Donald Trump has blasted Mexico’s president, saying she was “afraid of the cartels” in her country.

The US president said he thought his Mexican counterpart Claudia Sheinbaum was a “lovely woman” but that she “can’t even think straight” because of her fears of organised gangs in the country.

Speaking on Sunday evening aboard Air Force One, Trump said he had offered President Sheinbaum US assistance to combat the “evil” cartels, which he said were “trying to destroy our country”.

Sheinbaum rejected an offer of military help but welcomed American intelligence sharing on cartels, saying her country can “collaborate” with the US.

However, she said any assistance from America would need to come “with you in your territory and us in ours”.

Trump said: “She’s so afraid of the cartels she can’t walk, so you know that’s the reason. And I think she’s a lovely woman. The president of Mexico is a lovely woman, but she is so afraid of the cartels she can’t even think straight.

“If Mexico wanted help with the cartels, we would be honoured to go in and do it. I told her that. I would be honoured to go in and do it. They cartels are trying to destroy our country. They’re evil.”

Last month, Trump spoke over the phone with Sheinbaum and reportedly pressured her to allow US soldier into Mexico to help fight the drug gangs which produce and smuggle the synthetic opioid fentanyl.

The drug is around 100 times more potent than morphine, while overdoses involving synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, are the leading cause of deaths in America among those aged 18 to 45.

Explaining her call with Trump, Sheinbaum said: “He said, ‘How can we help you fight drug trafficking? I propose that the United States military come in and help you.’ And you know what I said to him? ‘No, President Trump. Sovereignty is not for sale. Sovereignty is loved and defended.”

Sheinbaum has been dealing with a security crisis in Mexico and is caught in the midst of a territorial battle among competing drug cartels.

Trump has claimed his recent tariffs policy, which initially targeted Mexico and Canada, was due to the high rate of fentanyl crossing the US border.

NBC News reported his administration considered the idea of launching drone strikes on Mexican cartels, but security officials agreed they would need the consent of Sheinbaum’s government to do so.