Mexico: Claudia Sheinbaum says there are no longer any caravans heading to the US following Trump's threat to double tariffs
The president explained that local authorities managed to dissuade a group of migrants who had begun marching last Tuesday.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo
The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, reported this Friday that there is no longer any migrant caravan en route to the U.S. border. The statement came a day after President Donald Trump threatened to immediately double tariffs on Mexico if the Mexican government did not stop the groups of migrants moving through the southern part of the country.
"We can clearly state that there is currently no caravan en route to the northern border," Sheinbaum said. The mayor explained that local authorities managed to dissuade a group of migrants that had begun marching last Tuesday.
"Their march was broken up, and most have already returned to their countries of origin and another caravan is just beginning to form," Sheinbaum explained during her daily press conference.
Trump's warning
Trump had warned that "huge caravans" were forming and embarking on an illegal march through Mexico toward the United States. The president demanded that Mexico stop them immediately and warned that, if it failed to do so, he would double tariffs on Mexican goods.
"Here we go again!," wrote Trump on his social media platform Truth Social. "They will not be accepted! MEXICO MUST STOP THEM, NOW, and if they do not do so, the Tariffs on Mexico will be IMMEDIATELY DOUBLED," added the president, who stated that the governor of Texas, the Border Patrol and ICE had already been informed. "There will be no leniency!" he concluded.
For the Trump administration, migration is a matter of border security and national sovereignty. The economic threat aims to pressure Mexico into taking action before groups of migrants reach the border and trigger a new crisis like the one that occurred during the Biden era.
Mexico's response
On Thursday, hours after Donald Trump threatened to double tariffs on Mexico if it did not stop the migrant caravans, Sheinbaum attempted to defuse the tension during her morning press conference at the National Palace. She stated that "since President Trump took office, no migrant caravan has reached the northern border."
She acknowledged that at that time there were groups in the south of the country, one in Arriaga, Chiapas, which had grown to between 500 and 600 people but had already shrunk to fewer than 100, and another coming from Honduras, but she maintained that Mexican authorities managed to convince most of the migrants to abandon their march northward. As she explained, they are told that "it is very difficult to cross into the United States" and that "if their goal is to reach the United States, they will not be able to do so," so most choose to return to their countries or stay in Mexico under certain conditions.
Sheinbaum ruled out the use of force and emphasized that the Mexican government has handled about a dozen caravans using the same approach of support and information since Trump's return to the White House.
🛠 Do you think there is an error in this article?
Recommendations
LATEST
