Limits

ByCarlos Fernández-Vega

This column by Carlos Fernández-Vega originally appeared in the January 10, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Mexico Solidarity Media, or the Mexico Solidarity Project.

The situation is tense, and for that reason it is difficult to accept – especially after the ignominious violation of Venezuelan sovereignty – that the most recent public threat, as violent as it is insulting, launched by the indecent man who occupies the Oval Office (“we are going to start now hitting land with regard to the cartels… that are controlling Mexico; we have to do something”) is considered in the upper echelons of the national government simply as “part of his way of communicating”, when he has had our country in his sights for some time now, and for him the pretext is of no consequence.

That’s right: the shameless Trump declared that “we are going to start attacking the cartels on the ground now. The cartels are controlling Mexico,” he declared last [Thursday] night in an interview with Fox News. Hours earlier, when asked by The New York Times whether there are limits to his global power, he replied: “Yes, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. That’s the only thing that can stop me. I don’t need international law.”

It’s true that the bilateral relationship, besides being complicated, must be handled with the utmost care and precision, but after the latest outrageous act by the head of the White House cartel, who openly and brazenly announced he would invade Mexican territory on a whim, a strong response from the Mexican government was to be expected. But it didn’t materialize. In yesterday’s morning press conference, President Sheinbaum said that “with President Trump we have an agreement, an understanding on the issue of security with Mexico; which, by the way, we are strengthening… Because of the statements President Trump has made these past few days, which we consider, well, to be part of his communication style, but I nevertheless asked Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente to make direct contact with the Secretary of State (the hawk Marco Rubio, another disgrace). And if necessary, to speak with President Trump to strengthen coordination within the framework we have already explained on several occasions.” Fine, but even Kalimán’s patience has its limits.

One more thing: “We’re going to strengthen communication… Two or three days ago, Secretary Rubio himself spoke about the good security coordination we have with Mexico, which they’ve presented on several occasions; there’s the joint working group we have. So, we need to further strengthen the relationship, this information we’re sharing, about the number of seized labs, in short, so they have all the information. And within the framework of what we’ve been working on, we need to strengthen coordination.”

Days ago, after the kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro and the violation of Venezuelan sovereignty, the President reiterated that “we do not agree with interference or interventionism, but rather with cooperation and collaboration. That is what we have always stated, and we always state it to the U.S. government. First, it is a matter of sovereignty, of defending national sovereignty. But second, an attempt at intervention or unilateral action in Mexican territory would serve no purpose. And with the United States, we must collaborate and coordinate, but never in a situation of subordination, but rather of collaboration and coordination… It is about communication, it is about dialogue; we prioritize dialogue above all else. We have our position, we have our principles, but we always seek dialogue with the U.S. government, and fortunately, we have very good communication.”

Okay, but the point is that nothing can be entrusted to the buccaneer Trump, since he’s the first to break agreements, using any number of ridiculous excuses. He’s a pathological liar, indecent, and treacherous, and if, as he himself boasts, his only limit “is my own morality; it’s the only thing that can stop me; I don’t need international law,” then hold on tight, because it’s obvious that for him, like the classic tale, morality is a tree that bears mulberries or is utterly useless.