Sheinbaum Defends Migrants Amid Trump's Threats by Elias Camhaji
November 20, 2024
Introduction:
(El País) President Claudia Sheinbaum has taken advantage of the commemoration of the Mexican Revolution to recognize the contributions of the migrant community in the United States. “Our countrymen and women are heroes and heroines, workers who support their families and the Mexican economy, but also, let it be heard loud and clear, they contribute to the United States economy,” the president said on Wednesday.
Sheinbaum's statements come in a context of uncertainty and nervousness over the return of Donald Trump to the White House and his proposal to carry out mass deportations and raids that would affect hundreds of thousands of immigrants each year.
There are more than five million undocumented Mexican immigrants in the United States, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Since taking office on October 1, Sheinbaum said that offering protection to Mexican migrants was at the top of the priorities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mexican consular network in the United States, the largest of any country in the world. Trump said that his intention is to deport around a million migrants each year. Although specialists have questioned Washington's ability to fulfill that campaign promise, the victory of the Republican majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives will allow Trump to have more power and resources to carry out the threats, which puts hundreds of thousands of people in the crosshairs, even those who have lived in that country for years.
Although Trump will take office in two months, on January 20, Mexico has already begun working on a strategy to temper Trump’s hardline stance on migration and trade. Sheinbaum said last week that she was working on a document to highlight the contributions of migrants to the economies of both countries. Specialists on both sides of the border have warned that mass deportations would have a negative impact on various sectors of the US economy, such as the agricultural sector. “We are among the best workers in the fields, in construction, in services, in tourism, professionals, scientists,” the president said in her speech.
Mexico's President Would Impose Retaliatory Tariffs in Response to Trump's Plan by April Rubin
November 26, 2024
Introduction:
(Axios) Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday that she would impose tariffs in retaliation to those proposed by President-elect Trump in a newly outlined plan for the start of his administration.
Why it matters: Leaders from Mexico, China and Canada have all argued that the U.S. and their countries mutually benefit from cooperative trade agreements.
Catch up quick: Trump on Monday said he would impose new tariffs to stop the flow of drugs and migrants.
• A tariff of 25% of all goods coming from Canada and Mexico would take effect on Jan. 20. Imports from China would face a 10% tariff above any additional tariffs.
Additional Extract:
Zoom in: "Among Mexico's main exporters to the United States are General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford Motor Company, which arrived in Mexico 80 years ago," Sheinbaum said in a Tuesday letter to Trump.
Trump Says He Spoke to Mexico's President About Ending Migration Into U.S. by Sareen Habeshian
November 27, 2024
Introduction:
(Axios) President-elect Trump said Wednesday he spoke to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum about stopping migration into the U.S.
The big picture: It comes a day after the recently-inaugurated Sheinbaum said she would impose tariffs in retaliation to those proposed by Trump.
• The U.S. president-elect said this week he would impose a 25% tariff on all goods coming from Mexico and Canada, as well as additional tariffs for China, in order to stop the flow of drugs and migrants, effective Jan. 20.
State of play: Trump said in a post on Truth Social Wednesday that he had "a wonderful conversation" with Sheinbaum, claiming she "agreed to stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border."
• He said they also talked about "what can be done to stop the massive drug inflow into the United States, and also, U.S. consumption of these drugs."
• Sheinbaum in her own statement earlier Wednesday said she and Trump discussed Mexico's strategy on migration and that she told him caravans are not arriving at the northern border as they're being taken care of in Mexico.
• The Mexican president said they also discussed strengthening collaboration on security issues and a campaign to prevent the consumption of fentanyl.
caltrek's comment: What is even funny is how Trump will now claim credit for forcing Sheinbaum to cooperate with U.S. efforts to stop migration from Central America and stopping the inflow of drugs. It is quite evident that Sheinbaum would have been equally willing to cooperate in such matters with a Harris administration and was already proceeding to do so with Biden.
Mexico will accept mass deportations from US, but does not want non-Mexicans - Sheinbaum
Faced with the prospect of mass deportations across the US-Mexico border, Sheinbaum said her administration is setting up meetings with Mexican border states governors — Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas — so “we can agree on how to receive our compatriots.”
“We hope [mass deportations] don’t happen, but if they do, we will be ready to receive them,” she said.
Faced with Trump’s Tariffs − and Crackdowns on Migration and Narcotrafficking − Mexico is Weighing Retaliatory Options by Scott Morgenstein
December 31, 2024
Introduction:
(The Conversation) Donald Trump has made clear his intent to supercharge his “America First” approach to foreign policy in his second term – and Mexico looks set to be at the tip of the spear.
While many of Trump’s predecessors have also followed a “realist” strategy – that is, one where relative power is at the forefront of international relations, while diplomatic success is viewed through how it benefits one’s own nation – the incoming president has displayed an apparent unwillingness to consider the pain that his plans would inflict on targeted countries or the responses this will engender.
Trump’s proposed policies threaten Mexico in three key ways: First, his goal of deporting millions of migrants would put tremendous pressure on Mexico’s economy and society as the country tried to absorb the influx. This would be exacerbated by his second threat, a sharp increase in tariffs, which could devastate the critical export sector of Mexico’s economy. And third, Trump has floated the idea of using U.S. military power to confront narcotraffickers within Mexico, which would directly impinge on Mexico’s sovereignty and could generate more violence on both sides of the border.
But as a scholar of Latin American politics and U.S.-Latin American relations, I see several options that Mexico could use to push back on Trump by imposing high costs on U.S. interests.
Indeed, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has already signaled how she may counter Trump’s policies. The most obvious tools are ending cooperation on drugs and immigration and imposing tariffs of her own. She could also revoke some of the decades-old tax and labor privileges that have benefited U.S. businesses operating within Mexico. And finally, she could play the “China card” – that is, in the face of worsening U.S.-Mexico ties, Mexico could turn to Washington’s biggest economic rival at a time when Beijing is seeking to assert more influence across Latin America.
Mexico to Send Water to Texas Amid Trump Tariff Threats by Filip Timotija
April 12, 2025
Introduction:
(The Hill) Mexico will facilitate an “immediate” delivery of water to farmers in Texas to help shore up resources amid President Trump’s tariff threats, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Friday.
“For Texas farmers who are requesting water, there will be an immediate delivery of a certain number of millions of cubic meters that can be provided according to the water availability in the Rio Grande,” Sheinbaum told reporters on Friday.
The U.S. and Mexico have been tangled in dispute regarding a 1944 treaty that stipulates that Mexico City send 1.75 million acre-feet of water to the U.S. from the Rio Grande River every five years. In return, the U.S. sends 1.5 million acre-feet of water every year to Mexico from the Colorado River.
Mexico missed the latest deadline, sparking tension between the North American neighbors. Trump on Thursday threatened to slap additional tariffs and potential sanctions on Mexico if the delivery of the water was not completed, stating the delay is “hurting South Texas Farmers very badly.”
“I will make sure Mexico doesn’t violate our Treaties, and doesn’t hurt our Texas Farmers,” the president said. “Just last month, I halted water shipments to Tijuana until Mexico complies with the 1944 Water Treaty.”
Trump tells Mexican president he wants U.S. troops to fight drug cartels
Source: Los Angeles Times
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s leader said Saturday that she rejected an offer by President Trump to send U.S. troops into her country to fight drug cartels.
Speaking at a public event, President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed a report published Friday in the Wall Street Journal that said that Trump had pressured Mexico to allow more U.S. military involvement in the drug war.
“It’s true,” Sheinbaum said. She said that on “some” private calls with the American leader in recent months, Trump said: “How can we help you fight drug trafficking? I propose that the United States Army enter to help you.”
Sheinbaum said she rebuffed his proposal, saying: “No, President Trump, our territory is inalienable, sovereignty is inalienable ... We can collaborate, we can work together, but with you in your territory and us in ours. We can share information, but we will never accept the presence of the United States Army on our territory.”
-snip-
By Kate Linthicum
Staff Writer
May 3, 2025 12:25 PM PT
Trump blasts Mexico’s Sheinbaum for rejecting offer to send US troops into Mexico to fight cartels
By AAMER MADHANI
Updated 10:09 PM EDT, May 4, 2025
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday said Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected his proposal to send U.S. troops to Mexico to help thwart the illegal drug trade because she is fearful of the country’s powerful cartels.
The comments by Trump came a day after Sheinbaum confirmed that Trump pressed her in a call last month to accept a bigger role for the U.S. military in combating drug cartels in Mexico.
Trump said it was “true” that he proposed sending the troops to Mexico and lashed into Sheinbaum for dismissing the idea.
“Well she’s so afraid of the cartels she can’t walk, so you know that’s the reason,” Trump said in comments to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday. “And I think she’s a lovely woman. The president of Mexico is a lovely woman, but she is so afraid of the cartels that she can’t even think straight.”
U.S. Gun Trafficking to Mexico: Independent Gun Shops Supply the Most Dangerous Weapons by Sean Campbell
May 23, 2025
Introduction:
(The Conversation) A gunsmith from a rural town, a former Marine, and half a dozen others were under investigation in San Antonio, Texas, starting in the summer of 2018 for trafficking more than half a million dollars worth of guns and ammunition to the Cartel del Noreste, a drug cartel prominent in northeast Mexico with connections to former Mexican soldiers.
Jose J. Soto Jr. was in the U.S. Armed Forces from 2004 to 2015, including a stint with the elite Army Rangers. He came on Homeland Security Investigations’ radar around 2017 for working with a human trafficker and gunrunner for the cartel.
Through 2018, Soto and gunsmith Brian Morris purchased hundreds of rifles, including .50-caliber Barretts. Morris often purchased the rifles or their parts, built them out into unserialized “ghost” machine guns and sold them to Soto. Soto flipped the weapons to Cartel del Noreste, also commonly referred to as the Northeast cartel.
The gun dealer Zeroed In Armory sold more than 170 firearms to Morris over eight months. Two were later recovered at Mexican crime scenes. A federal agent reviewed invoices totaling US$122,225 in weapons sales to Morris, but Zeroed In continued business unencumbered.
And Zeroed In wasn’t the traffickers’ biggest supplier. CDNN Sports Inc., a firearm dealer currently based out of Abilene in central Texas, sold $280,000 worth of magazines, high-powered ammunition and assault rifles to Soto. Soto flipped the weapons to the cartel.
Mexico Rejects Trump's Reported Military Plan Against Drug Cartels By Nadine Yousif
August 9, 2025
Introduction:
(BBC) Mexico has said US military would not be entering its territory following reports that President Donald Trump had directed the Pentagon to target Latin American drug cartels.
"The United States is not going to come to Mexico with the military," President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Friday. "We co-operate, we collaborate, but there is not going to be an invasion. That is ruled out, absolutely ruled out."
The New York Times reported on Friday that Trump had secretly signed a directive to begin using military force on foreign soil.
In a statement to the BBC, the White House did not address the directive but said that Trump's "top priority is protecting the homeland".
The reported directive appears to follow an executive order signed by Trump earlier this year formally designating eight drug cartels as terrorist entities - six of which are Mexican.
firestar464 wrote: ↑Fri Aug 15, 2025 7:27 pm
Exclusive-Trump ally Erik Prince plans to keep forces in Haiti for 10 years to fight gangs and collect taxes
US military deploying over 4,000 additional troops to waters around Latin America as part of Trump's counter-cartel miss
The US military is deploying more than 4,000 Marines and sailors to the waters around Latin America and the Caribbean as part of a ramped-up effort to combat drug cartels, two US defense officials told CNN — a dramatic show of force that will give the president a broad range of military options should he want to target drug cartels.
The deployment of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit to US Southern Command, which has not been previously reported, is part of a broader repositioning of military assets to the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility that has been underway over the last three weeks, one of the officials said.
A nuclear-powered attack submarine, additional P8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft, several destroyers and a guided-missile cruiser are also being allocated to US Southern Command as part of the mission, the officials said.
A third person familiar with the matter said the additional assets are “aimed at addressing threats to US national security from specially designated narco-terrorist organizations in the region.”
