International
Sheinbaum: Mexico will collaborate so that fentanyl does not reach the US and that there is dialogue
The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, led this Sunday a public assembly in the Zócalo of Mexico City, attended by thousands of people, in which she assured that her country will continue to collaborate to prevent drugs, and especially fentanyl, from reaching the United States.
In addition, she said she was convinced that “the relationship between Mexico and the United States must be good, of respect and that dialogue will always prevail.”
“I tell the American people that we have and will not have any intention of harming them and that we are determined to collaborate with them in all areas. Especially given the concern they have about the serious problem of synthetic drug consumption,” he said.
“For humanitarian reasons, Mexico will continue to collaborate to prevent fentanyl from reaching young Americans (…) Not only do we not want that drug to reach young people in the United States, but it does not reach anywhere in the world or young Mexicans,” he added.
He said that “it is essential to attend to the consumption of narcotics from the root of the addiction.”
Sheinbaum specified that, according to the United States Customs and Border Protection, between October 2024 and January 2025 the crossing of fentanyl from Mexico to the United States decreased by 50% and from January to February 2025 by another 41%.
He also pointed out that just as there is a strategy to prevent the crossing of drugs to the United States, “we have proposed to the Government of the United States that it must be implemented so that high-powered weapons stop arriving in our country.”
In what she called an “Informative Assembly”, the Mexican president explained to her thousands of supporters, governors of the country’s states, businessmen and politicians, the agreement reached last Thursday with her American counterpart, Donald Trump, to pause for a month the threat of tariffs on Mexican products.
“We must thank the willingness of the president of the United States to dialogue with Mexico. There are some people who are not interested in a good relationship between our peoples and governments, but I am sure that with information and respectful dialogue we can always achieve a relationship of respect. So far it has been like this,” he said.
He said that being neighboring countries “we have the responsibility to collaborate and coordinate,” Sheinbaum recalled that last Tuesday, March 4, Trump imposed taxes of 25% on exports from Mexico to the United States, but after a call on Thursday, the measure was postponed to April 2.
“We are optimistic because that day, April 2, the United States Government has announced that it will impose reciprocal tariffs on all countries of the world, if any country charges you for its exports, the United States will do it too, that’s what they have said,” he explained.
“Nothing more than Mexico is not in that area, because for 30 years we have signed two trade treaties, with which it is established that we do not have tariffs with them, nor do they with us, that is, reciprocal tariffs would not have to be applied because there are practically no tariffs from Mexico to the United States.”
The trade agreements to which Sheinbaum referred are the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the current Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC).
He recalled that since the signing of the T-MEC “it was conceived that this was the only option to successfully face the competition that means the economic and commercial advance of Asian countries.”
“Our proposal has even been that we not only integrate North America, but also from now on the economic and commercial integration of the entire continent, becoming the most powerful region in the world without exclusions, with prosperity and with respect for freedom, independence and sovereignty of all peoples and nations,” said Sheinbaum.
The Mexican president said that we must “always have dialogue as the option and so far it has given results (…) we are not extremists, but we are very clear that there are inalienable principles. We cannot give in to our sovereignty.”
He recalled that Mexico and the United States share a border of 3,180 kilometers (…) we cooperate in commercial, economic, friendship and we have families on both sides of the border. Our peoples contribute culturally on both sides of the border.”
He said that about 38 million Mexicans live in the United States, of which two-thirds are born in the United States.
He also pointed out that Mexico has developed a strategy to address the migratory phenomenon “without violating human rights starting with the right to life” and that the most humane way to address this phenomenon is by promoting development to prevent people from migrating out of necessity.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
International
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
The Colombian government stated on Thursday that it would have no reason to reject a potential asylum request from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should he leave office, as regional tensions persist over the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since August.
“In the current climate of tension, negotiations are necessary, and if the United States demands a transition or political change, that is something to be assessed. If such a transition results in him (Maduro) needing to live elsewhere or seek protection, Colombia would have no reason to deny it,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio in an interview with Caracol Radio.
However, Villavicencio noted that it is unlikely Maduro would choose Colombia as a refuge. “I believe he would opt for someplace more distant and calmer,” she added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also commented on Venezuela’s situation on Wednesday, arguing that the country needs a “democratic revolution” rather than “inefficient repression.” His remarks followed the recent detention and passport cancellation of Cardinal Baltazar Porras at the Caracas airport.
“The Maduro government must understand that responding to external aggression requires more than military preparations; it requires a democratic revolution. A country is defended with more democracy, not more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in a rare public criticism of the Venezuelan leader.
Petro also called for a general amnesty for political opponents and reiterated his call for forming a broad transitional government to address Venezuela’s prolonged crisis.
Since September, U.S. military forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in over 80 deaths.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that attacks “inside Venezuela” will begin “soon,” while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to prepare for what he describes as an impending external aggression.
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
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