CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico — A line of Mexican National Guard and Military vans rumbled alongside the border separating Ciudad Juárez and El Paso, Texas Wednesday, among the many first of 10,000 troops Mexico has despatched to its northern frontier following tariff threats by President Donald Trump.
Masked and armed National Guard members picked by brush operating alongside the border barrier on the outskirts of Ciudad Juárez, pulling out makeshift ladders and ropes tucked away within the trenches, and pulling them onto vans. Patrols have been additionally seen on different elements of the border close to Tijuana.
It comes after a turbulent week alongside the border after Trump introduced he would delay imposing crippling tariffs on Mexico for a minimum of a month. In trade, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum promised she would ship the nation’s National Guard to strengthen the border and crack down on fentanyl smuggling.
Trump has declared an emergency on the border regardless of migration ranges and fentanyl overdoses considerably dipping over the previous yr. The U.S. mentioned it will, in flip, do extra to cease American weapons from being trafficked into Mexico to gasoline cartel violence, which has rippled to different elements of the nation as prison teams combat to manage the profitable migrant smuggling trade.
On Tuesday, the primary of these forces arrived in border cities, climbing out of presidency planes. Guard members within the Wednesday patrol confirmed that they have been a part of the brand new power.
Not less than 1,650 troops have been anticipated to be despatched to Ciudad Juárez, based on authorities figures, making it one of many largest receivers of border reinforcements within the nation, second solely to Tijuana, the place 1,949 are slated to be despatched.
Throughout U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s journey by Latin America – the place migration was on the high of the agenda – the highest American diplomat thanked the Mexican authorities for the forces, based on an announcement by the Mexican authorities.
The negotiation by Sheinbaum was seen by observers as a little bit of shrewd political maneuvering by the newly elected Mexican chief. Many had beforehand forged doubt that she’d be capable to navigate Trump’s presidency as successfully as her predecessor and ally, former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
