On the Threat of US Military Aggression in Mexico

ByAbel Pérez Zamorano

This editorial by Abel Pérez Zamorano originally appeared in the November 8, 2025 edition of Buzos de la Noticia.  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.

NBC News, in its November 3rd edition, reported that Donald Trump plans a military intervention in Mexico to “combat drug trafficking,” warning that while it is not imminent, preparations are already underway. Although Mayor Sheinbaum dismissed the danger and ruled out the possibility (for reasons unknown), the news should not be ignored. EuroNews offered details: “The Trump administration has begun planning a covert military operation in Mexican territory to directly target drug cartels, NBC News revealed (…) citing two active US officials (…) the plan involves deploying US troops and intelligence agents to Mexico, which would represent a drastic break with the traditional policy of discreet cooperation (…) The first phases of training have reportedly already begun, although a final decision on the operation has not yet been made (…) CIA agents would also participate (…) drone strikes would require the presence of US operators on Mexican soil.”

EuroNews adds: “(although) the US administration would prefer to act in coordination with the Mexican government, the option of operating without Mexico’s authorization is not ruled out” (EuroNews, November 3, 2025). But the fight against crime cannot be the work of any foreign government, much less serve as justification for military intervention: that responsibility belongs exclusively to the Mexican state. Mexicans must solve their own problems, and the United States must solve its own—precisely what it is failing to do.

For many skeptics, Trump’s threats of military intervention might seem like just an outburst, but it’s clear that when he’s announced similar operations elsewhere, he follows through; there’s the naval blockade of Venezuela and the bombing of ships in the Caribbean and the Pacific.

Battle of Chapultepec, September 12-14, 1847

But beyond opinions, present reality and history warn us that the danger is real. In the past, the U.S. has militarily invaded our territory several times. In 1844, it deployed armed forces in Texas to “protect” that territory, which at the time belonged to the state of Coahuila, but which the U.S. had been “colonizing” with American citizens and which it would later claim as its own and seize in 1845. But its imperialist appetite was not satisfied. It invaded Mexico in 1846 and unleashed a war that lasted until 1848. Between August and September of 1847, the invading troops entered the Mexican capital through Lomas de Padierna, Churubusco, and Chapultepec.

Since Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821, the relationship has never been that of two neighboring countries living in peace and harmony, collaborating on an equal footing for mutual benefit, but rather one of constant hostility from the United States towards Mexico.

The conflict resulted in the loss of 52 percent of Mexican territory: approximately 2.3 million square kilometers. This theft was “legitimized” by a “treaty,” the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed on February 2, 1848, in which Mexico “ceded” the territories that now comprise the states of California, Texas (which had recently separated), Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and significant portions of Colorado and Wyoming. These immense natural resources would later prove fundamental in consolidating the empire; for example, with the California Gold Rush between 1848 and 1855.

In February 1913, during La Decena Trágica (Ten Tragic Days), the U.S. government orchestrated the overthrow and assassination of President Madero. Between April 21 and November 23, 1914, the Marines occupied the port of Veracruz. Between 1916 and 1917, they invaded again with the Punitive Expedition, led by General John J. Pershing, who pursued General Francisco Villa through the state of Chihuahua; as the corrido says, “looking for Villa, wanting to kill him,” initially with 5,000 soldiers, and eventually with 10,000. No Mexican should ignore or forget these events that have left deep wounds in our national history. Based on all this historical background, it is not an exaggeration to warn of a possible military intervention, and it would be a mistake to take the threat lightly, even if it were not imminent.

American strategists attempt to justify their policy of invasion with what they call Manifest Destiny, a concept formulated in 1845 by journalist John O’Sullivan in support of the annexation of Texas. He stated: “The fulfillment of our manifest destiny is to spread throughout the continent allotted by Providence for the development of the great experiment of liberty and self-government” (O’Sullivan). He added: “This claim is based on the right of our manifest destiny to possess the entire continent that Providence has given us…” (Pablo Jofre, El Destino Manifiesto como mito, Rebelión). This doctrine attributes a religious character to the policy of conquest and annexation, considering it a sacred mission. Thus, it aligns with Zionism.

President Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) said: “It was as if in the Providence of God a continent had been left untouched, waiting for a peaceful people who loved liberty and human rights more than anything else, to come and establish a community of genuine selflessness.” Well noted: a peaceful people who loved liberty and human rights!

Former President Theodore Roosevelt, in his 1904 State of the Nation address, stated: “Chronic injustice or impotence resulting from a general relaxation of the rules of a civilized society may require, consequently, in America or abroad, the intervention of a civilized nation, and, in the Western Hemisphere, the adherence of the United States to the so-called Monroe Doctrine may compel the United States (…) in flagrant cases of injustice or impotence, to exercise an international police power” (quoted by Pablo Jofre, Rebelión). The empire thus establishes itself as judge and policeman of the world, and supreme defender of “freedom,” which it defines according to its own convenience.

This ideology has guided American policy since its formation as a nation in 1776. And since Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821, the relationship has never been that of two neighboring countries living in peace and harmony, collaborating on an equal footing for mutual benefit, but rather one of constant hostility from the United States towards Mexico, economically less developed, poorer, and weaker—a nation in its infancy—from which the northern giant sought, and continues to seek, to extract maximum wealth, plundering it until its people and resources are exhausted.

But the motive behind invasions is not fundamentally ideological, religious, or moral, even though it adopts that guise: it is essentially economic. The U.S. represents imperialism in its most complete form, which, given its formidable technological development and, therefore, its unprecedented productive capacity, finds its domestic market insufficient, incapable of absorbing the enormous (and growing) mass of goods produced. Just imagine if the productive capacity of Coca-Cola, Boeing, or Ford were strictly limited to what they could sell within the U.S., when their productive capacity allows them to cover the entire world; well, to do so, they need to expand into new markets, by force if necessary. And that is precisely what they have been doing, with the diligent collaboration of the State at their service.

US Invasion of Panama, December, 1989

Today, a catalytic factor is added. The US is rapidly losing influence in the world. Just a few examples: it lacks access to several important markets; China is displacing it in Africa, where it has been the US’s leading trading partner for the past 15 years and where it is on par with the US as a source of foreign investment. Its policy of subduing Russia and China with sanctions, and recently with high tariffs, has proven a fiasco: Russia is growing economically stronger every day, and China withstood the punishment and has brought the American giant to its knees, as seen in Trump’s recent negotiations with Xi Jinping. Likewise, along with the European Union, the US is suffering a disastrous defeat in Ukraine and is being expelled from the Sahel region of Africa by decolonization movements. This leads the empire to cling more violently than ever to its dominance over neighboring countries, traditionally under its control. And this is the context in which we find ourselves. Therefore, the possibility that, even if secretly, as Trump himself warns, and later openly, does fall within the realm of possibility; And we must not dismiss the possibility that the U.S. is expanding its military operations in Mexico. National sovereignty is at risk, and indifference is not advisable.

Abel Pérez Zamorano has a PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics and is a professor-researcher at the Autonomous University of Chapingo.