( CNN ) -- Texas Gov . Rick Perry 's suggestion that the United States may send troops to fight Mexican drug cartels riled officials and spurred debate from analysts on both sides of the border Monday . Mexico 's top representative in the United States rejected the idea , which the Republican presidential candidate mentioned at a New Hampshire campaign stop Saturday . Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan told reporters his country 's longstanding opposition to the presence of American forces had not changed . `` The matter of the participation or presence of U.S. troops on Mexican soil is not on the table , '' Sarukhan said Monday . `` It is not a component that forms part of the innovative approaches that Mexico and the United States have been using to confront transnational organized crime . '' Perry said Saturday that leaders from Mexico and the United States should meet after next year 's elections to address the deadly drug trade . `` It may require our military in Mexico working in concert with them to kill these drug cartels and to keep them off of our border , '' he said . Analysts in the United States and Mexico said the controversial idea could have significant political consequences and security implications -- even as a political campaign proposal . `` It may be well-intentioned , but it has the potential of really undermining cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico , '' said Eric L. Olson , who studies security relationships between the neighboring countries at the Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington . The United States admits its drug market plays a role in fueling violence in Mexico , and has pledged $ 1.4 billion in assistance through the so-called Merida Initiative , which includes programs to help train Mexican military , police and justice officials . `` If there 's a perception in Mexico that this is all designed somehow as a backdoor entry into Mexico by the U.S. , if there 's a perception that this is leading to the United States ' direct intervention into Mexico , it puts at risk all those cooperative efforts , '' Olson said . George W. Grayson -- author of `` Mexico : Narco-Violence and a Failed State ? '' -- described Perry 's proposal as `` absolute , unadulterated nonsense . '' `` The first thing you 'd have to fight is the Mexican Army if you sent troops in there . It 's ludicrous , '' he said . Even if they do n't gain traction , Perry 's comments will likely resonate in campaign rhetoric beyond the United States ' borders , as presidential campaigns in Mexico are also kicking into high gear , Grayson said . `` Typically this is a time of nationalism and breast-beating by candidates . ... The politicians are the ones who are going to walk all over it . They 're going to say , 'See , the gringos are coming after us , ' '' he said . Several Mexican lawmakers -- who the country 's constitution says would need to approve any presence of U.S. soldiers -- expressed concern about Perry 's comments Monday . Institutional Revolutionary Party Sen. Maria de los Angeles Moreno said U.S. troops in Mexico would be a clear `` aggression . '' `` We must make an effort to face our own challenge , the violence of the criminals and the organized crime groups , but with our own forces and always maintaining the control of our territory , '' said Sen. Carlos Navarrete of the left-wing Democratic Revolution Party . But security analyst Pablo Monzalvo said when it comes to U.S. involvement , some Mexican officials are prone to double speak -- allowing U.S.-led measures to occur even as they speak out against them . Earlier this year Mexico 's foreign minister fielded questions from angry lawmakers who said U.S. surveillance of Mexican territory -- aimed at detecting criminal groups -- was illegal . `` There is interference ... and this has been said publicly . But I ask myself what has been accomplished by ceding a certain amount of authority , '' Monzalvo said . Perry , who was first elected governor of Texas in 2002 , has faced criticism from opponents who have attacked his conservative bona fides on illegal immigration at a series of debates this fall . `` He 's trying to compensate and say , 'Yeah , I 'm really tough on Mexico , ' but I think he 's overcompensated , '' said Grayson , who is also a professor of government at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg , Virginia . This is n't the first time Perry has called for greater force fighting drug cartels . Last year he asked U.S. President Barack Obama to send 1,000 additional National Guard troops to the border . `` We must show the cartels that Washington will no longer tolerate their terrorizing and criminalizing the border region , '' he wrote in a letter to the president . Troops crossing the border , however , is a different matter , Olson said . `` No Mexican wants the U.S. to send its military troops . ... They welcome cooperation and they welcome the U.S. accepting responsibility for its role , but they do n't welcome the notion of sending troops . That 's crossing a line , '' he said . CNN 's Isabel Morales and Rachel Streitfeld contributed to this report .
The Texas governor says fighting the drug trade ` ` and require our presence in Mexico '' Mexico 's ambassador says the presence of American troops ` ` is not on the table '' The idea could have serious political and economic implications , some say . Analyst : Sending troops could undermine cooperation between the neighboring countries .