As we reported, President-elect Donald Trump was threatening tariffs on Mexico in order to get more cooperation when it came to stopping the influx of illegal aliens and drugs at the border.
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The Mexican president wrote a letter back to Trump. Then Democrats began flipping out, claiming tariffs were going to drive up the prices of things like avocados. Never mind that under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, prices for everyday items like groceries skyrocketed, and people were paying far more every month.
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On Wednesday, Trump then announced he “just had a wonderful conversation with the new President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo” and that she “has agreed to stop Migration through Mexico and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern border.” He said that Mexico would be stopping people immediately, and this would go a long way to stopping illegal immigration into the U.S.
“We 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,” Trump said, saying the talk had been “very productive.”
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Sheinbaum described it as an “excellent conversation” on X that Mexico was taking care of the caravans in Mexico and that they’d also be “strengthening collaboration on security issues” and on the drug issue.
I had an excellent conversation with President Donald Trump. We discussed Mexico’s strategy on the migration phenomenon and I shared that caravans are not arriving at the northern border because they are being taken care of in Mexico.
We also discussed 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.
She elaborated further later in the day.
In a post on X, Sheinbaum said she explained the “comprehensive strategy” Mexico has employed to address the “the migration phenomenon, respecting human rights.”
“Thanks to this, migrants and caravans are assisted before they reach the border,” she wrote. “We reiterate that Mexico’s position is not to close borders but to build bridges between governments and between peoples.”
Nothing was said in the two leaders’ various remarks on Wednesday about the status of the tariffs.
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That may depend on how this all shakes out and if she actually comes through with more positive movement on the issues. We’ll have to see exactly where they are in practical fact as this proceeds.
Bottom line? Neither of them really wants bad relations but they each have an interest in resolving the problems. The purpose of threatening tariffs is to apply pressure. Trump was able to deal with Mexico before to help the issue, and he’s showing he can do it again, even before he’s back in office, despite Biden derailing the things he had previously achieved. Trump implemented the “Remain in Mexico” policy and pushed Mexico to do more to interdict people on their own southern border during his prior time in office.