Pentagon chief warns of military action if Mexico fails to meet Trump's demands - WSJ
Kyiv • UNN
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced his readiness for unilateral military action if Mexico does not step up its fight against drug cartels. Mexico is trying to avoid conflict by tightening border controls and extraditing drug traffickers.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that if Mexico does not step up its fight against drug cartels, the US military is ready to take unilateral action. This was reported by The Wall Street Journal, according to UNN.
Details
According to the newspaper, the first telephone conversation between US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the leadership of the Mexican armed forces caused diplomatic tensions.
"Hegseth told officials that if Mexico did not deal with the collusion between the government and the drug cartels, the U.S. military was prepared to take unilateral action," according to people briefed on the January 31 call. The top Mexican leadership on the call was "shocked and outraged, believing he was suggesting U.S. military action on Mexican soil," the people said. The U.S. Department of Defense declined to comment.
Hegseth's warning, echoed by other Trump administration officials, is said to now hang over Mexico's trade talks with President Trump. Their fear: demands that Mexico stop smuggling fentanyl and trafficking in migrants are quietly backed by potential US military action, not just the 25% tariffs that are paralyzing the country's economy, the newspaper writes.
US President Donald Trump has announced that new tariffs will come into effect on Tuesday, March 4, for Mexico, Canada and China. The Mexican government is trying to avoid sanctions: this week, the authorities handed over 29 drug cartel leaders to the United States and began to tighten control over the border by sending 10,000 National Guard troops.
In addition, Mexico has taken steps against Chinese goods, confiscating imported electronics, suspending the opening of a BYD electric car plant, and launching an investigation into dumping Chinese products. Such actions may be an attempt to weaken US trade pressure and demonstrate loyalty to Washington.
"There is a sense that Trump wants specific things, such as troop deployments," said one source familiar with the bilateral talks.
Senior Mexican officials believe they can reach a deal with Trump on trade and migration. But military tensions with the United States are something new and much more difficult to resolve, the newspaper points out.
Hegseth's words about the possibility of unilateral military action if Mexico does not step up its fight against drug cartels during the January 31 phone call were said to have particularly struck a chord with Mexican generals who remember the historical precedents of American invasions, including the Mexican-American War of 1846, after which the country lost a significant part of its territory.
Hegseth repeated his warning on several occasions. Visiting the U.S.-Mexico border and the Guantanamo Bay naval base, he emphasized: "We are not taking anything off the table. Nothing" when asked about the possibility of military strikes on Mexican territory.
Washington, as noted, has taken this prospect seriously. On Thursday, according to the newspaper, a closed-door exercise was held on Capitol Hill to discuss the potential consequences of US military action against Mexico. Among the predictions are economic chaos, riots and the threat of curtailing security cooperation programs, such as intelligence sharing between the two countries, the newspaper writes.
On the same day, a group of two dozen U.S. lawmakers issued a resolution condemning "any call for U.S. military action in Mexico without the authorization of the U.S. Congress and the consent of the Mexican government." The document emphasizes that any such action could have "serious bilateral consequences.
