US President Donald Trump’s administration is reportedly planning to launch drone strikes against drug cartels in Mexico, in an effort to counter criminal gangs trafficking narcotics across the southern border as Mexico has rejected any unilateral military action by American forces, NBC News reported.
Discussions in the Trump administration’s White House, Defense Department and intelligence officials are ongoing and are at a nascent stage, and includes drone strikes at the drug cartel figures and their logistical network, the NBC News report stated quoting six current and former US military, law enforcement and intelligence officials.
The report stated that it was not clear if American officials had mentioned about the drone strike to their Mexican counterparts and that a covert action, without Mexico’s consent, was also being considered.
However, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum reacted to the report on Tuesday and said that Mexico categorically rejects any unilateral US military action, adding that such drone strikes by military “would not resolve anything.”
“The people of Mexico will not, under any circumstances, accept intervention, interference, or any other act from abroad,” Sheinbaum said, as reported by Reuters.
In recent months, officials in the Trump administration have repeatedly refused to rule out strikes in Mexico. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had said earlier that all options would be on table when considering strikes against drug cartels in Mexico.
President Sheinbaum said that the US and Mexico continue to have healthy dialogue on security issues, and she doesn’t think that Trump-led America would pursue any unilateral military action against her country.
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The NBC News report further added that no decision regarding the drone strike has been finalised.
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