Washington DC - President Donald Trump's administration is heaping pressure on his Mexican counterpart, Claudia Sheinbaum, to open the door for US military strikes on Mexico's territory.

Since the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, the Trump administration has renewed pressure on Mexico, insisting that either Special Operation troops or CIA officers be deployed alongside Mexican soldiers during raids on fentanyl labs.

Under the proposal, revealed in an investigation by the New York Times, US forces would lead the raids, command the missions, and make most of the decisions.

Anonymous officials also said that the Trump administration has been pushing for the US to be allowed to conduct drone strikes on fentanyl labs.

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Sheinbaum has repeatedly expressed a willingness to work closely with the US government on anti-fentanyl and drug trafficking operations and has even offered up increased information sharing and responsibilities within the planning and command structure.

The active deployment of US troops onto Mexican soil, however, remains a red line, as does any form of military strikes on suspected cartel facilities.

This week, Sheinbaum told Trump during a phone call that troop deployments and US strikes were "not on the table" and urged "respect for our sovereignties."

Her comments came as a response to an appearance Trump made on Fox News last week in which he said that "we are going to start now hitting land [within Mexico], with regard to the cartels."

Last month, Mexico's security chief Omar García Harfuch cast doubt on the effectiveness of US troops on the ground, asking, "What would they be needed for? What we need is information."