Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has agreed to send 10,000 Mexican National Guard troops to the U.S.–Mexico border to help prevent cross-border smuggling and the trafficking of illicit drugs into the United States.
Sheinbaum first announced the move in a post on the X platform on Feb. 3.
“Mexico will immediately reinforce the northern border with 10,000 members of the National Guard to prevent drug trafficking from Mexico to the United States, particularly fentanyl,” she said.
These 10,000 Mexican troops could bolster an existing push by President Donald Trump to secure the U.S. southern border against trafficking and to curb illegal border crossings.
Before Trump took office, around 2,500 U.S. troops were attached to a border security mission known as Joint Task Force North, and around 4,500 national guardsmen from various participating states were deployed in Texas to assist in a state-level border security effort dubbed Operation Lone Star.
Trump has taken several other executive actions to address border security, including declaring a national emergency at the southern border and authorizing his Cabinet to begin designating transnational cartels and other organized crime groups as foreign terrorist organizations.
The Mexican president may have ordered this troop deployment in hopes of heading off talk of direct U.S. military action against the cartels.
At a Feb. 3 press conference detailing her troop deployment decision, Sheinbaum said there must be respect for Mexico’s sovereignty.
“All options will be on the table if we’re dealing with what are designated to be foreign terrorist organizations who are specifically targeting Americans on our border,” Hegseth said.
Asked about Hegseth’s recent remarks on the possibility of a U.S. military intervention, Sheinbaum reiterated, “Sovereignty is non-negotiable.”
Sheinbaum further presented her decision to order a troop deployment on Mexico’s northern border as part of a broader effort to address both security and trade-related issues between the United States and Mexico.
While Mexico’s troops will help curb cross-border narcotics trafficking into the United States, Sheinbaum said, the U.S. side will remain committed to helping prevent the flow of firearms from the United States into her country.
While her country will commit troops to the shared border security effort, Sheinbaum said Trump has agreed to a one-month pause on tariffs he had ordered against Mexico.
Trump had announced planned 25 percent tariffs on both Canada and Mexico over the weekend, and a 10 percent tariff on goods coming in from China, in an effort to address security and trade concerns involving the countries.
“I look forward to participating in those negotiations, with President Sheinbaum, as we attempt to achieve a ‘deal’ between our two Countries,” he wrote.
The United States’ tariffs against Canada and China are set to go into effect on Feb. 4.
