Mexico City, Feb 21 (IANS) Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum signed two constitutional amendments to strengthen national sovereignty and impose harsher penalties on foreigners engaged in illegal activities in Mexico.
The move follows Washington’s decision on Wednesday to designate six Mexican drug cartels as “terrorist organisations,” a classification that could expand US legal and military actions against them, Xinhua news agency reported.
The president emphasised that while US authorities can “name things however they want,” Mexico operates on the principle of “collaboration and coordination, never subordination. No intervention, and certainly no invasion.”
“We want to make it clear that we do not negotiate sovereignty,” Sheinbaum said from the National Palace. “This cannot be an opportunity for the US to violate our sovereignty.”
One of the amendments to Article 40 of the Constitution states that “under no circumstances shall the people of Mexico accept interventions, intrusions, or any foreign act that harms the integrity, independence, or sovereignty of the nation, such as coups, election interference, or territorial violations by land, sea, air, or space.”
It also specifies that no foreign authority can conduct investigations or prosecutions within Mexico without the explicit authorisation of the Mexican state.
Another amendment to Article 19 imposes the maximum possible penalty and mandatory pretrial detention on any foreigner involved in arms trafficking or any activities violating Mexico’s sovereignty as defined in Article 40.
Sheinbaum also reiterated that Mexico’s foreign ministry is expanding its lawsuit against US gun manufacturers and distributors, accusing them of complicity in the illegal flow of weapons into Mexico, a problem acknowledged by the US Department of Justice in January.
–IANS
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