The Mexican president clarifies position after Trump said she agreed to “effectively” close the southern border

On By Littum

Upper line

President Donald Trump claimed Wednesday that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has agreed to stop immigrants from reaching the U.S. southern border through Mexico — signaling a major diplomatic and political victory during a phone call with the Mexican leader — even though Sheinbaum later clarified that her country’s position was not to close borders.

Key facts

In one post On his Truth Social platform Wednesday night, Trump said he had a “wonderful conversation” with Sheinbaum, in which she agreed to “stop migration through Mexico and into the United States, effectively closing our southern border.”

In one follow-up postTrump wrote that Mexico had agreed to stop people from reaching the US southern border “with immediate effect,” adding, “THIS WILL GO A LONG WAY TOWARDS STOPPING THE ILLEGAL INVASION OF THE UNITED STATES.”

The president-elect said he and Sheinbaum also discussed what more could be done to “stop the massive flow of drugs into the United States,” something he had accused Mexico of enabling earlier this week while promising to slap 25% tariffs on all imports from the USA. country.

Shortly after the call, Sheinbaum issued a statement den X said she had an “excellent call” with Trump in which she addressed Mexico’s strategy on the migration issue and informed him that “no caravans are arriving at the (US southern) border because they are being processed in Mexico.”

In one follow up tweet after Trump’s remarks, the Mexican president said she had explained to Trump her country’s “comprehensive strategy” to address the migration issue while “respecting human rights.”

However, Sheinbaum noted that “Mexico’s position is not to close borders, but to build bridges between governments and between peoples.”

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Key background

Cracking down on the immigration of immigrants from the southern border was a key promise of Trump’s campaign, along with “mass deportations” of undocumented people already in the United States. In a post on Truth Social earlier this week, Trump said he will impose 25% tariffs on all products from Mexico and Canada as one of his first orders. In his post, Trump claimed“a caravan coming from Mexico, composed of thousands of people, appears to be unstoppable in its quest to get through our currently open border.” Trump said the tariffs would remain in place “until drugs, especially fentanyl, and all illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country!”

Key

Responding to Trump’s threat, Sheinbaum warned on Tuesday that Mexico was ready to retaliate, but cautioned that a trade war would worsen economic conditions in both countries. In a press briefing, the Mexican leader read a letter she had written to Trump, which said: “One tariff will follow another in response and so on until we put our mutual businesses at risk … What’s the point? ” Sheinbaum also noted that U.S. automakers that have plants in Mexico — including General Motors and Ford — will be particularly hard hit.

Further reading

Trump promises new tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada after accession (Forbes)