U.S. President Donald Trump said on Nov. 17 that he is “open” to launching military operations against criminal organizations in Mexico and Colombia, a proposal he has repeated since his campaign and one that comes amid a U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum swiftly rejected the idea, insisting that Mexico “will not accept foreign intervention,” while Colombian President Gustavo Petro also dismissed the possibility. How likely is the Trump administration to pursue military action in the region beyond Venezuela? What’s behind Sheinbaum’s forceful rejection of Trump’s suggestion of U.S. military operations on Mexican territory? What does the exchange reveal about the dynamics of the relationship between Trump and Sheinbaum?
Peter DeShazo, visiting professor of Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Studies at Dartmouth College and former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs stated:
"Unilateral counter-drug ‘strikes’ by the United States into Mexico and/or Colombia would profoundly undermine bilateral relations with those key countries while tarnishing the global image of the United States. President Sheinbaum has diplomatically but firmly deflected such past threats from Washington while seeking to keep the Mexico-U.S. relationship on even keel. In Colombia, the Petro administration’s failed ‘Total Peace’ initiative has contributed to a surge in both coca/cocaine production and the reach of increasingly indistinguishable criminal gangs and guerrillas. For decades a vital U.S. partner in the region, the relationship with Colombia in the past year has deteriorated to a point not seen since 1996-1997, when Colombia was decertified for U.S. aid during the Samper administration. A secure and stable Colombia, as well as the essential U.S. relationship with Mexico, are cornerstone variables in overall U.S. policy in the Americas. In both cases, a militarized ‘war on drugs’ approach to bilateral relations would be counterproductive. Instead, the United States should harness an all-of-government effort to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation with both Mexico and Colombia on law enforcement, border control, precursor chemicals, financial crimes and other drug/crime-related variables. The United States must rebuild its ties with Colombia, working with the new administration that will emerge from the May 2026 elections by assisting Colombian efforts to consolidate effective state authority over all of its national territory and enhance citizen security, the rule of law and respect for human rights."
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