MEXICO CITY—Mexican officials have continued cooperating with United States authorities on a range of cross-border investigations this year, while insisting that joint security efforts must respect Mexico's sovereignty and legal framework, according to public statements by both governments and recent official actions.
The cooperation comes as the two neighboring countries confront shared challenges including drug trafficking, organized crime, migration and financial investigations. The issue has remained central to bilateral relations following a series of high-profile U.S. criminal cases involving alleged cartel activity and heightened scrutiny of security coordination across the border.
President Claudia Sheinbaum has repeatedly said Mexico is willing to cooperate with U.S. authorities through intelligence sharing and lawful investigative channels but has emphasized that operations on Mexican territory must remain under Mexican control. Speaking at a news conference in February, Sheinbaum said, "All operations are carried out by federal forces; there is no U.S. participation in the operation," adding that cooperation with Washington is based primarily on "the exchange of intelligence information."
Mexican authorities have also taken actions linked to U.S. investigations. In May, Sheinbaum said Mexico had frozen bank accounts belonging to former officials accused by U.S. authorities of links to the Sinaloa Cartel, describing the measure as preventive while noting that the Financial Intelligence Unit would explain the legal basis for the action. She said the account freezes did not in themselves constitute a domestic criminal investigation.
At the same time, Mexican officials have maintained that cooperation has limits established by national law. Following an April incident in Chihuahua in which two U.S. officials and two Mexican officials died after an anti-cartel operation, Sheinbaum said her government would examine whether Mexico's national security law had been violated because U.S. personnel had participated in activities on Mexican soil. Mexico later sent a diplomatic note to Washington stating that unauthorized participation by U.S. officials in such operations should not be repeated.
Officials from both countries have nevertheless continued to highlight areas of practical cooperation. During a visit to Mexico City last month by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, both governments reaffirmed their commitment to bilateral security coordination while emphasizing mutual respect for sovereignty, according to Mexican and U.S. officials.
As of Saturday, neither government had announced changes to the broader framework governing cross-border investigative cooperation, and officials have continued to state publicly that intelligence sharing and coordinated law enforcement efforts remain ongoing within the legal authorities of each country.
