Mexican President Sheinbaum Announces Agreement With U.S. To Seize Alleged Drug Boats Near Its Coast To Avoid Strikes Near Its Waters

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced an agreement with the Trump administration to avoid conducting strikes against alleged drug vessels near its waters following several incidents off its coast.

Outlet El Pais noted that the Mexican Navy will now be tasked with intercepting the vessels. It added that Navy Secretary Admiral Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles proposed to the U.S. a coordination mechanism in international waters to deal with suspected drug-trafficking boats.

"There are joint protocols for operations in international waters to prevent the use of bombings against vessels and to ensure compliance with all international treaties. What the Secretary of the Navy proposed was simply that those treaties be respected, and in principle, they agreed. That's the first accord," Sheinbaum said last week.

"If information comes from U.S. agencies or from Southern Command itself, it will be the Mexican Navy that intercepts those vessels allegedly carrying drugs. The protocol remains in place, and we are in constant communication," she added.

According to an investigation by The Washington Post, at least three of the strikes conducted by the U.S. took place off the coast of Acapulco, one of Mexico's most popular tourist destinations.

Although U.S. officials have not confirmed it, one of the strikes near Acapulco reportedly occurred on Oct. 27, when American forces conducted three airstrikes on four vessels suspected of carrying drugs in the eastern Pacific. At least 14 people were killed, marking the campaign's highest death toll in a single day.

Hours after the attack, Mexico's Navy confirmed that its personnel carried out a search-and-rescue mission about 400 miles southwest of Acapulco using a patrol vessel and a maritime surveillance aircraft.

Mexican officials said the operation was launched at the request of the U.S. Coast Guard to locate a survivor from one of the vessels hit by American forces.

The strike drew strong condemnation from Mexico, prompting President Claudia Sheinbaum to call for reinforced maritime cooperation protocols with the United States to prevent unilateral actions that could threaten national sovereignty.

"We do not agree with these interventions, and we already have a protocol that has delivered results," Sheinbaum said. "If the United States detects a boat allegedly carrying drugs in international waters, coordination should take place so that Mexican authorities or U.S. agencies detain the suspects, not destroy the vessels."