Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has threatened legal action against right-wing tech billionaire Elon Musk over comments he made accusing him of ties to cartels.
At a news conference Tuesday morning, the president was asked for his reaction to Musk’s comments from the previous day. Musk said she was beholden to cartels.
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“Well, we’re considering whether to take legal action,” she began. “A lawyer is investigating.”
She also said that allegations that she was leading a “narco-government” were “absurd” and patently false.
“It will fall apart on its own,” she said, dismissing the accusations as trite. “They don’t even know what to invent anymore, do they? Honestly, that’s hilarious.”
Sheinbaum has faced criticism for his national security policies following a spate of cross-border violence over the weekend.
Murder of El Mencho
The violence erupted following the death on Sunday of top cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho.
Mexican troops tracked El Mencho to Tapalpa, a town in central Mexico. He was shot and killed by authorities on his way to a medical facility.
Members of El Mencho’s criminal organization, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, responded to news of his death with roadblocks, arson, and clashes with security forces. The violence left dozens of people dead.
Mr. Musk was among the online commentators criticizing Mr. Sheinbaum’s handling of Mexico’s security after the attack.
His post was in response to a video clip circulating on social media showing Sheinbaum advocating for an alternative to the militaristic “war on drugs” approach.
“She’s just saying what her cartel boss told her to do,” Musk wrote in response to the video.
“Let’s just say their punishment for disobedience is a little worse than a ‘performance improvement plan.'”
Musk, a vocal critic of left-wing governments like Sheinbaum’s, works closely with US President Donald Trump, who has also pushed for more military action against cartels.
For example, in September, President Trump’s State Department listed Mexico as a drug trafficking area of concern and outlined expected steps to address the problem.
“The Mexican government still has much work to do to target cartel leaders and their clandestine drug laboratories, precursor chemical supply chains, and illicit financing,” the State Department said.
“Over the next year, the United States will look forward to more aggressive efforts by Mexico to hold cartel leaders accountable and disrupt illegal networks engaged in drug production and trafficking.”
Trump himself has criticized Sheinbaum’s campaign to crack down on illegal drug trafficking as ineffective.
Hours after launching a military operation to kidnap Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3, President Trump told Fox News: “She’s not running Mexico. The cartels are running Mexico.”
“She’s very scared of the cartels. They’re running Mexico. I’ve asked her many times, ‘Do you want us to get rid of the cartels?'”
Sheinbaum has repeatedly rejected unilateral U.S. intervention, saying it violates Mexico’s sovereignty. Still, President Trump has repeatedly warned that the United States is considering a military attack on Mexican soil.
“We’re going to have to do something about Mexico,” he told Fox News.
increase pressure
But Sheinbaum defended his administration’s record. Facing U.S. tariffs in February 2025, she sent about 10,000 Mexican National Guard troops to the country’s northern border to crack down on fentanyl trafficking.
She is also taking targeted military action against cartels, but argues that the process should focus on prosecuting criminals rather than killing them in law enforcement operations.
The administration has also overseen the extradition of dozens of Mexicans facing criminal charges in the United States. For example, in January 2025, 37 people were deployed to the United States. Groups of 13 and 14 suspects were transferred in April and August, respectively.
El Mencho’s arrest and killing on Sunday marked the fulfillment of a decades-long goal for the Mexican government, which had long sought his arrest.
Still, on Monday, Mr. Trump briefly posted a message on his Truth Social platform indicating that he hopes to see more from Mr. Sheinbaum.
“Mexico needs to step up its efforts against cartels and drugs,” he wrote in a post that was later deleted.
Meanwhile, Sheinbaum used Tuesday’s press conference to dismiss the criticism, saying it had nothing to do with what’s happening in Mexico. She added that what was important to her was the opinions of Mexican people, not masks.
“The vast majority of people recognize the work of the military and the work we do every day, not only for security, but for the interests of the country and the well-being of all Mexicans,” she said. “That’s what guides us.”
