happened?How Iran war fallout may shape US electionsA visual guide to redistrictingcaret-rightNews|GovernmentSheinbaum rejects US claim that Mexico’s government is linked to cartelsSheinbaum has denounced remarks from DEA head Terry Cole as a baseless ‘political statement’ about Mexico. xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoMexican President Claudia Sheinbaum gives a morning news conference on June 22 at the National Palace in Mexico City [File: Marco Ugarte/AP Photo]By Al Jazeera Staff and ReutersPublished On 15 Jul 202615 Jul 2026Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has rejected a claim from the head of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that there is a deadly connection between her government and the country’s influential criminal cartels. During her daily news conference on Wednesday, Sheinbaum pushed back, saying the DEA’s remarks seemed “more ‌like a political statement than one backed by evidence”. She added that the DEA should focus on combating drug trafficking, distribution and money laundering within its own country. The US, she pointed out, is the world’s largest market for illicit drugs. Sheinbaum has repeatedly faced accusations under US President Donald Trump that her country is “run” by cartels. Several Trump officials have mirrored that assertion. On Tuesday, for instance, DEA Administrator Terry Cole said ⁠the Mexican government and cartel networks were “one and the same”. The Mexican government responded by saying Cole’s remarks did not reflect its efforts to work with the US to combat cartels. It added that Mexico continues to be willing to collaborate with the US to combat crime, as long as its sovereignty was respected. Since Trump took office for a second term, Sheinbaum has faced pressure from her northern neighbour to crack down on crime in her country. In response, she has pledged close cooperation with the US, while pushing back against Trump’s militaristic approach to Latin America. Her administration has repeatedly rejected the prospect of the US conducting military operations on its soil without the federal government’s consent. Initially, Trump and Sheinbaum appeared to forge warm relations, with the US president praising his Mexican counterpart as “marvellous”. But Sheinbaum has become increasingly vocal in her criticism of the Trump administration in recent months. In April, for instance, she rebuked the US for issuing an indictment against ⁠Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha, amid allegations his campaign worked with the Sinaloa Cartel to violently influence the 2021 gubernatorial election. Sheinbaum said no evidence had been produced to back the US’s claim against Rocha. She also argued that rooting out corruption was a domestic issue, not an international one. Earlier this week, Mexico filed criminal complaints with US prosecutors over the deaths of ‌Mexican ‌nationals swept up in Trump’s mass deportation campaign. Sheinbaum’s remarks on Wednesday came as the US Department of the Treasury announced that two more criminal organisations in Mexico — the Juarez Cartel and Los Viagras — had been designated “foreign terrorist ⁠organizations and specially ⁠designated global ⁠terrorists”. The Trump administration has made such designations in the past, as it has sought to frame its actions in Latin America as a war on so-called “narco-terrorists”. Advertisement AboutAboutShow moreAbout UsCode of EthicsTerms and ConditionsEU/EEA Regulatory NoticePrivacy PolicyCookie PolicyCookie PreferencesAccessibility StatementSitemapWork for usConnectConnectShow moreContact UsUser Accounts HelpAdvertise with usStay ConnectedNewslettersChannel FinderTV SchedulePodcastsSubmit a TipPaid Partner ContentOur ChannelsOur ChannelsShow moreAl Jazeera ArabicAl Jazeera EnglishAl Jazeera Investigative UnitAl Jazeera MubasherAl Jazeera DocumentaryAl Jazeera BalkansAJ+Our NetworkOur NetworkShow moreAl Jazeera Centre for StudiesAl Jazeera Media InstituteLearn ArabicAl Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human RightsAl Jazeera ForumAl Jazeera Hotel PartnersFollow Al Jazeera English: