U.S. Vice President JD Vance said in a recent short-clip interview that, if necessary, the United States would not hesitate to carry out military action against drug cartels on Mexican territory.
In an exclusive interview with N+ Univision's Ilia Calderón which will be fully aired this Sunday, June 21, Vance was asked about one of the issues that has generated the most friction in recent months between Washington and Mexico: how to deal with cartels.
For months, President Donald Trump has floated the idea of undertaking military action in Mexico to combat cartels if the administration of President Claudia Sheinbaum fails to address the issue. Sheinbaum's response has been firm, arguing that any military action on Mexican soil would constitute an attack on Mexico's sovereignty.
When asked whether the United States would respect Mexico's decision not to allow U.S. military operations on its territory, Vance said Washington's preferred option is to continue working with Mexico to dismantle drug trafficking organizations such as the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels.
"What we would want to do is work with the Mexican authorities that they are able to take care of cartels themselves," Vance said. "We of course are going to have to take defensive actions to protect the American people. We want to work with the Mexican government, but we really do need to take out these cartels. They are very, very bad organizations."
¿Qué tan posible es una invasión de Estados Unidos a México para atacar al crimen organizado? JD Vance le responde a Ilia Calderón en una entrevista especial.
— N+ UNIVISION (@nmasunivision) June 17, 2026
Puedes ver la entrevista completa en ViX y nuestro canal de YouTube. Cada domingo estrenamos episodio de "Esta Semana",… pic.twitter.com/cM4Ov3hh2Z
Vance claimed that during his time in the Senate under the Joe Biden administration, he raised concerns about the cartels' growing influence in Mexico because of the vast amounts of money generated by their criminal activities.
"It's like a massive terrorist organization that was receiving so much money from the United States because of the drug and sex trafficking trade. Those cartels became very powerful. We want to help the Mexican government and the people of Mexico make those cartels less powerful," Vance said.
The vice president went on to say that Mexico is an amazing country, full of natural beauty and economic opportunity. However, he argued that cartels are "like a cancer" throughout the country and said the United States wants to help its southern neighbor address the problem.
When pressed on whether the United States would take military action on Mexican soil despite Sheinbaum's opposition, Vance said it remains a possibility.
"Well, we would take military action if we feel like we have to to protect our people. We don't want to do that unless we are working with the Mexican government," he said.
Vance added that the U.S. reserves the right to take military action on Mexican soil despite Sheinbaum's wishes not to do so.
"Let me give you a very concrete example, if you have a Mexican drug cartel that has a massive shipment of weapons and fentanyl that is about to come in to the U.S., and the only way to stop it is to go after that cartel, of course we have to go after that cartel. We would love to work with the Mexican government, but we have to defend our people," Vance added.
