'The President will never put sovereignty at risk, never': Claudia Sheinbaum rules out joint operations with the DEA

During her morning press conference on August 20, President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo denied the existence of a special operation at Mexico’s northern border led by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and reiterated that the country’s security is an issue exclusively for Mexico to decide.

“What the people of Mexico must be very clear about is that the President will never put sovereignty at risk, never, and that we collaborate, we coordinate, but there will never be subordination,” she stated.

The President emphasized that, unlike what occurred during previous administrations, today foreign agencies are not allowed to directly participate in security operations.

“This was a schema in which U.S. agencies were allowed to directly participate in operations; we have not allowed that since President López Obrador’s administration. A limit was set: operations that have to do with the country’s security are a matter for federal, state, or municipal forces, but they are a matter for Mexico, for our institutions,” she said.

Sheinbaum clarified that binational cooperation is limited to the exchange of information, and stressed that U.S. agents present in Mexican territory are subject to the nation’s laws. “They cannot be operating in Mexico,” she declared
She also questioned a recent DEA statement about “Project Gatekeeper,” in which the agency claimed there was a joint operation involving both countries.

“This has nothing to do with reality,” she remarked.

Finally, the President reaffirmed that the Mexican government’s duty is to maintain international relations within the framework of the Constitution, always ensuring the defense of national sovereignty. “The President will never put sovereignty at risk, never,” she declared.