Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on June 2 publicly rebuked US Ambassador Ronald Johnson, telling him to "respect Mexico's internal affairs" and confine himself to bilateral coordination topics, while separately absolving President Donald Trump of personally directing what she called an "interference campaign" against her government.

The exchange followed Johnson's post on X saying "every moment we dedicate to turning this shared security challenge into a political discussion is a lost opportunity to strengthen our cooperation," after Sheinbaum's June 1 anniversary rally speech accusing Washington of interference. "It is important that the ambassador stay on bilateral matters and respect the internal affairs of our country, because Mexico's affairs correspond to Mexicans," Sheinbaum said at her morning press conference.

In a notable distinction, Sheinbaum said she did not believe Trump himself was driving the pressure campaign. "I confess that I do not believe it is President Trump who has led this offensive. It is sectors of the American far right who want there to be no good relationship," she said, a framing analysts said allowed her to preserve the carefully cultivated bilateral relationship with the US leader while channelling domestic anger.

Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera of George Mason University told AFP the sovereignty rhetoric served a dual domestic purpose: rallying supporters amid corruption allegations against party figures and deflecting accountability over Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya's cartel links. "Trump has a big megaphone, and if she directly accuses Trump it will come down on her," she said.

The tensions stem from last month's controversial CIA operation on Mexican soil in which two agents died without government authorisation, and from US indictments against Rocha Moya and nine other officials over alleged cartel ties. Mexico is set to hold midterm elections in 2027, including gubernatorial races in more than half its 32 states.