Claudia Sheinbaum has revealed that she is considering legal action after Elon Musk posted on X suggesting she was linked to drug cartels.
Musk’s post came in the wake of the capture and killing of Nemesio Oseguera, also known as El Mencho, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), by Mexican security forces. In response to a 2025 video of Sheinbaum discussing cartel violence, Musk alleged that she was “saying what her cartel bosses tell her to say,” though he provided no evidence to support the claim.
“We are considering whether to take legal action,” Sheinbaum said during her daily morning press briefing, noting that government lawyers are reviewing the matter.
In the 2025 video, Sheinbaum emphasized that a return to a full-scale “war on drugs” was not viable. “Returning to the war on drugs is not an option … it is outside the framework of the law,” she said. She pointed to the military offensive initiated by former President Felipe Calderón in 2006, which sparked bloody turf wars as cartels splintered, a conflict many analysts link to Mexico’s continued high homicide rates.
Sheinbaum also addressed concerns about a potential escalation in violence following the government’s recent operation against Oseguera, which prompted cartel members to set up roadblocks and commit arson attacks. “The detention of a suspected criminal with an arrest warrant can generate this type of circumstance, but we are looking for peace, not war,” she said, stressing that Mexico’s security strategy would remain focused on stabilization rather than renewed conflict.