Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on 24/2 that her government is exploring legal options against Elon Musk. The move follows a comment made by the world's wealthiest billionaire on X, suggesting her involvement with cartel crime.
On 23/2, Musk responded on X to a 2025 video featuring President Sheinbaum's statements on cartel violence. "She only says what her cartel bosses tell her to say. Perhaps the price of not listening to them is higher than a plan to improve performance", Musk wrote, providing no further evidence.
The US billionaire's remarks came after Mexican security forces raided and killed drug lord Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera, the notorious leader of the Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG). This operation sparked widespread violence across the country.
Sheinbaum stated that Mexican government lawyers are reviewing issues related to the potential lawsuit against Musk. However, Mexico might face difficulties suing Musk for defamation in the US, as its legal system strongly protects freedom of speech. To win a lawsuit in the US, Sheinbaum would need to prove Musk intentionally made false statements about her, or spoke knowing there was a high probability they were false. Musk has not commented on Mexico City's reaction.
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum (left) and US billionaire Elon Musk. Photo: AFP
In the 2025 video, Sheinbaum stated that relaunching the "war on drugs" was neither feasible nor within legal frameworks. Observers consider the previous campaign a reason for Mexico's current high murder rate. President Sheinbaum has since adopted a more moderate strategy, seeking to address cartel crime peacefully, rather than through armed conflict.
In 2006, Mexico launched a war on drugs under former president Felipe Calderon, conducting aggressive crackdowns targeting cartel leaders. However, the arrest of these leaders caused cartels to splinter, leading to bloody turf wars and plunging Mexico into a cycle of violence.
Recently, former US President Donald Trump pressured Mexico to take a tougher stance on cartel crime. This is seen as one reason prompting Mexican authorities to launch the raid that killed drug lord El Mencho. El Mencho's loyal gunmen subsequently carried out a series of revenge attacks, blockading nearly 100 major transportation routes and assaulting National Guard bases, particularly in the states of Jalisco and Michoacan. The clashes resulted in at least 25 soldiers and 34 cartel gunmen killed.
Sheinbaum expects the security situation to stabilize as confrontations subsided from 23/2. When asked if the raid signaled Mexico's return to a hardline crackdown policy, she affirmed, "this will never happen."
By Duc Trung (Reuters, AFP, AP)
