Mexico’s Senate descended into chaos Wednesday when a heated debate on U.S. military intervention against drug cartels erupted into a fistfight.
The clash began after opposition PRI senators accused the ruling Morena party of trying to silence debate on whether Mexico should welcome U.S. assistance against cartels. PRI leader Alejandro “Alito” Moreno appeared open to the idea, while Senate president Gerardo Fernández Noroña, representing Morena, strongly opposed foreign military involvement in Mexico.
When Moreno was denied the floor, he confronted Fernández Noroña, grabbing and shoving him, even striking his neck. An aide who tried to intervene was knocked down, and another lawmaker joined in, swinging at Fernández Noroña. Later, Fernández Noroña accused Moreno of threatening to kill him and filed a criminal complaint. He also called for an emergency session to expel Moreno and three other PRI senators involved.
The fight capped a tense debate in which Morena lawmakers accused the opposition PRI and PAN parties of advocating U.S. military strikes on Mexican soil. Opposition senators denied pushing for intervention, though a PAN senator recently told Fox News that U.S. help would be welcome. PRI members countered by accusing the ruling party of protecting cartels.
In February, the Trump administration designated eight Latin American drug trafficking organizations as foreign terrorist groups, six Mexican, one Venezuelan, and one Salvadoran. President Trump has since signed a directive authorizing the Pentagon to use military force against such organizations, a move confirmed by administration sources.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the new terrorist designations give Washington broader power to confront cartels, allowing the U.S. to use intelligence agencies, the Pentagon, and “other elements of American power” to treat them as armed terrorist groups rather than just drug traffickers.
The White House has not denied reports that military planners were asked to draft strike options against Mexican cartels, with sources saying lethal options could be ready as early as mid-September.
Mexico has firmly rejected the idea. President Claudia Sheinbaum stressed there would be “no invasion of Mexico,” insisting sovereignty is not for sale. After revelations that Trump had secretly signed a directive authorizing military force against cartels, she clarified that the order “had nothing to do with the participation of any military personnel or any institution in our territory.”
Earlier this year, when Trump offered to send troops to Mexico to help combat drug trafficking, Sheinbaum replied, “No, President Trump, our territory is inviolable, our sovereignty is inviolable.”
Still, some in Mexico’s opposition favor greater U.S. involvement. PAN Senator Lilly Téllez, speaking during a Senate session approving the arrival of 10 U.S. soldiers to train Mexican marines, argued that cooperation with U.S. forces does not amount to invasion. “The homeland wasn’t sold, the homeland wasn’t subjugated,” she said, pointing to longstanding military exchanges.
Téllez went further, backing Trump’s designation of cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and calling for U.S. military help against groups like Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation. She claimed Mexico cannot defeat the cartels alone and accused Sheinbaum’s Morena government of shielding them.
“The President Claudia, the secretary of AMLO, is protecting his narco-state. The cartels are partners of Morena, to them they owe their arrival and continued presence in power,” she charged, accusing Sheinbaum of using “excuses” to block cooperation.
The opposition’s claims of government collusion with cartels are not without precedent. U.S. criminal cases against top Mexican officials have revealed corruption at the highest levels of the security establishment. In 2020, former Defense Minister Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda was accused of aiding the H-2 Cartel.
In 2024, former Public Security Secretary Genaro García Luna, once Mexico’s most powerful law enforcement official, was sentenced to 38 years in prison and fined $2 million for taking millions in bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel. Evidence showed that García Luna’s Federal Police acted as escorts and bodyguards for cartel operatives, allowed them to wear police uniforms, and helped move cocaine shipments through Mexico City’s airport.
A U.S. Army report noted that over a six-year period, 150,000 of Mexico’s 250,000 soldiers deserted and later joined the drug trade, fueling suspicions that cartel influence reaches deep into the ranks of the military and its leadership. Cartels have also systematically corrupted judges, police, and politicians, using their vast profits to secure protection. Beyond bribery, systemic weaknesses in law enforcement have left more than 90% of crimes unprosecuted, undermining public trust and reinforcing the perception of impunity.
By 2024, U.S. military estimates suggested cartels controlled roughly one-third of Mexican territory, exerting power not only through violence but also through influence over local governments and security forces.
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