Claudia Sheinbaum Again Rejects Allowing U.S. Troops On Country Soil After Latest Comments From Trump: 'Proudly Continue Saying No'

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum again rejected allowing U.S. troops into the country after U.S. counterpart Donald Trump hinted at potential attacks against cartels there.

Sheinbaum made the remarks when asked about statements from U.S. counterpart Donald Trump, who told Latin American leaders last week that Mexico was the epicenter of cartel violence in the region.

She highlighted that the two countries cooperate on security matters, but only Mexican forces execute operations in the country. "It's good that President Trump says publicly that when he proposed for the U.S. army to come into Mexico we said no. Because that's the truth. We said no and we proudly continue saying no," she added.

Trump appeared to hint hint at the possibility that the U.S. will conduct attacks against cartels in Mexico, telling Latin American counterparts last week that the U.S. government "will do whatever is necessary to defend our national security."

"The epicenter of cartel violence is Mexico. The Mexican cartels are fueling and orchestrating much of the bloodshed and chaos in this hemisphere," Trump said during the Shield of the Americas Summit. Sheinbaum did not take part in the event.

The topic was most recently part of the public conversation after the killing of ersation with U.S. counterpart Donald Trump about the operation that killed Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho," the longtime leader of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).

He also sought to take steps regarding the matter during the Shield of the Americas Summit, signing a proclamation saying that "criminal cartels and foreign terrorist organizations in the Western Hemisphere should be demolished to the fullest extent possible consistent with applicable law."

The document goes on to say that the U.S. and its allies "should coordinate to deprive these organizations of any control of territory and access to financing or resources necessary to conduct their campaigns of violence."

For that purpose, the U.S. will "train and mobilize partner nation militaries to achieve the most effective fighting force necessary to dismantle cartels and their ability to export violence and pursue influence through organized intimidation."