Sheinbaum brushes off Trump’s cartel claims, sets meeting with King of Spain: Thursday’s mañanera recapped

Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds

🇺🇸🇲🇽 Trump’s ‘cartels run Mexico’ claim rebutted: Responding to remarks Trump made at the G7 in France — including that “the cartels run Mexico” and that the Mexican president is “a very scared woman” — Sheinbaum asserted that Trump “is not well-informed” and urged calm, saying her government can’t get hung up on every statement by the U.S. president.

👑🇪🇸 Meeting with King of Spain confirmed: Sheinbaum announced she will receive King Felipe VI at the National Palace next Thursday, the day before Spain’s World Cup match against Uruguay in Guadalajara. She said the conversation will center on the importance of Mexico’s Indigenous peoples throughout history — consistent with her longstanding call, shared by her predecessor, for Spain to apologize for abuses committed during the conquest and colonial period.

⚽🇲🇽 Good luck to El Tri: Sheinbaum opened the press conference by polling reporters on the outcome of Thursday night’s Mexico–South Korea match in Guadalajara, before declaring that the majority expected a Mexican win. She wished the team and all Mexicans good luck, and revealed she plans to watch the game from the National Palace.

Why today’s mañanera matters

Ahead of the Mexico vs. South Korea World Cup match in Guadalajara on Thursday night, President Claudia Sheinbaum once again found herself in the position of having to respond to disparaging remarks made by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Sheinbaum — who has maintained an amiable relationship with Trump despite his repeated threats toward Mexico and the slurs he has made about her — sought to play down the significance of the U.S. president’s remarks, including a claim that “the cartels run Mexico,” while defending her government and the officials who serve in it.

Sheinbaum remained diplomatic in her response, apparently not wanting to inflame an already strained bilateral security relationship, but did make a significant remark — and a slight — in saying that Trump is “not well-informed” about the situation in Mexico.

Also of note at today’s mañanera was Sheinbaum’s confirmation that she will meet with King Felipe VI of Spain next week, and her message of good luck to El Tri, as Mexico’s men’s football team is commonly called.

Sheinbaum says Trump is ‘not well-informed’ after he claimed ‘cartels run Mexico’

A reporter asked the president about the Mexico-related remarks Trump made at the G7 Summit in France on Wednesday.

During a press conference, Trump said that “Mexico has lost control of their country” and “the cartels run Mexico.”

🚨#Ahora | Donald Trump insiste: “Los cárteles gobiernan México, es triste”.

“La presidenta es una mujer muy buena”, dice sobre Claudia Sheinbaum desde el G7. “Pero es una mujer muy asustada”.

pic.twitter.com/XBKs2cO86D

— Azucena Uresti (@azucenau) June 17, 2026

He also said that Sheinbaum “is a very good woman,” but “a very scared woman.”

“The drug cartels are totally running Mexico. It’s not even close,” Trump said.

Sheinbaum noted that the U.S. president has made the same remarks in the past, before saying — as she has said before — that Trump has his own unique way of communicating.

“We can’t get hung up on every statement,” she said.

“But the people of Mexico know we’re working, that’s what matters to me,” Sheinbaum said.

“The people of Mexico know that every day we give our minds, hearts and souls [to the tasks at hand] — everything, for the people of Mexico,” she said.

Pushed on Trump’s assertion that the Mexican government has “lost control” of the country, Sheinbaum responded that the U.S. president “is not well-informed.”

🇺🇸🇲🇽“No hay que engancharse en cada declaración”: la presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum afirmó que su gobierno no quiere ni debe entrar en debate con el presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump.

Esto luego de sus declaraciones en el G7, desde donde dijo que la presidenta está… pic.twitter.com/N9cQnV2v9t

— Azucena Uresti (@azucenau) June 18, 2026

“… The Mexican state exists,” she said, adding that she conveyed that message to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin during his visit to Mexico City last month.

Sheinbaum said she told Mullin:

“Here you have [Security Minister] Omar García Harfuch, who was on the verge of losing his life due to a criminal group [attack]. And who after this attack, decided to continue dedicating his life to public service and the people of Mexico.”

Sheinbaum said she also pointed out to Mullin the dedication and commitment of National Defense Minister Ricardo Trevilla Trejo and Navy Minister Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles to the security and protection of Mexico.

In addition, she said she presented the security results her government has achieved to the homeland security secretary, among which is a significant decline in homicides.

Sheinbaum confirms meeting with the king of Spain

Sheinbaum said that she will meet with King Felipe VI of Spain at the National Palace next Thursday, the day before Spain’s World Cup match against Uruguay in Guadalajara, which the king will attend.

She said she and the king would speak about Indigenous people — “the importance of the people of Mexico throughout history, since before the Spanish arrived and now.”

Sheinbaum said she would speak to the king about “the value” Mexico’s Indigenous people “represent to the country.” She said she and the monarch would also speak about “other things,” but told reporters a formal agenda has not yet been set.

Like her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Sheinbaum has called for an apology from Spain for abuses committed during the fall of Tenochtitlán and the colonial period.

Earlier this year, King Felipe VI acknowledged that during the Spanish conquest and colonization of America, “there were significant abuses” and “moral and ethical controversies.” Those remarks amounted to an unprecedented statement on the matter for a king of Spain.

Sheinbaum wishes El Tri good luck ahead of World Cup match against South Korea

“Ready for the match,” Sheinbaum asked reporters at the start of her press conference.

“What’s the prediction?” she asked.

“… Who votes that la selección [Mexico’s national team] will win?” Sheinbaum asked before determining that the majority of the press corps believe El Tri will prevail.

The president wished “good luck with affection” to the Mexican team, and “all Mexicans.”

Sheinbaum said she planned to watch the Mexico-South Korea match at the National Palace, where she lives and works.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])