President Donald Trump stated the United States is preparing to lead air strikes against cartels in comments made during an interview with Fox News on January 8.

"We are gonna start now hitting land with regards to the cartels," Trump said. "The cartels are running Mexico. It's very sad to watch and see what's happened to that country. But the cartels are running it."

Trump did not specify when such strikes would take place or whether they would be specifically aimed at Mexico or at cartel groups across Latin America.

The comments come after US forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3 in Caracas during a military operation authorised by Trump, raising concerns across Latin America about potential fresh US military interventions in the region.

Throughout her term, which began on October 1, 2025, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has maintained a diplomatic approach in responding to Trump's provocations whilst firmly defending Mexican sovereignty. She has consistently emphasised cooperation over subordination and has publicly rejected any form of foreign military intervention on Mexican soil, whilst simultaneously demonstrating Mexico's commitment to addressing shared security concerns through bilateral coordination. Trump has praised her as a "wonderful woman" but has claimed she is scared of facing the cartels.

Mexico has been widely cooperating on security issues with the US by deploying the Mexican military to the northern border in late 2025 following Trump's demands to reduce fentanyl trafficking and migration flows. Additionally, the country has extradited dozens of high-profile cartel leaders to the US throughout 2024 and 2025, with more than 50 extraditions occurring in 2025 alone under both administrations.

In her morning press conference on January 6, Sheinbaum stated: "I don't believe in (the possibility of) invasion, I don't believe even that it's something they are taking seriously. Organised crime is not taken care of with (foreign military) intervention."

Sheinbaum is yet to respond to the latest comments made by Trump.