Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, Donald Trump

President Donald Trump once again criticized drug trafficking organizations and warned Latin American countries to continue fighting them or risk the United States "doing the job" instead.

During a White House event honoring military mothers, Trump said drugs entering the United States by sea are down 97 percent, adding that U.S. efforts would now focus more heavily on land operations.

"If they're not gonna do the job, we're gonna do the job," Trump said, suggesting governments in the region were still not doing enough to combat drug cartels.

"For years they'd grab a boat and they'd bring them in, and they'd see a judge, and they let them out. And the next day, he's back in his country. Bringing more drugs in. Nothing worked," Trump added.

Trump's comments prompted a response from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who said Mexico has intensified its efforts against organized crime and noted that Trump has taken a similar stance before.

"He has said this several times. It is not the first time. But we are acting," Sheinbaum said during her morning press conference on May 7.

Sheinbaum said that since her administration intensified operations against drug trafficking cartels and organized crime, intentional homicides in Mexico have fallen by nearly 50 percent. She also said authorities have dismantled and destroyed 2,500 laboratories linked to criminal groups, Milenio reported.

She added that people arrested in those operations are now being prosecuted with stronger investigative case files and supporting evidence, unlike in previous years when arrests were allegedly made without complete investigations.

Since Trump's return to the White House, Sheinbaum has taken a firm stance against any U.S. intervention on Mexican soil, something she has repeatedly described as a "violation of Mexico's sovereignty." Instead, she has emphasized that cooperation with the United States is limited to intelligence sharing and not field operations.

That position remains under scrutiny, however, after the alleged deaths of CIA agents in the border state of Chihuahua last month triggered political turmoil in Mexico and raised questions about whether all levels of government are aligned with Sheinbaum's stance on foreign intervention.

Concerns over U.S. involvement in Mexican affairs intensified further when the Department of Justice announced an indictment against Sinaloa Gov. Rubén Rocha Moya and nine other current and former officials, accusing them of colluding with the Sinaloa cartel and the Los Chapitos faction.

Questions have since emerged over the possibility of Rocha Moya or other officials being extradited to the United States, an idea Sheinbaum has firmly rejected.

Invoking the "defense of sovereignty," Sheinbaum said that, if evidence exists against the accused officials, authorities must proceed under Mexican law and jurisdiction.

She doubled down on that message May 5 during a public appearance commemorating the Battle of Puebla, a speech full of historical references in which Mexico had endured foreign invasions.

"No foreign power is going to tell Mexicans how we should govern ourselves," Sheinbaum said.

Later in the speech, Sheinbaum said Mexico has historically been willing to defend its sovereignty.

"History tells us that the people of Mexico are not mistaken when it comes to defending sovereignty," she said. "We are a people who love freedom, independence and sovereignty, and we will always be willing to defend them."

Originally published on Latin Times