March 15, 2025 (EIRNS)—Ronald Johnson, Trump’s nominee to be U.S. ambassador to Mexico, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week that “all cards are on the table,” including unilateral military action, when it comes to dealing with Mexican drug cartels.
“Sovereignty is a core principle. I understand that the designation of the drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations reflects widespread concern and anger in the United States about the cartels and the impact of fentanyl,” Sen. Chris Coons said at a Senate hearing for three of President Donald Trump’s ambassador nominees, Mexico News Daily reported yesterday. “Would you agree that we should not take any military action against cartels in Mexican territory without the knowledge and consent of the Mexican government?”
Johnson—an Army veteran and former CIA official who served as ambassador to El Salvador during Trump’s first term as President—replied he believed that on “any decision to take action against a cartel inside Mexico, our first desire would be that it be done in partnership with our Mexican partners. …
“That said, I know that President Trump takes very seriously his responsibility to safeguard the lives of U.S. citizens and should there be a case where the lives of U.S. citizens are at risk I think all cards are on the table,” he said.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum disagreed. “We don’t agree. He said everything’s on the table, well no,” Sheinbaum said at her morning press conference. “Not everything is on the table, nor on the chair, nor on the floor, nor anywhere. Not that,” she said.
But Mexico is open to collaboration with the U.S. “We collaborate within a framework of respect, we coordinate with each other, there is in fact very good coordination. There is very good coordination because there is respect between both countries, and [there is] collaboration within the framework of our sovereignty,” Sheinbaum said. “We’re going to continue collaborating, coordinating together. If he’s ratified by the Senate, there will be a good relationship with the ambassador, but, as we’ve said, Mexico is respected,” she insisted.
