Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth advised Mexican officials that the U.S. would take military action if the country did not address collusion between drug cartels and the Mexican government, The Wall Street Journal reported.
According to sources briefed on the Jan. 31 call, Mexico's top officials were "shocked and angered" with Hegseth's implication that the U.S. would use U.S. forces inside of Mexico to address the country's drug violence.
Hegseth's alleged threat was made near the same time a U.S. rancher from Brownsville, Texas, was killed driving over an improvised explosive device placed by cartels in Tamaulipas, Mexico, just south of the U.S. border. Antonio Céspedes Saldierna's son Ramiro, a U.S. Army veteran, said the weapon was more sophisticated than what the Mexican military possesses.
"I consider this a terrorist attack because if I went to war to fight terrorists and I'm seeing the same thing here, to me, my personal opinion, it is a terrorist attack," Ramiro Céspedes said.
The words of the Defense secretary aren't the only pressure being put on Mexico. Next week, a 25% tariff is set to be levied against Mexico after, according to the Trump administration, the country failed to adequately secure the border from the flow of drugs and illegal migrants.
Hegseth's comments have put added pressure on Mexico, which fears that President Donald Trump's threats aren't just backed by tariffs, but now by a looming U.S. military preparing to intervene.
"We still have three days," Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said early Friday in response to if her country can hold off the impending tariffs.
Despite the objection of their tactics by some, the Trump administration's pressure on Mexico has yielded more results than just the promise of a secure border. Following a meeting in Washington this week, Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente announced the country was sending drug kingpin Rafael Caro Quintero along with 28 other prisoners to the U.S.
"As President Trump has made clear, cartels are terrorist groups, and this Department of Justice is devoted to destroying cartels and transnational gangs," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement.