Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday she has decided not to pursue a civil lawsuit against tech billionaire Elon Musk over his social media posts accusing her of taking orders from drug cartels, though she left the door open if his attacks continue.
“I took the decision — my decision, really — to finally not file, not present the civil complaint in this case,” Sheinbaum said at her daily morning press conference at the National Palace. “We’ll see. If it continues, then we’ll reevaluate.”
The dispute has its roots in late February, when Musk responded to a 2025 video of Sheinbaum circulating on his platform, X, in which she argued against returning to a full-scale militarized war on drugs. When a user commented that Sheinbaum was “a cartel plant,” Musk replied that she was “just saying what her cartel bosses tell her to say.” He offered no evidence to support the claim.
The posts came days after the Feb. 22 military operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco, that killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes — known as “El Mencho” — the longtime leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación, CJNG) and one of the world’s most wanted criminals. The U.S. had offered a $15 million reward for his capture. American intelligence support contributed to the operation, which the White House called a major victory against fentanyl trafficking. The killing triggered a violent CJNG backlash across more than 20 Mexican states — roadblocks, arson attacks, and armed confrontations with security forces that left at least 25 National Guard members dead.
Sheinbaum initially called the cartel-ties allegation “absurd” and said her legal team was reviewing options. At the time she noted, pointedly, that Musk was accusing her of taking orders from a cartel her own military had just taken down.
On Wednesday she stepped back from the legal threat but used the occasion to open a broader debate about the role of social media platforms in public life.
“It is a major discussion — where does freedom of expression end and where does attacking someone begin?” she said. She added that platforms like X operate beyond national jurisdictions, making regulation complicated. “They are international platforms. But it is a very good debate and I think it is essential that it takes place in our country.”
Sheinbaum’s Women’s Secretary, Citlalli Hernández, added a pointed detail: while Google, Meta, and TikTok have all signed protocols with the Mexican government to combat digital violence against women, X declined to participate. “X argued it has no offices in Mexico and did not take part in the meetings — despite being one of the platforms where this type of violence is most common,” Hernández said.
Digital violence and children’s screen time
Sheinbaum broadened the conversation further, flagging the growing global debate around children’s exposure to social media. She cited evidence linking heavy platform use to anxiety in young people, and said Mexico needs an open national discussion on the subject.
“I’m not saying we should sanction it or restrict it,” she said. “But it has been demonstrated that very long hours on these platforms generate anxiety problems in children.”
Education Secretary Mario Delgado echoed those concerns earlier this week, noting that at least 79 countries have adopted some form of regulation on mobile device use in schools, and that UNESCO recommends banning phones from classrooms to reduce distraction and improve learning outcomes.
A wider backdrop
Sheinbaum’s security record has drawn scrutiny since El Mencho’s death, but polls suggest most Mexicans backed the operation. A survey conducted after the raid found that roughly seven in 10 respondents viewed the military action favorably, and nearly half said their approval of the president increased as a result.
Her administration has differed from that of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who favored a nonconfrontational approach to organized crime. Under Sheinbaum, homicides linked to organized crime fell 16 percent nationally in 2025 compared to the previous year, according to consulting firm Lantia Consultores. Earlier this year, she deployed nearly 10,000 National Guard troops to the northern border to combat fentanyl trafficking amid U.S. tariff pressure.
Musk, who owns X and has been a close ally of the Trump administration, has made repeated interventions in Mexican politics. Al Jazeera reported that when Sheinbaum first raised the possibility of legal action, she described the narco-government accusation as “demonstrably false.”
Wednesday’s announcement did not close the matter entirely. Sheinbaum said the episode could be a model for how Mexico tackles the question of digital violence — and that she herself might be among the first to use a new government reporting mechanism designed to help women document and act on online attacks.
Quick facts
- Claudia Sheinbaum has been president of Mexico since October 2024
- Elon Musk owns X (formerly Twitter), where the disputed posts were published
- Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes (“El Mencho”) was killed Feb. 22 in a military operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco
- The CJNG — Jalisco New Generation Cartel — responded to his death with attacks across more than 20 states
- At least 25 National Guard members were killed in the aftermath of the operation
- The U.S. offered a $15 million reward for El Mencho’s capture; American intelligence supported the operation
- Mexico’s Education Secretary says 79 countries have adopted some form of school mobile phone restriction
- X declined to participate in Mexico’s government protocol on digital violence against women
Sources: Diario de Yucatán, Reuters, Al Jazeera, El Financiero