Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has announced she is considering legal action against tech billionaire Elon Musk following his incendiary social media posts accusing her of being beholden to drug cartels.
During her morning press conference on Tuesday, Sheinbaum confirmed that her legal team is investigating the comments made by the right-wing entrepreneur, a close ally of former US President Donald Trump.
“Well, we are considering whether to take any legal action. The lawyers are looking into it,” Sheinbaum told reporters, dismissing Musk’s characterization of her administration as a “narco-government.”
The controversy began on Monday when Musk responded to a video clip of Sheinbaum advocating for alternatives to the militaristic “war on drugs” approach. In a post on his social media platform, X, Musk wrote, “She’s just saying what her cartel bosses tell her to say,” adding sarcastically that “their punishment for disobedience is a little worse than a ‘performance improvement plan’.”
Sheinbaum described the accusations as “absurd” and demonstrably false, suggesting her critics are running out of coherent arguments. “It falls apart all on its own. They don’t even know what to invent any more, right? Honestly, it’s laughable,” she said.
The exchange comes at a moment of heightened tension and violence in Mexico, following the death of one of the country’s most-wanted drug lords. The Mexican military confirmed it killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho, the leader of the brutal Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), over the weekend.
El Mencho was tracked to the town of Tapalpa in central Mexico and died en route to medical care after being shot by security forces. His death triggered a violent backlash from the CJNG, with members setting up roadblocks, committing arson, and clashing with security forces across multiple states, leaving dozens dead.
The incident has thrust Sheinbaum’s security strategy into the international spotlight, drawing criticism from powerful figures in the United States. Musk’s comments align with a more aggressive stance advocated by Trump, who has repeatedly accused Sheinbaum of inefficacy and suggested the US may need to conduct unilateral military strikes on Mexican soil to combat the cartels.
“Something’s going to have to be done with Mexico,” Trump told Fox News last month, echoing his long-standing position that “the cartels are running Mexico.”
Sheinbaum has consistently rejected any prospect of US military intervention, framing it as a violation of Mexican sovereignty. Despite the criticism, she has defended her administration’s record, pointing to the deployment of nearly 10,000 National Guard troops to the northern border to curb fentanyl trafficking and the extradition of dozens of cartel suspects to the United States over the past year.
The killing of El Mencho, a leader whose capture had been a decades-long goal for Mexican and US law enforcement, represents a significant blow to the CJNG.
On Monday, Trump posted a brief message on his Truth Social platform stating that “Mexico must step up their effort on Cartels and Drugs,” though the post was later removed.
Sheinbaum, however, remained defiant, emphasizing that her focus remains on the Mexican people and the country’s security forces. “The vast majority of people recognise the work of the armed forces and the work we are doing every day, not only in security, but for the good of the country, for the wellbeing of all Mexicans,” she said. “That is what will guide us.”
