Mexico’s president said Thursday that she would propose constitutional reforms to protect her country’s sovereignty, after the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump designated eight Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
“The Mexican people will not accept under any circumstances interventions, interference or any other act from abroad that could be harmful to the integrity, independence and sovereignty of the nation,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday in her morning press conference.
Some in Mexico fear that the Trump administration’s designation of the drug cartels as terrorist organizations could be the first step to U.S. military action within Mexico, something Trump proposed during his presidential election campaign.
On Thursday, the names of the cartels were published in the U.S. Federal Register, carrying out one of Trump’s Jan. 20 executive orders.
The Mexican president said the U.S. did not consult with her government before making the designations, which are usually reserved for terrorist groups with political goals, not groups looking to make financial gains.
Sheinbaum said that any foreign investigations or prosecutions conducted by foreign agents on Mexican soil could not move forward without the authorization by and collaboration with the Mexican government.
“What we want to make clear in the face of this designation is that we do not negotiate sovereignty,” Sheinbaum said. “This cannot be an opportunity for the United States to invade our sovereignty.”
Laws passed under Sheinbaum’s predecessor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, restricted the independence and movements of foreign agents in Mexico. Sheinbaum now wants those laws written into Mexico’s constitution.
Sheinbaum also wants an addition to the constitution that would apply the stiffest penalties possible to people engaged in the manufacturing, smuggling and distribution of guns. This has long been a point of contention between Mexico and the U.S., as Mexico is flooded with guns from U.S. shops and manufacturers.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.