Since February 2025 the United States has listed Mexico's main cartels as foreign terrorist organisations, the same legal category as al-Qaeda. American officials, up to the president, have said that this allows American forces to strike them where they are, and that they are prepared to. Mexico has answered that it will cooperate on everything and permit nothing on its soil without its consent. In 2026 the argument moved from statements to facts: CIA officers died in Mexico after an operation the Mexican government had not announced, and American prosecutors indicted a sitting Mexican governor.
The wider relationship and each side's full account: Mexico and the United States.
Where it stands · September 2026
Mexico's president is preparing an official report on United States interference in Mexico and on 27 September formally rejected foreign interference. In her independence day address on 16 September she defended Mexico's sovereignty against foreign pressure. On 17 September the United States president publicly demanded the arrest of narco-politicians in Mexico. On 23 September United States and Mexican authorities carried out joint cooperation on drug trafficking arrests.
What the dispute is about
Consent. International law forbids one state to use force on another's territory without its agreement, save in self-defence against an armed attack. Washington argues that the cartels' fentanyl is such an attack. Almost no other government accepts that.
What is already happening. American surveillance drones fly over Mexico, American agents work there under agreements, and according to American press reports the CIA has taken part in lethal operations. Mexico's government denies the last and has not explained the presence of the officers who died.
The political lever. Indictments, visa bans and leaks aimed at figures of Mexico's governing party. Washington calls it law enforcement. Mexico calls it an attempt to choose who governs.
