Mexico braced for the worst when President Trump threatened steep tariffs on its exports, but now it’s trying to stave off tariffs by moving on several fronts to appease Trump.
Focusing on Trump’s complaints over migration and drug trafficking, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is deploying 10,000 troops to deter migrants from reaching the U.S. and has handed over to the U.S. dozens of cartel operatives and accepted intelligence from CIA drone flights to capture others.
Sheinbaum is also cracking down on cartels producing illicit drugs, especially fentanyl, the synthetic opioid that Trump has cited as the leading cause of overdose deaths in the U.S. Mexico has been announcing new seizures of fentanyl pills on a regular basis in recent weeks, including the capture of six kilos of fentanyl at Mexico City’s new international airport, in a package being sent to New Jersey.
In addition, Mexican officials have been welcoming intelligence from the CIA, which has stepped up secret drone flights over Mexico to hunt for fentanyl labs. Mexico’s defense minister said in late February that U.S. drones had been used to track down top Sinaloa Cartel figures.
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