Sheinbaum takes on cartels, Trump and the legacy of 1968

Claudia Sheinbaum's political identity is rooted in Mexico's 1968 protest movement, a formative moment she experienced as a child when her parents took her to visit imprisoned activist Raul Alvarez Garín. That year, mass student demonstrations erupted against the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which had governed Mexico since 1929 while maintaining what observers called a "perfect dictatorship"—preserving the appearance of democracy through controlled elections while suppressing dissent. On October 2, 1968, security forces opened fire on protesters assembled in Mexico City's Plaza de las Tres Culturas, killing an estimated 300 people and arresting over a thousand, effectively ending the movement.

Sheinbaum's election as Mexico's first female president in 2024 represents a significant milestone in a nation where cultural traditions have historically favored male leadership. Unlike her predecessor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO), who served from 2018 to 2024, Sheinbaum—a trained climate scientist—has pursued a more pragmatic and security-oriented strategy while managing considerable pressure from the United States.

In January, following a US military operation that resulted in the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump suggested expanding American anti-cartel operations into Mexican territory. Sheinbaum firmly rejected this proposal, stating that Mexico categorically opposes foreign intervention in its internal affairs.

Weeks later, Sheinbaum demonstrated her capacity to address cartel violence independently. Federal authorities, acting on intelligence, deployed army helicopters to a gated compound in the wooded hills near Tapalpa in central Mexico, where drug lord Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes—known as "El Mencho" and head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG)—was believed to be hiding. Special forces stormed the perimeter, catching Mencho's armed security detail unprepared. Following an armed confrontation, Mencho fled into nearby woods, where he was discovered mortally wounded.