ISTANBUL

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she discussed security, drug trafficking, and trade issues with US President Donald Trump in a “very good” phone call on Monday.

"We had a very good conversation with the President of the United States, Donald Trump," Sheinbaum said on the US social media company X.

She said discussions focused on security with respect for Mexico’s sovereignty, along with drug trafficking, trade and investment.

"Collaboration and cooperation within a framework of mutual respect always yield results," Sheinbaum added.

Neither the US nor Trump immediately issued a statement about the call.

The phone call came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Mexican Foreign Secretary Juan Ramon de la Fuente on Sunday about the cooperation to dismantle "Mexico’s violent narcoterrorists networks and stop the trafficking of fentanyl and weapons."

Relations between the US and Mexico deteriorated into a trade war after Trump imposed tariffs on imports from the Latin American country last year, saying the measures were aimed at curbing illegal immigration, fentanyl trafficking and trade imbalances.

On Friday, Sheinbaum called for stronger cooperation with Washington after Trump said he would soon launch attacks on cartels across the southern border.

"The cartels are running Mexico – it's very, very sad to watch, and see what's happened to that country," Trump recently said.

In a routine briefing, Sheinbaum said that following her call with Trump, US military action in Mexico has been ruled out.

Sheinbaum said Trump showed respect for Mexico’s sovereignty and that cooperation between the two countries remains unchanged. She said the call followed public remarks by Trump about intervening in Mexico “three times in the same week.”

"He knows that there are things we do not agree on, just as we know there are things he does not agree with regarding what we think.

"But that does not mean we are not neighbors, that we are not trading partners, that there are not 40 million Mexicans living in the United States, that more than 1 million Americans live in Mexico, and that we do not need to maintain a good relationship," Sheinbaum said.

Sheinbaum said Trump again offered to deploy US troops in Mexico if needed, an offer she said she declined.

“We are neighbors, we are trading partners, and we must always seek mutual understanding without violating our principles, which are very clear and which we will always uphold,” she added.

Sheinbaum said US military action in Mexico was unnecessary, noting that Washington had recorded a 50% drop in fentanyl seizures since she took office.

Since taking office last year, the Trump administration has touted a hemisphere-wide crackdown on drug trafficking, designating cartels as terrorist organizations and classifying narcotics such as fentanyl as weapons of mass destruction.

Those moves have coincided with an expanded US military presence in the region, including airstrikes in the Caribbean that reportedly killed more than 80 people.

Sheinbaum said she and Trump had also discussed the US' Jan. 3 military operation in Venezuela to capture President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

The Mexican leader said Trump had asked for her views on the capture of Maduro, who is now standing trial in New York for drug and weapons charges. Sheinbaum said she told him that Mexico’s Constitution rejects foreign military intervention.

“That is our public position. We have a Constitution, and we are opposed to military interventions,” she said.

While Trump has suggested that the US would soon be launching strikes on against drug traffickers on Mexican soil, Sheinbaum said she was confident that Washington would continue cooperating with her country rather than pursue open military action.

Amid rising tensions between the US and Cuba after the operation in Caracas, Sheinbaum said she had offered to mediate between the two sides.

“Obviously, if Mexico were to serve as a channel for communication between the United States and Cuba, both parties would have to agree. Mexico is in the best position to do so, but it must be accepted by both sides,” she said.