The elected president of the United States, Donald Trumpannounced this Wednesday that Mexico agreed to take immediate measures to stop migration towards the southern border of his country, a step that he considers key to stopping what he calls a “illegal invasion”.
“Mexico will detain people heading to our southern border, effective immediately. This will go a long way in stopping the illegal invasion of the United States. Thank you!”Trump expressed in a message on his social network Truth Social.
These words followed a telephone conversation between Trump and the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, who, however, did not fully endorse Trump’s claim about the scope of the agreement.
“I just had a wonderful conversation with the new president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum PardoTrump said, adding that the president “has agreed to stop migration through Mexico and into the United States, effectively closing our southern border.”
Sheinbaum, through his social networks, explained that the dialogue focused on Mexico’s strategy against the migration phenomenonhighlighting that the migrant caravans are not reaching the northern border, since they are being attended to in Mexican territory.
He mentioned that other cooperation issues were discussed, such as the fight against fentanyl trafficking.
“We also talked about strengthening collaboration on security issues within the framework of our sovereignty and the campaign we are carrying out in the country to prevent the consumption of fentanyl,” Sheinbaum indicated in his publication, which he accompanied with a photo next to Juan Ramón de la Fuente, current Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs.
The Mexican president highlighted that drug cartels operate mainly to supply consumption in the United States, which, according to her, should be resolved through collaboration between both countries, not through punitive measures.
However, Trump’s transition team has not provided additional information about a specific agreement with Mexico.
The American president-elect also reiterated his decision to imposer tariffs on products from Mexico, Canada and Chinain an attempt to pressure those countries to comply with their demands regarding border security and the fight against drug trafficking.
“This tariff will remain in effect until drugs, particularly fentanyl, and all illegal immigrants stop this invasion of our country”Trump posted, referring to a possible 25% increase in taxes on Mexican and Canadian imports, and 10% on Chinese goods.
The Mexican government reacted quickly to Trump’s statements, through the economy minister Marcelo Ebrardwho warned that the imposition of tariffs could have serious economic consequences, with the loss of up to 400,000 jobs in the United Statesespecially in the automotive sector, which depends on production in Mexico.
Furthermore, Ebrard explained that American consumers would be affected by a increase of up to $3,000 in the price of vehicles manufactured in Mexico due to these tariffs.
For its part, China also rejected trade threats, warning that a trade war would not benefit any of the parties involved.
(With information from EFE and AFP)
