What Exactly Did President Trump Say To Mexico's Enrique Peña Nieto?

Reports were conflicting Thursday afternoon about what, exactly, President Trump said in a phone call with Mexico's President, Enrique Peña Nieto.

Both CNN and the Associated Press reported that Trump went out of his way to point out Mexico's drug problems to Peña Nieto. Precisely how he said that is in dispute.

The AP published first.

Citing an "excerpt of a transcript of the conversation," the wire service posted a story late Wednesday night that said Trump threatened a military invasion in the country to help the country get rid of the "bad hombres."

"You have a bunch of bad hombres down there," Trump told Peña Nieto, according to the AP. "You aren't doing enough to stop them. I think your military is scared. Our military isn't, so I just might send them down to take care of it."

Trump was not clear what the military action would entail, who exactly the "bad hombres" are or what they need to be stopped from doing.

Mexico initially denied that the comments were ever made.

"The negative statements you refer to did not occur during said telephone call," Mexico's Foreign Relations Department had told the AP. "On the contrary, the tone was constructive."

A White House official, speaking to ABC News, didn't deny that the comments were made and characterized them as "lighthearted."

Trump's comments were "part of a discussion about how the United States and Mexico could work collaboratively to combat drug cartels and other criminal elements, and make the border more secure," according to the White House official, ABC News reported.

CNN told a slightly different story Thursday afternoon.

Trump still made his concerns about Mexico's drug problems known but didn't threaten U.S. military intervention, according to CNN, which also cited an "excerpt of the transcript of the call."

"You have some pretty tough hombres in Mexico that you may need help with," Trump said, according to CNN's transcript. "We are willing to help with that big-league, but they have be knocked out and you have not done a good job knocking them out."

CNN, citing "sources," added that the AP's report was not based on a transcript but a "readout — written by aides — not a transcript."

Images: Donald Trump via Rick Uldricks, Patch Staff; Enrique Peña Nieto via World Economic Forum, Flickr, used under Creative Commons