MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday again condemned US takeover Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro criticizing the Trump administration's policies 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 her daily news conference. “The history of Latin America is clear and convincing: intervention has never brought democracy, never brought prosperity or lasting stability.”
“Unilateral action and invasion cannot be the basis of international relations in the 21st century,” she said. “They do not lead to peace or development.”
Her comments come as Trump on Sunday threatened new military strikes on Venezuela and raised the possibility of intervention in Mexico, as well as Cuba, Colombia and the Danish territory of Greenland. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said drugs were “flowing” through Mexico and that “we're going to have to do something.”
He has been threatening to take action against the cartels for months, with some in his administration suggesting the U.S. could soon launch drone strikes against drug labs and other targets inside Mexico. Sheinbaum has repeatedly stated that such strikes will become obvious violation of Mexican sovereignty.
“The sovereignty and self-determination of peoples are not negotiable,” she said. “These are fundamental principles of international law and must be respected at all times and without exception.”
Sheinbaum is part of a bloc of left-wing Latin American leaders who have come out forcefully against the US following its surprise attack on Caracas on Saturday morning. US special forces kidnapped Maduro, Venezuela's leftist president, and his wife Cilia Flores, former head of the National Assembly.
Venezuela says the attack killed at least 40 people. The pair are charged with drug trafficking in the Southern District of New York.
On the other hand, right-wing leaders in the region welcomed Maduro's removal from power.
At her news conference Monday, Sheinbaum called for cooperation among countries in the region, at one point citing Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.
“Washington called for good faith and justice towards all countries, and for the promotion of peace and harmony among all,” she said.
Nations cannot impose their will on other countries and have no right to their resources, she said. It was a clear reference to Trump's stated desire to exploit Venezuela's vast oil reserves.
“Only the people can build their future, choose their path, exercise sovereignty over their natural resources and freely determine their form of government,” she said. “Every nation has the inalienable right to determine its political, economic and social model, free from external pressure.”
Sheinbaum warned that infighting among Latin American countries would cause economic damage to the region.
“Global economic competition, especially as Asia rises, is not achieved through the use of force… but rather through development cooperation, productive investment, innovation, education and social welfare,” she said.
She said Mexico is committed to fighting organized crime and reminded the U.S. that it fuels that dynamic.
“The violence plaguing our country is driven in part by the illegal flow of powerful weapons from the United States into Mexico, as well as the serious drug problem in our neighboring country,” she said.
