In the days that followed a Feb. 22, 2026, operation by Mexico's federal forces that led to the death of drug trafficking boss Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera Cervantes of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a rumor spread that the country's President Claudia Sheinbaum said a war on the "narco" (drug trafficking) would be unlawful, and calls to resume such a war were "fascism."
A number of social media posts made the claim. One said this was proof "she is owned by the cartels" (archived):
Several posts suggested Sheinbaum said this during a news conference she gave on Feb. 23, the day after the operation, criticizing her words in light of the death toll among Mexico's forces. (The operation led to the death of at least 25 members of Mexico's National Guard, according to reputable news outlets.)
It is true Sheinbaum said a military war against Mexico's drug traffickers would be unlawful and authoritarian. She also said that calls to do so were a step towards fascism. However, she said these words in November 2025 — not February 2026. Therefore we've rated this claim a correct attribution that is missing some necessary context.
On Nov. 5, 2025, Sheinbaum answered reporters' questions at the National Palace in Mexico City. One reporter asked her to comment on an incident in the Mexican Senate the day before. As she discussed the recent assassination of Uarapán Mayor Carlos Manzo, Sen. María Lilly Téllez, who represents an opposition party, insulted Sen. Gerardo Fernández Noroña, a member of Sheinbaum's party, from the Senate's dais. Manzo, an independent, had been elected on a plan to fight organized crime. Téllez had called for months for the war on drug traffickers to resume.
Sheinbaum declined to comment on the altercation. Instead, she chose to criticize Téllez's stance on how to deal with drug traffickers. Téllez had repeatedly called for the Mexican government to treat "narcos" as terrorists and to "respond with a war." In a lengthy response, translated and edited here for brevity, Sheinbaum said this war would be authoritarian and extrajudicial (starting at the 55:44 mark of this video):
What stands out is the call for war against drug trafficking, because yes, we are different, we defend different national projects, which is the bottom line, beyond the rhetoric and the way they speak, what we represent, they represent a return to the past, to the war against drug trafficking, to corruption, to privileges.
[…]
Returning to the war on drugs is not an option. It is not an option. First, because it is outside the framework of the law. All these people on the right keep talking about the rule of law, then defend the war on drugs. The war on drugs is outside the law because, as I have said on several occasions, it is permission to kill without trial. And in Mexico, no one or very few people agree with that; it is outside the framework of the law. And second, it served no purpose other than to increase homicides in Mexico and the level of violence.
So, these authoritarian calls — because they are authoritarian — tend towards fascism, where there is no rule of law and where everything is extrajudicial and where state violence is imposed. That is true authoritarianism, the return to the war on drugs, because they say we are authoritarian. No, we defend the law and, of course, the work that needs to be done to continue pacifying the country and reducing high-impact crimes.
But that is what lies beneath, beyond the use of bombastic words and profanity.
El Mencho's death unleashed a wave of violence across the country as his cartel retaliated. Sheinbaum called for calm and offered her condolences to the families of the 25 guards who lost their lives during her Feb. 23 news conference.