Mexico City, Feb 20 (IANS) Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said that she does not fear US President Donald Trump and his threats of mass deportations, steep trade tariffs, and military “intervention” to combat the drug cartels, as she has the backing of the Mexican people.
During a daily press conference, when asked if the Mexican President feared Trump’s threats, Sheinbaum on Wednesday responded, “No. I have the support of the people. When one has certainty and conviction and knows what one’s principles are, why would one be afraid?”
She allayed concerns over Trump’s measures, noting there is ongoing dialogue between the two governments, Xinhua news agency reported.
The President said she would never allow Mexico’s sovereignty to be violated, but “if it were to be violated, there is an entire country to defend the homeland”.
Sheinbaum’s statements come one day after Trump said Mexico “is run by drug cartels,” criminal organisations the US government has designated as terrorists.
Trump also accused Mexican authorities of “allowing millions of people” to enter the United States illegally and offered his “help” to stem the flow of immigration.
Officials from both countries will meet in Washington this week to negotiate the suspension of tariffs on Mexican products and strategies to combat drug trafficking, particularly the flow of fentanyl into the United States.
Sheinbaum affirmed that her government does not defend drug cartels or organised crime, saying, “What we defend is sovereignty.”
Mexico will not accept any “extraterritorial measures” that arise from designating the cartels as terrorist organisations, she said.
Earlier this month, Trump threatened, then postponed 25 per cent tariffs on Mexican imports that he said were meant to push Mexico to take more action against its drug cartels.
Trump also ordered on his first day in office the designation of some of Mexico’s drug cartels as foreign terrorist organisations. Those designations are expected soon.
Mexico responded to the tariff threat by sending 10,000 National Guard troops to the northern border.
Mexico’s Defence Secretary Ricardo Trevilla addressed the flights by US military planes last week, saying that they had not entered Mexican airspace, but that he couldn’t rule out they were spying because he didn’t know what they doing.
Sheinbaum on Wednesday presented a more detailed explanation.
“These flights are part of the coordination … collaborations that have been going on for many years, between the United States government and the Mexican government,” Sheinbaum said at her daily press briefing.
“Every time it is at Mexico’s request for collaboration, for information to be able to attend to security conditions.”
–IANS
int/khz
