Mexico’s president slams Trump’s attack on Venezuela, says it destabilizes the hemisphere
MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday again condemned the US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and criticized the Trump administration’s aggressive foreign policy in Latin America for threatening the stability of the hemisphere.
“We categorically reject interference in the internal affairs of other countries,” Sheinbaum said at his daily press conference. “The history of Latin America is clear and compelling: Intervention has never brought democracy, never created prosperity or lasting stability.”
“Unilateral action and occupation cannot be the basis of international relations in the 21st century,” he said. “They do not lead to peace or development.”
His comments came as Trump on Sunday threatened more military strikes on Venezuela and raised the possibility of intervention in the Greenlandic territory of Mexico, as well as Cuba, Colombia and Denmark. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said drugs were “raining” into Mexico and “we have to do something.”
He has been threatening action against the cartels for months, and some members of his administration have suggested the United States could soon launch drone strikes on drug labs and other targets on Mexican soil. Sheinbaum has repeatedly said such attacks would be a clear violation of Mexican sovereignty.
“The sovereignty of peoples and their right to self-determination are indisputable,” he said. “These are the fundamental principles of international law and must be respected at all times, without exception.”
Sheinbaum is part of a bloc of left-wing Latin American leaders who spoke out strongly against the United States following the surprise attack on Caracas on Saturday morning. US special forces kidnapped Venezuela’s leftist president Maduro and his wife, former National Assembly speaker Cilia Flores.
Venezuela announced that at least 40 people died in the attack. The couple was indicted in the Southern District of New York on drug trafficking charges.
Right-wing leaders in the region welcomed Maduro’s removal from power.
At Monday’s press conference, Sheinbaum called for cooperation among countries in the region, at one point quoting Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.
“Washington called for the promotion of good will and justice towards all nations and peace and harmony among all,” he said.
He said that nations cannot impose their will on other countries and have no rights over their resources. This was an apparent reference to Trump’s desire to exploit Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
“Only the people can build their own future, decide their own path, exercise sovereignty over natural resources and freely determine their own form of government,” he said. “Every nation has the inalienable right to decide on its own political, economic and social model, independent of external pressure.”
Sheinbaum warned that civil strife among Latin American countries would economically harm the region.
“Global economic competitiveness, especially in the face of Asian growth, is achieved not through the use of force but through cooperation for development, productive investment, innovation, education and social welfare,” he said.
He said Mexico is committed to fighting organized crime and reminded the United States that it feeds that dynamic.
“The violence plaguing our country stems in part from the illegal flow of high-powered weapons from the United States to Mexico and the serious drug consumption problem in our neighboring country,” he said.
