"We've Said No": Sheinbaum Responds to Trump; Rules Out US Military Intervention in Mexico

“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat 

Sheinbaum affirmed that Mexico will continue to say "no" to US military intervention, although it maintains intelligence cooperation on security matters

During the "Morning Press Conference" this Monday, March 9, 2026, held in the Gustavo A. Madero (GAM) borough, Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo responded to the new and controversial statements by her US counterpart, Donald Trump, who asserted that Mexico is the "epicenter of drug cartel violence."

The head of the Mexican Federal Executive reiterated that her government has rejected the proposal to allow the entry of the US military to combat drug trafficking in Mexican territory; She also affirmed that her administration maintains a firm stance on national sovereignty.

"It's good that President Trump publicly states that he has proposed the deployment of the U.S. military to Mexico, we have said no, because it's the truth. We have said no, and we proudly continue to say no," the president stated, referring to the possibility of U.S. military forces operating in Mexico.

In the same address, the Mexican president explained that the Federal Government does maintain coordination with the U.S. on security matters, although she emphasized that operations within the country are the exclusive responsibility of Mexican authorities. She detailed that bilateral cooperation is primarily focused on intelligence sharing and other security-related activities, but without permitting direct actions by foreign forces.

Sheinbaum clarified that operations against organized crime in Mexico are carried out by "the Armed Forces, or the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC); the National Guard, or state police and prosecutors' offices. So, indeed, we have said no." And we have made progress; tomorrow you will see the security results, and we must continue to make progress in these areas.”

She also announced that security results will be presented this Tuesday, March 10, noting that her administration continues working to advance in this area.

Trump claims Mexico is the “epicenter of cartel violence”

Sheinbaum’s statements come after Republican businessman Donald Trump asserted that Mexico is the epicenter of drug-related violence in the region. The US president made these remarks during the inauguration of the Latin American Leaders Summit, dubbed “Shield of the Americas,” held in Miami, an event attended by more than a dozen male Latin American leaders.

During his speech, Trump maintained that “as part of our commitment to counter the presence of cartels in the region, we must recognize that the epicenter of cartel violence is Mexico.”

Despite his criticism, the US president also referred to his counterpart Claudia Sheinbaum as "a very good person" and mentioned that she has "a beautiful voice."

It's worth recalling that, previously, Trump had raised the possibility of bombing drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, a stance that has generated debate about security 

Source: Tribuna

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CJNG Gunman Arrested with Recruitment Posters In Paraíso, Tabasco

By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat

A CJNG gunman was arrested by the military after they responded to reports of shots being fired at the Refinería Olmeca in Paraíso, Tabasco. Authorities found several firearms and two recruitment posters.

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Cartel Attacks Police Base with Carbomb in Luis Moya, Zacatecas

By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat

A criminal group detonated a car bomb outside the Municipal Police headquarters in Luis Moya, Zacatecas yesterday leaving three officers injured.

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El Burro, the Armed Wing of Los Chapos, Falls in Baja California Sur

“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat 

The leader of the “Los Burros” (Chapos) cell was captured in Puerto San Carlos, Comondú municipality. He is one of those responsible for confronting “Los Venados” (Mayos) in the Northern Zone.

In a coordinated operation between federal and state forces comprising the Security Council, the capture of a high-priority target operating in northern Baja California Sur for the Sinaloa Cartel, specifically for “Los Chapos,” was confirmed.

The arrest is of Francisco “N,” alias “El Burro,” the armed wing of the cell identified as “Los Burros,” which operates in the Northern Zone, primarily in the community of Guerrero Negro, Mulegé municipality.

His capture occurred on the night of Thursday, March 5, in the town of Puerto San Carlos, Comondú municipality, following a surveillance and crime prevention operation by members of the Mexican Navy and the Municipal Police, who intercepted a black pickup truck.

The crew members displayed aggressive behavior and insulted the officers, leading to their initial arrest for disturbing the peace. However, upon verifying their information at the Public Security facilities, the identity of one of the detainees was confirmed. He had an outstanding arrest warrant for aggravated kidnapping.

Unofficial information confirmed that the man is Francisco Javier Ibarra Romo, alias “El Burro,” identified as the leader of the criminal cell “Los Burros,” based in Guerrero Negro. According to intelligence reports, this group is actively fighting in the northern part of the state to prevent the “Los Mayos” faction from gaining control of the territory.

In addition to the capture of one of the main instigators of violence in the region, the State Security Council, made up of the Navy, Army, National Guard, Attorney General's Office and the State Attorney General's Office, reiterated that joint operations will continue permanently to try to capture other priority targets in the 5 municipalities.

Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur

The distance between Puerto San Carlos and the Comondú municipality. 

Source: Zeta Tijuana

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Junior: A Son of the Gulf Cartel

Junior: A Son of the Gulf Cartel is a gripping, true-to-life account of crime, loyalty, and redemption told from both sides of the law. Written by retired DEA Special Agent Mike Chavarria, this powerful narrative chronicles his unlikely alliance with Raul Valladares-known within the Gulf Cartel as "Junior," the son of a high-ranking Mexican drug lord who would go on to betray his father and become a U.S. government informant.

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Inside the Gaming Servers Where Cartel Culture Thrives

 El Armadillo for Borderland Beat

The spawn base in Arma Reforger was the usual, players assembling loadouts, choosing vehicles, customizing their outfits, talking trash. Then somewhere in the noise, two players drifted toward each other off to the side in Spanish.

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The Chapiza - CJNG Alliance Captured and Kill a Member of Los Flechas

“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat 

How fucked up is that to have to see some big-gut midget on a phone call walk around nonchalantly in the background while you’re being interrogated by your captors?

Even worse still is that your right ear gets sliced off and you’re forced to appear on film naked from the waist down. 

Had you been shot to death in front of everyone, that conclusion to your life wouldn’t look so bad. What we get instead are the assassins who force you to say things against your will. 

Followed by a decent sized knife that’s thrust into your solar plexus. Under the best of circumstances, that would’ve been that. But that stabbing has caused some innards to suddenly spill out. 

And as if to complement that evil that’s already underway, the enforcer takes the time to slice that off as well. 

Escuinapa, Sinaloa

Source: Informante Sinaloa

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US & Ecuador Carry Out Joint Military Operations Targeting FARC Dissident Camp

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

The United States and Ecuador conducted joint military operations against "designated terrorist organizations in Ecuador," U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) announced on Tuesday.

This is the first time, officially, that the U.S. military has engaged in a land combat operation against South American drug cartels and gangs since the 1980s.

Recently, the U.S. military had only carried out airstrikes targeting smuggling boats in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean killing a total of 152 alleged traffickers.

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While CJNG Retaliation Ends, Small Attacks Continue in Guadalajara

By “El Huaso” for Borderland Beat

While initial CJNG retaliations for the killing of El Mencho in a security operation across Mexico have subsided, CJNG members continue to lash out in Guadalajara, though at a reduced pace and intensity.

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Last night, a group of young men attacked the Oxxo corner store on the corner of Luis Pérez Verdía and Justo Sierra streets in the Arcos Vallarta neighborhood of Guadalajara. The men broke the glass windows and threw molotov cocktails, burning the store. Two employees were at the store but were not injured. The assailants fled on motorcyles.

Also that night, a vehicle was burned on the Laureles amd Paseo del Nopal streets in the Mesa de los Ocotes neighborhood.

Yesterday, a short shootout erupted between police and armed men by the Glorieta Colón, in colonia Italia Providencia. Locals also reported the criminals deployed tire spikes. The events are far less severe in impact and scale than the initial outbreak of violence, but they threaten the return to normalcy in the Guadalajara region.

On February 22–23, the CJNG demonstrated the capability to conduct mass disruption operations across the city of Guadalajara and much of Mexico, disperse during daylight hours, and re-emerge at night once security patrols ceased. The attacks were typical of criminal strategy over the last twenty years, where criminals launch large-scale retaliatory violence for operations against their leadership.

Sources: Partidero, Jalisco Rojo Twitter, Guardia Nocturna

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A Chapiza Member is Forced To Speak Ill of His Counterparts

“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat 

Assassins under the command of Mayito Flaco force a Chapiza member to curse his organization. To add fuel to the fire a fixed blade knife is used to carve the MF initials across his stomach. 

There’s nothing quite like saying, “Fuck your team,” more than being carved up by the opposition while alive. 

At this time it is believed that the captive was killed soon after this horrific ordeal. But if, on the off chance, he survived, the scars on his body serve as a reminder as to why he was sliced up. 

Source: Anonymous 

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Gulf Cartel Cell Leader Antonio Guadalupe ‘Lexus’ Captured

“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat 

Mexican authorities have captured a reputed Gulf cartel cell leader in the border town of Matamoros.

Antonio Guadalupe N., aka “Lexus,” was wanted on charges of extortion, kidnapping, drug, weapons and migrant trafficking. Mexican soldiers and National Guard members arrested him on Thursday along with eight alleged accomplices, that country’s Public Safety Secretariat said in a statement.

The soldiers seized several high-powered guns, communication equipment and vehicles from the suspects. The Public Safety Secretariat said Lexus is a leader of Ciclones, or Cyclones, one of the groups associated with the Gulf cartel.

All nine individuals have been turned over to the Mexican Attorney General’s Office for prosecution.

U.S. security experts have told Border Report the Gulf cartel has broken up into several gangs, which have divided drug trafficking routes into the U.S. and established boundaries of territories where they conduct other illicit activities like extortion.

The Cyclones and Scorpions reportedly control the greater Matamoros region south of Brownsville, Texas, while Los Metros operate in Reynosa. A faction called Los Rojos allegedly operates south of border areas

Sources: Border Report, Jesús Rubén Peña

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Ryan James Wedding's Early Sinaloa Cartel Links Part 2: Operation Harrington, Catboy & Russian Mike

 "Socalj" for Borderland Beat

A 2015 Canadian indictment charged the former Olympic snowboarder as part of Operation Harrington. The RCMP believed at the time he had ties to the Sinaloa Cartel and Iranian-linked money launderers, via his now ex-wife. Wedding fled to Mexico in 2015 to avoid the charges that were the result of a lengthy undercover operation targeting several Canadian traffickers.

While the 2015 Canadian indictment focused primarily on Canadian based traffickers, it would take another 4 years until the full extent of their connections to the Sinaloa Cartel would be revealed by Colombian trafficker-turned witness Alex Cifuentes-Villa during his testimony at the 2019 trial of "El Chapo," and the sentencing memo of a Canadian trafficker known as "Russian Mike" the same year.

Part 1 of Ryan James Wedding's Early Cartel Links can be read here

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The Chapiza Mob Takes Charge of Mazatlán

“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat 

It’s a given that everyone you see here is going to be killed off. Even the leggy female in the middle of the bunch who seems to think that by making herself appear small as possible isn’t going to be noticed. 

Out of every individual under questioning, she’s the one person that has the least to say. 

They’re all accused of being marranos, a derogatory term which means pigs in Spanish. The Chapiza mob tends to use it often as an insult for every Mayito Flaco operative. 

You get to hearing the indignity enough times, and before you know it, your brain automatically registers that someone from the Chapiza is interrogating the next round of captives that they’re planning on killing without being told that it’s them. 

Unfortunately, we’re not afforded the opportunity to see how their lives will end. Still though, they’re definitely leaving this world like others before them under these circumstances. 

Source: Anonymous 

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Post Mortem: Mencho Is Dead, El 3 Is In, Questions Remain

El Armadillo for Borderland Beat

On the morning of February 22nd, Mexican special forces killed Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, El Mencho, in the mountain town of Tapalpa, Jalisco, ending an over decade long manhunt for the most powerful and elusive drug lord in Mexico. 

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The Aftermath of El Mencho's Death: 252 Narco Blockades, 61 Dead Including a Pregnant Woman

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

Map developed by "El Huaso"

Over 60 people, including a pregnant woman, 25 National Guard soldiers, agents and police officers, and 34 CJNG cartel members died Sunday. The operation to arrest "El Mencho" took place in the outskirts of Tapalpa, about 100 miles south of Guadalajara, Jalisco.

The woman, who was three-months pregnant, died during a shootout between National Guard personnel and members of the CJNG who were stopping cars to burn at the intersection of Avenida de la Mancha and Covadonga, in Zapopan. 

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