Mexico has deployed the first of 10,000 officers to its northern frontier following tariff threats by President Donald Trump. A line of Mexican National Guard and Army trucks rumbled along the border separating Ciudad Juarez and El Paso in Texas. Patrols were also seen on other parts of the border near Tijuana.
Masked and armed National Guard members picked through brush running along the border barrier on the outskirts of Ciudad Juárez, pulling out makeshift ladders and ropes tucked away in the trenches, and pulling them onto trucks.
This comes after a tumultuous week along the border following an announcement by the US President that he would delay imposing crippling tariffs on Mexico for at least a month. In exchange, Mexican President Claudia
Sheinbaum promised she would send the country’s National Guard to reinforce the border and crack down on fentanyl smuggling.
Trump declares emergency on the border
Trump has declared an emergency on the border despite migration levels and fentanyl overdoses significantly dipping over the part year.
The US said it would, in turn, do more to stop American guns from being trafficked into Mexico to fuel cartel violence, which has rippled to other parts of the country as criminal groups fight to control the lucrative migrant smuggling industry.
On Tuesday, the first of those forces arrived in border cities, climbing out of government planes. Guard members in the Wednesday patrol confirmed that they were part of the new force.
1,650 officers expected to be sent to Ciudad Juáre
At least 1,650 officers were expected to be sent to Ciudad Juárez, according to government figures, making it one of the biggest receivers of border reinforcements in the country, second only to Tijuana, where 1,949 personnel are slated to be sent.
During Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s trip through Latin America – where migration was at the top of the agenda – the top American diplomat thanked the Mexican government for the forces, according to a statement by the Mexican government.
The negotiation by Sheinbaum was viewed by observers as a bit of shrewd political maneuvering by the newly elected Mexican leader.
Many had previously cast doubt that she’d be able to navigate Trump’s presidency as effectively as her predecessor and ally, former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
(With inputs from the Associated Press)
