The key facts

  • At the start of her campaign, Marine Le Pen declared that she would not allow the 'Mexicanization' of France and would fight cartels as terrorists
  • Claudia Sheinbaum responded that 'Mexicanization' means the values of Mexican culture: honesty, love, solidarity, and brotherhood
  • According to Anadolu, the Europol report does not mention Mexican cartels, naming Colombian, Brazilian, and Ecuadorian groups instead

An exchange of statements amid the election campaign

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded on Wednesday to remarks by Marine Le Pen, who at a campaign rally pledged to prevent the 'Mexicanization' of France due to the presence of drug cartels. 'She is misinformed, because the 'Mexicanization' that should be brought to the whole world is the values of Mexican culture: honesty, love, solidarity, and brotherhood, which the whole world so badly needs today,' Sheinbaum said at her morning briefing, Anadolu reports.

What Le Pen said

Le Pen, a representative of the far-right National Rally party and a member of the National Assembly, launched her campaign over the weekend with a tough statement on security — coming after the United States moved toward designating Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations. 'We will not allow France to slide into Mexicanization through the presence of cartels. We will eradicate these criminal organizations without hesitation, treating them as terrorists,' she said.

A contradiction with the Europol report

As Anadolu notes, the latest Europol report does indeed record the growing presence and influence of Latin American criminal groups in the EU, primarily in drug trafficking, and their alliances with local mafias. However, the report does not mention Mexican cartels: it names Colombia's Clan del Golfo, Brazil's Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), and Ecuador's Los Lobos cartel. At the same time, according to the outlet, Mexican organizations, including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Sinaloa cartel, have in recent months been reported as operating in France; the latter was linked to a methamphetamine lab dismantled by the gendarmerie last year.

A term with a history and Mexico's reaction

French politicians have used the word 'Mexicanization' for several years now: in 2024, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau used it while warning of a rising wave of violence after a shooting at a restaurant. At the time, it provoked outrage among Mexican officials, and the Mexican Embassy in France issued a statement saying that such an expression 'not only stigmatizes and stereotypes Mexico, but also retraumatizes Mexican families affected by violence,' while also ignoring the efforts of the Mexican government and undermining international cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking.