Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum responded to threats of tariffs by President-elect Donald Trump on both Mexico and Canada over concerns about migrants and drugs flowing into the U.S. Sheinbaum emphasized Mexico's cultural richness, stating that Canada could only wish to have such diversity.
Following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's discussion with Trump about border issues, Canada's ambassador in Washington highlighted the differences between the Mexican and Canadian borders, indicating that Trump understood the distinct challenges each country faces.
Sheinbaum stressed the importance of respecting Mexico, especially by its trading partners, and pointed out that Canada also grapples with fentanyl consumption. U.S. customs data revealed significantly higher fentanyl seizures at the Mexican border compared to the Canadian border.
On immigration, statistics showed a notable contrast in arrests at the Mexican and Canadian borders, with a significantly higher number of arrests and encounters at the Mexican border. Trump's recent remarks on social media hinted at imposing tariffs on Mexico and Canada to address the issues of drugs and illegal immigration.
Sheinbaum mentioned her conversation with Trump, where he expressed interest in intelligence sharing for anti-drug efforts. However, she made it clear that Mexico would reject direct U.S. intervention and maintain strict restrictions on U.S. law enforcement agencies in Mexico, as established by her predecessor.
