Mexican President Weighs Lawsuit Against Elon Musk Over Cartel Claims

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February 25, 2026 | 10:24 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is considering legal action after criticism from Elon Musk. She warned of possible legal action following comments by right-wing tech billionaire Elon Musk, who accused her of ties to drug cartels.

During a press conference on Tuesday morning, February 24, 2026, Sheinbaum was asked about her response to Musk's statement the previous day. Musk described the president as subservient to the cartels.

"Well, we are considering whether to take any legal action," Sheinbaum said, as reported by Al Jazeera. "The lawyers are looking into it."

She went on to describe the accusation that she leads a drug government as "absurd" and demonstrably false. "It falls apart all on its own," she said. Sheinbaum dismissed the accusation as a cliché. "They don’t even know what to invent any more, right? Honestly, it’s laughable."

Claudia Sheinbaum is facing criticism over her national security policies following a spate of violence across the country over the weekend.

Violence erupted after the death of a prominent cartel leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho, on Sunday. The Mexican military had tracked El Mencho to the city of Tapalpa in central Mexico. He died en route to medical treatment after being shot by authorities.

Members of El Mencho's criminal organization, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, responded to news of his death by blocking roads, setting fires, and clashing with security forces. Dozens of people were killed in the violence.

Elon Musk was among online commentators criticizing Sheinbaum's handling of Mexican security after the attack. His posts were in response to a video clip circulating on social media showing Sheinbaum advocating for a militaristic approach to the war on drugs.

“She’s just saying what her cartel bosses tell her to say,” Musk wrote in response to the video. “Let’s just say that their punishment for disobedience is a little worse than a ‘performance improvement plan’.”

A vocal critic of left-wing governments like Sheinbaum's, Elon Musk has a close relationship with US President Donald Trump, who has also pushed for more military action against the cartels.

Last September, Trump's State Department listed Mexico as a region of concern regarding drug trafficking and outlined steps it hoped to take to address the problem.

Trump himself accused Sheinbaum of being ineffective in his campaign to eradicate illegal drug trafficking. "She’s not running Mexico. The cartels are running Mexico," Trump told Fox News hours after launching a military operation on January 3 to kidnap Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

"She’s very frightened of the cartels. They’re running Mexico. I’ve asked her numerous times, ‘Would you like us to take out the cartels?'"

Claudia Sheinbaum has repeatedly rejected the possibility of unilateral US intervention, arguing that it would violate Mexican sovereignty. Nevertheless, Trump has repeatedly warned that the US is considering military action on Mexican territory.

Read: Mexico Rejects Trump's Call for US Military Intervention on Cartels

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