MEXICO CITY — MEXICO CITY (AP) — President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico said on Saturday that U.S. President Donald Trump proposed sending American troops into Mexico to help her administration fight drug trafficking but that she rejected it.

Her remarks to supporters in eastern Mexico came in response to a Wall Street Journal article published the day before, describing a tense phone call last month in which Trump reportedly pressured her to accept a bigger role for the U.S. military in combating drug cartels in Mexico.

“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.'”

She added: “Sovereignty is not for sale. Sovereignty is loved and defended.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sheinbaum’s remarks.

The U.S. military presence has increased steadily along its southern border with Mexico in recent months, following Trump’s order in January to increase the army’s role in stemming the flow of migrants.

The U.S. Northern Command has surged troops and equipment to the border, increased manned surveillance flights to monitor fentanyl trafficking along the border and sought expanded authority for U.S. Special Forces to work closely with Mexican forces conducting operations against cartels.

Trump designated many of the gangs and cartels smuggling drugs into the U.S. as foreign terrorist organizations on Feb. 19, restricting their movements and lending law enforcement more resources to act against them.

But Sheinbaum’s hardline stance Saturday signaled that U.S. pressure for unilateral military intervention would put her and Trump on a collision course after months of cooperation on immigration and trade.

“We can work together, but you in your territory and us in ours,” Sheinbaum said.

To a burst of applause, she added: “We will never accept the presence of the United States military in our territory.”

TAPACHULA, Mexico — Eleven clandestine graves with the bodies of 15 men were located in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, where a dispute between the Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación drug cartels is taking place, local authorities said Sunday.

Chiapas Gov. Eduardo Ramírez Aguilar said on his social media channels that the findings came as the result of a raid in the city of La Concordia, near Mexico ‘s border with Guatemala. He said four people connected to the case had been arrested with weapons and drugs.

The state prosecutor’s office said in a statement that the raid took place in two different properties. The first site had three bodies in three graves and in the second, eight graves with 12 bodies.

“It is worth mentioning that for these operations technological tools such as drones and geo-radars were used, in addition to aerial overflight, ground search, field forensics, back-excavation and drills,” it said.

Chiapas Prosecutor General Jorge Luis Llaven Abarca said last week that another clandestine grave with charred bodies was found in Emiliano Zapata, neighboring La Concordia, but did not give more details because of the poor state of the bodies for identification.

The dispute over drug routes, migrant trafficking and weapons has left more than 10,000 people displaced in recent years, including Mexicans fleeing to Guatemala, according to reports from humanitarian organizations.