President Trump has voiced support for U.S. attacks inside Mexico and Colombia. This comes as Trump is refusing to rule out sending in ground troops to Venezuela. The New York Times reports Trump has also signed off on CIA plans for covert measures inside Venezuela, possibly to prepare the battlefield for a wider war. However, Trump has also reportedly reopened back-channel communications with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. has recently amassed over 15,000 troops in the region and bombed over 20 boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific. The U.S. has claimed the boats were carrying drugs, but no proof has been offered. On Tuesday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded to Trump’s threats.

President Claudia Sheinbaum: “We’ve said this with the State Department, with Marco Rubio, and they have understood, so much so that the understanding we have with them is one of collaboration and coordination. And the first points make very clear the respect for sovereignty, respect for our territoriality, and that there is collaboration and coordination without subordination.”