Here is a recap of the president’s Aug. 6 mañanera.

‘We’re against the death penalty’ 

A reporter noted that prosecutors in the United States won’t seek the death penalty in their cases against the “Mexican capos” Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Rafael Caro Quintero.

Zambada was arrested in the United States in July 2024 after he was allegedly kidnapped in Sinaloa and forced onto a U.S.-bound private plane, while Caro Quintero is one of 29 cartel figures who were extradited to the U.S. in February.

Both men have pleaded not guilty to accusations they face in the United States. The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that it was “unclear whether taking the death penalty off the table signals any possibility of a plea deal with either or both men.”

The aforesaid reporter asked Sheinbaum her opinion on the matter, saying that the decision not to seek the death penalty in cases against Zambada and Caro Quintero could mean that the two men are coming to some kind of agreement with authorities in the United States.

“We’re against the death penalty, no matter the crime,” the president responded. “It’s not something we agree with.”

Sheinbaum stressed that opposition to the death penalty is “part of Mexican policy” and not a “personal issue.”

She said that in “all” of Mexico’s extradition treaties, “reciprocity” with Mexican laws is established, meaning that Mexicans sent abroad can’t be subject to the death penalty even if the country they are extradited to allows capital punishment.

“So when … [Mexicans] are extradited, there is no death penalty,” Sheinbaum said.

In all cases when Mexicans face criminal charges abroad, “what Mexico seeks is reciprocity with our laws,” she said.

“It has nothing to do with the person or the criminal, but rather with the fact that we don’t agree with the death penalty,” Sheinbaum said.

Sentences in US against men convicted of trafficking weapons to Mexico a ‘good sign,’ says Sheinbaum 

A reporter noted that six people were recently sentenced in the United States for trafficking weapons to Mexico, and highlighted that U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson commented on the case.

The United States Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida announced on Friday that six men had been sentenced for trafficking military-grade firearms to Mexican drug cartels. The sentences range from 1.5 to nine years in federal prison.

In a post to social media on Monday, Johnson said that “the case of six Florida men sentenced for trafficking military-grade firearms to Mexican cartels reaffirms [the United States’] commitment to stopping the flow of illegal weapons into [Mexico].”

El caso de los seis hombres en Florida que fueron sentenciados por traficar armas de grado militar a cárteles mexicanos reafirma el compromiso de para frenar el flujo de armas ilegales hacia . Seguiremos colaborando, bajo el liderazgo de @POTUS @realDonaldTrump, con la…

— Embajador Ronald Johnson (@USAmbMex) August 4, 2025

“Under the leadership of @POTUS @realDonaldTrump, we will continue working with President @ClaudiaShein and her team to dismantle these networks,” the ambassador wrote.

Sheinbaum was asked whether the sentences indicated that the United States government is “paying attention to the demands” of the Mexican government, which has long called on the U.S. to do more to stop the southward flow of firearms.

“Yes,” she responded.

“Of course, we’re going to continue insisting that … [they do] even more, but it’s a good sign that people have been arrested [in the U.S.] for arms trafficking,” Sheinbaum said.

She said that in conversations with U.S. officials, including Ambassador Johnson, Mexican officials have “always” advocated in favor of the U.S. taking action to prevent the trafficking of weapons to Mexico.

Many of the firearms that are smuggled into the country end up in the hands of members of organized crime groups. Those weapons are commonly used to commit serious crimes in Mexico, including murder.

New ‘border unit’ established in Sonora 

In another social media post on Monday, Ambassador Johnson said that “the new Border Unit in Sonora is a concrete step to stop the flow of illicit drugs, weapons, and people, while boosting trade and community ties.”

“A secure border benefits both countries — creating an environment where citizens can prosper. Border security is a shared priority — driven by the leadership of @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and President @ClaudiaShein,” he wrote.

Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo said on Friday that 18 state police officers who are part of the new unit had completed “specialized training” with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Como parte de la nueva División de Operaciones Fronterizas, hoy 18 elementos de la Policía Estatal concluyeron su capacitación especializada con la CBP de Estados Unidos.

Un esfuerzo binacional que refuerza nuestra presencia institucional en la frontera, con profesionalismo y… pic.twitter.com/VPxiCD2fsR

— Alfonso Durazo (@AlfonsoDurazo) August 1, 2025

Sheinbaum said that the establishment of the new border unit is “part of the agreements” between Mexican and U.S. authorities. The neighboring countries are expected to sign a new security pact soon.

Sheinbaum highlighted that Mexican states have their own agreements with U.S. authorities. She told reporters that Baja California has an agreement with the CBP and that Sonora “also has agreements” that involve the sharing of information with U.S. authorities.

“If there is a criminal who crosses the border from the other side, you obviously have to have information,” Sheinbaum said.

“…. Now that there is the presence of the United States army on the border, there has to be communication,” she said.

“There is communication between the National Immigration Institute and CBP, and there is communication between [Mexican] Customs and CBP as well. There is communication between the governors of [border states] and their counterparts,” said Sheinbaum, who noted that Mexico also collaborates with Guatemala on security issues at their shared border.

“Due to the entry of police from Chiapas to Guatemala, a meeting was held, agreements were formalized and now there is more collaboration,” she said.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)

The post New Sonora ‘border unit’ to focus on arms, drug trafficking: Wednesday’s mañanera recapped appeared first on Mexico News Daily

Canada and Mexico, which share a free-trade agreement (USMCA) with the United States, have been making moves to strengthen their strategic partnership as trade relations falter between the U.S. and its North American allies.

During their two-day visit to Mexico City August 5-6, Anand and Champagne attended meetings with Sheinbaum and their respective Mexican cabinet counterparts, aiming to advance shared priorities such as economic growth, regional security and bilateral trade.

“We strengthened the relationship between our countries,” Sheinbaum wrote in a post to X, which included several photographs of the meeting.

On July 16, President Sheinbaum held a phone conversation with the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in which the two agreed to strengthen trade collaboration.  

“We both agreed that the [USMCA] trade agreement needed to be respected,” Sheinbaum said in her daily press conference following that call. 

The president also said that Carney planned to visit Mexico in an official capacity. Although the date has not been set, the visit by Anand and Champagne lays the groundwork for Carney’s trip.

“It was a pleasure to receive Min. Anita Anand and Min. François-Philippe Champagne at the Embassy of Canada in Mexico.

It was a great opportunity to socialize, answer questions, acknowledge the work of our employees, and talk about the relationship between Canada and Mexico”. https://t.co/1CfA7eHq5G

— Canada in Mexico (@CanEmbMexico) August 6, 2025

Anand and Champagne planned to meet with a representative group of Canadian and Mexican business leaders, including key players in the integrated North American economy, trade infrastructure and supply chains. Anand will also participate in a joint session of the North American Committee and the Mexican Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, aimed at strengthening parliamentary relations between the two countries.

“Canada and Mexico are close partners that are united by decades of diplomatic, economic and security cooperation,” Anand wrote on X after meeting with Sheinbaum on Tuesday. “…Discussions with the President and members of her government advanced key shared priorities in terms of economic growth, security and trade diversification.” 

As Mexico and Canada work to deepen their ties, the two countries have faced strained trade relations with the United States in recent months, following the imposition of tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump. 

With reports from Sin Embargo, El Economista and Reuters

The post Sheinbaum hosts Canadian ministers as Mexico works to uphold USMCA appeared first on Mexico News Daily

Sheinbaum declined to respond to some questions about issues not related to Pemex, but did speak about a new Mexico-United States security agreement that is expected to be signed soon.

Mexico-US security agreement is ready, says Sheinbaum 

Sheinbaum said that a new security agreement between Mexico and the United States is “ready,” but won’t be signed this week.

She said that she would present the new agreement at a future press conference in order to be “very transparent.”

In late 2021, during the governments of Andrés Manuel López Obrador in Mexico and Joe Biden in the United States, the two countries entered into the Bicentennial Framework for Security, Public Health and Safe Communities, which superseded the Mérida Initiative.

Last Thursday, Sheinbaum said that she believed that the new bilateral security agreement would be signed this week.

However, she claimed on Tuesday that her remarks were misunderstood and that she didn’t say that at all.

“… The wording [of the agreement] is practically finished, [but] it still hasn’t been decided when it will be signed,” Sheinbaum said.

She said that the agreement is governed by four key principles.

• Respect for sovereignty.
• Respect for each other’s territory.
• Mutual trust.
• Collaboration and cooperation between Mexico and the United States “within that framework.”

The Trump administration has been pressuring Mexico — including through the threat of tariffs — to do more to combat drug cartels in Mexico and stop the trafficking of narcotics to the United States, especially fentanyl.

A violent start to the week 

A reporter asked the president whether recent acts of violence such as the murder of a prosecutor in Tamaulipas and the murder of a union leader in Quintana Roo as well as the discovery of dismembered bodies in Veracruz and the discovery of 32 bodies in a clandestine grave in Irapuato, Guanajuato, could be “used” by the United States in negotiations over the security agreement.

Federal prosecutor fatally attacked in Reynosa

“There is an agreement of collaboration and cooperation,” Sheinbaum said, apparently reiterating that the pact has already been drawn up.

“… We’re a sovereign country, we make decisions as a sovereign country,” she added.

“And with the United States, we collaborate and cooperate and that collaboration and cooperation is very important, but with [respect for each other’s] sovereignty,” Sheinbaum said.

Pushed as to whether acts of violence in Mexico could “raise the price of the negotiation” with the United States, “so to speak,” the president effectively brushed off the question, only responding, “Why?”

A US military intervention in Mexico is ‘not on the table,’ says Sheinbaum

After Sheinbaum’s aforesaid response, a different reporter abruptly asked the president about the possibility of a U.S. military intervention against criminal groups in Mexico.

Sheinbaum reminded the press corps that she had previously rejected an offer from U.S. President Donald Trump to send the United States army into Mexico.

“They can insist again, but that issue is not on the table,” she said.

“… There are other ways of collaborating and coordinating with each other. There is information they can provide us, information we can provide them in a scheme of collaboration without subordination and respecting our sovereignty,” Sheinbaum said.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)

The post Will the new bilateral security agreement permit US military intervention? Tuesday’s mañanera recapped appeared first on Mexico News Daily

Among other remarks, Sheinbaum revealed who will become the next chief of the federal government’s Financial Intelligence Unit.

Sheinbaum denies that Tabasco corruption case is affecting relationship with US

A reporter referred to a report in an “international media outlet” about Senator Adán Augusto López Hernández and his relationship with Hernán Bermúdez, an alleged criminal group leader who served as security minister in Tabasco during the 2019-21 governorship of López Hernández.

She was referring to a New York Times article published under the headline “Corruption Scandal Puts Mexico’s President on Defense Against Trump.”

“Two former officials are on the run, accused of secretly leading a criminal group,” reported the Times, referring to Bermúdez and Leonardo Arturo Leyva Ávalos, ex-general director of the Tabasco state police.

“Their old boss, now a powerful senator in the president’s party, is being grilled over what he knew. And the timing could not be worse for Mexico’s president, who faces the corruption scandal as President Trump doubles down on accusations that drug cartels have the Mexican government in their grip,” the Times’ report continued.

“At the scandal’s center is the senator, Adán Augusto López Hernández, a former interior minister and governor of Tabasco State,” the newspaper said.

Opposition formally accuses AMLO’s ex-interior minister of ties to Tabasco crime gang

The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) last week formally requested that the Federal Attorney General’s Office investigate López Hernández for criminal association.

On Monday morning, the aforementioned reporter told the president that the (New York Times’) report “specifically mentions that this case intensifies or strains the relationship the government of Mexico maintains with the United States.”

She subsequently asked Sheinbaum her opinion on the matter.

“It’s not true,” the president said.

“Regarding this case and any [other] case, we’ve said here we are not going to cover up for anyone, but there must be investigations,” Sheinbaum said.

“… There is no problem of tension [with the United States] related to this,” she declared.

Sheinbaum compared The New York Times’ reporting to a ProPublica article from May, in which journalist Tim Golden referred to a U.S. government “list of several dozen [Mexican] political figures who have been identified by law enforcement and intelligence agencies as having ties to the drug trade.”

“Tim Golden … [claimed] that there was terrible tension [between Mexico and the United States] because there were I don’t know how many people on a list,” she said.

“And then the United States Embassy [in Mexico] released a statement that said: ‘there is no person and no list,'” Sheinbaum said.

“There are people who don’t want there to be a good relationship between Mexico and the United States,” she added.

Sheinbaum acknowledged there are “differences” of opinions between Mexico and the United States, but reiterated that her government seeks a “good relationship” with the Trump administration.

“Firstly, because we’re trade partners and we want the [USMCA] trade agreement to continue and for … [our] economic integration to continue,” she said four days after reaching an agreement with Trump that allowed Mexico to avoid 30% tariffs that were due to take effect last Friday.

“Secondly, because millions of Mexican families live in the United States,” Sheinbaum said.

“… There are those who look for arguments that aren’t real in order to say ‘there is a special tension’ … but there isn’t,” she said.

“In fact, as I have mentioned, there is an agreement we’re about to sign on security issues,” Sheinbaum said, adding that the bilateral pact has “very clear principles” with respect to “sovereignty, mutual confidence and territorial respect.”

The president last week rejected claims that the United States has been pressuring Mexico to hand over politicians with alleged narco links. She also stressed that there is no active investigation against López Hernández, who left his position as governor to become interior minister in the government of former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Sheinbaum announces new Financial Intelligence Unit chief 

Sheinbaum announced that Omar Reyes Colmenares, ex-head of the Prevention and Social Reinsertion unit of the federal Security Ministry, will replace Pablo Gómez as chief of Mexico’s Finance Ministry’s Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), which plays an important role in the fight against organized crime.

Gómez will move to a role heading up a presidential electoral reform commission.

Sheinbaum said that the appointment of Reyes — who is reportedly “very close” to Security Minister Omar García Harfuch — is subject to approval by the Permanent Commission of the Mexican Congress.

She said that Reyes is “a very intelligent man” who formerly worked “in the area of penitentiary centers.”

Sheinbaum said that he also worked in her Mexico City administration when she was mayor, “first in an intelligence area, and later he was responsible for penitentiary centers.”

“He’s an intelligence specialist,” she said, adding that he is well-suited to the UIF role.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)

The post Sheinbaum pushes back on claims of strained US security relations: Monday’s mañanera recapped appeared first on Mexico News Daily

On Sept. 1, she will present her first informe del gobierno, or government report, to the Congress, and in a major speech.

Former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador delivered his sixth and final informe speech last September in front of a large crowd in Mexico City’s Zócalo a month before he finished his six-year term.

Sheinbaum said earlier this week that she has begun preparing her inaugural informe, but she has not yet decided where she will deliver her speech.

On Friday, she presided over her regular morning press conference, a day after reaching a deal with U.S. President Donald Trump that allowed Mexico to avoid a 30% tariff that was scheduled to take effect this Friday Aug. 1.

US has a ‘very big responsibility’ to combat narcotics  because that’s where drug use occurs  

A reporter highlighted that a number of U.S.-based organized crime groups, including the Border Brothers, the Crips, Florencia 13 and the New Mexico Syndicate, are mentioned in the non-fiction book “Los cárteles gringos” by J. Jesús Esquivel.

“However,” the reporter added, “we don’t see significant seizures of drugs” in the United States or the imprisonment of “narco leaders on the other side.”

“Do you think that the fight against drug trafficking is asymmetrical between Mexico and the United States?” the reporter asked the president.

Por si quieren leer algo en estos días… pic.twitter.com/asmwWqBTXU

— J. Jesus Esquivel (@JJesusEsquivel) June 15, 2025

Sheinbaum first stressed that it is up to Mexico to tackle the drug problem in its own territory and the responsibility of the United States to do the same north of the border.

“And we collaborate and coordinate; that’s why there are extradition treaties and other mechanisms for cooperation,” she added.

“… But I’ve mentioned here that the United States, in general, dedicates itself to talking about organized crime in Mexico. They have the right to mention it, but on the other side of the border, who sells the drugs?” Sheinbaum asked.

“Who launders the money?” she asked. “That part has to be investigated.”

Sheinbaum subsequently asserted that the United States has a “very big responsibility” to combat drug use, drug trafficking and associated criminal activity because use of narcotics primarily occurs “on the other side” of the border.

She said that in her call with Trump on Thursday, she and the U.S. leader spoke once again about Mexico’s anti-fentanyl campaign.

“And I told him that we were going to start a campaign against the use of methamphetamine and the harm it causes to young people and to health in general,” Sheinbaum said.

Hoy, 18 de julio de 2025, conmemoramos el 153 Aniversario Luctuoso de Benito Juárez García, Benemérito de las Américas, abogado de origen zapoteco reconocido por ser el primer Ministro indígena en la #SCJN y el primer presidente indígena de #México. Su legado es historia. pic.twitter.com/fEHCK4HWAb

— Hugo Aguilar Ortiz (@HugoAguilarOrti) July 18, 2025

“And he asked me: ‘Do you think these campaigns have helped to keep young people away from drugs?’ And I said, ‘Yes,'” she said.

“I told him about the work we’re doing in schools. And he agreed that, in addition to targeting criminal gangs, there must be attention to the causes [of drug use] and addiction, in particular,” Sheinbaum said.

Is there a ‘we’re going to wipe the cartels off the face of the earth’ clause in the new Mexico-US security agreement? Sheinbaum says no

A reporter noted that U.S. border czar Tom Homan spoke on Thursday about the United States’ intention to “wipe the cartels off the face of the earth.”

“Under Biden the cartels made more money than they ever made — smuggling aliens, sex trafficking of women and children, smuggling dope across the border. Now we have a secure border the cartels are going bankrupt. And President Trump, through all his efforts and his leadership, we’re going to wipe the cartels off the face of the earth, which makes not only this country safer but Mexico safer,” Homan said.

The reporter asked the president whether the intent to “wipe the cartels off the face of the earth” is included in any sense in the new bilateral security agreement Mexico and the United States are set to sign soon.

“It’s their way of talking, right?” said Sheinbaum, who has said on several occasions that Trump has his own unique “way of communicating.”

She said that her government, “within the framework of the law and our constitution,” does what it has to do to prosecute crime.

Sheinbaum subsequently assured reporters that “these words” spoken by Homan “are not established in the agreement” on security that Mexico and the U.S. are set to sign soon.

Sheinbaum happy that Mexico will soon have a new judiciary

On Sept. 1, the same day that Sheinbaum will present her first informe, the candidates elected as judges, magistrates and Supreme Court justices in Mexico’s first (and controversial) judicial elections will assume their positions.

Sheinbaum reiterated on Friday that she will attend the swearing-in ceremony for the new Supreme Court justices, if she is invited.

“Of course we’re very happy about this popular election process for the Supreme Court,” said the president, who argued that judicial elections were needed to rid the nation’s courts of corruption and other ills.

Sheinbaum expressed her belief that the incoming chief justice of the Supreme Court, Hugo Aguilar Ortiz, is “an honest and knowledgable person.”

She also noted that Aguilar, an indigenous lawyer from Oaxaca, has worked to defend indigenous people’s rights during his career.

“Of course we are pleased that the new judiciary is coming in,” Sheinbaum said.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)

The post Sheinbaum talks US organized crime: Friday’s mañanera recapped appeared first on Mexico News Daily

The outcome of the call? A 30% tariff Trump threatened to impose on imports from Mexico won’t take effect as scheduled this Friday.

At the beginning of her press conference, Sheinbaum said that Mexico “achieved a good agreement” that “protects the USMCA,” the North America free trade pact that is scheduled for review in 2026.

Most Mexican products that comply with the rules of the three-way trade pact currently enter the U.S. tariff-free, while non-USMCA compliant goods face a 25% duty. That situation won’t change as Mexico and the United States seek to come to a longer-term agreement on trade during the next 90 days.

Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said this week that 84% of Mexico’s trade with its northern neighbor complies with the USMCA and is therefore tariff-free.

Trump told Sheinbaum in a letter earlier this month that he intended to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico because Mexico wasn’t doing enough to combat the trafficking of fentanyl to the United States.

It was unclear whether the 30% duty would have applied to all imports from Mexico or just those that don’t comply with the USMCA.

Mexico didn’t commit to any ‘additional action’ to win tariff reprieve, says Sheinbaum

A reporter asked the president whether Mexico offered anything specific to the United States that allowed it to win a reprieve from the tariff that was scheduled to take effect on Friday.

Sheinbaum said that Mexico “made various propositions” to the United States, including one on how to reduce the trade deficit the United States has with Mexico.

She said that Mexican officials also spoke to their U.S. counterparts about “significant investments” of United States companies in Mexico.

“But they remained on the table,” Sheinbaum said of Mexico’s proposals.

“The agreement we have didn’t involve any additional action on Mexico’s part,” she said.

Most US trade remains duty-free after Mexico secures a 90-day extension on Trump’s most recent tariff threat

On social media, Trump said on Thursday morning that “Mexico has agreed to immediately terminate its Non Tariff Trade Barriers, of which there were many.”

Asked about that statement, Sheinbaum responded:

“In the USMCA, there are a number of agreements — many of them — related to labor issues, investment issues, and many other issues. So, there are always complaints from Mexico or complaints from the United States toward Mexico.”

Asked which non-tariff trade barriers Mexico would terminate, Sheinbaum referred the question to Ebrard.

The economy minister said that Trump was referring to “trade regulation issues,” but didn’t cite specific barriers that Mexico would eliminate.

“There are a series of questions that aren’t just: ‘What tariff am I going to impose on you?’, but rather ‘How will our trade work in the years to come?’, and that is what we are working on,” Ebrard said.

What will Mexico seek to achieve in the next 90 days?

In a social media post on Thursday morning, Sheinbaum said that Mexico had secured “90 days to build a long-term [trade] agreement through dialogue” with the United States government.

That agreement will be separate from the USMCA.

Sheinbaum said that the “most important thing” for Mexico is to continue to have the best possible trading situation with the United States — one that places the country in an advantageous position compared to the rest of the world.

“That’s what we’re seeking,” she said.

‘Mutual respect’ key to reaching deal to avoid 30% tariff, says Sheinbaum

Asked what the key was to achieving Thursday’s agreement with Trump, Sheinbaum cited “mutual respect.”

“We have to say it, President Trump has treated us with respect in all the calls we’ve had,” she said, noting that she has spoken to the U.S. leader on various occasions.

She added that she and her government also treats Trump with respect.

Sheinbaum said that another factor that allowed Mexico to avoid the 30% tariff is the importance of the country to the United States.

“Mexico represents a lot for the United States. We are their main trade partner, and they’re aware of that,” she said.

In addition, Mexico has made progress in the fight against fentanyl, seizing large quantities of the synthetic opioid during the Sheinbaum administration and dismantling more than 1,000 clandestine lab where that drug and others were made.

No in-person meeting between Sheinbaum and Trump is planned 

Sheinbaum said that no arrangements had been made for her to meet face-to-face with Trump.

“We simply said goodbye to each other very cordially and he said: ‘Well, I hope to speak to you in around 90 days,'” she said.

Mexico to continue negotiating on steel and auto tariffs 

Sheinbaum noted that existing U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum, vehicles and tomatoes will “remain as they are.”

“But that doesn’t mean that will be the case … [during the next] 90 days. We’re still working on that,” she said, referring to efforts to have the duties eliminated or reduced.

Sheinbaum stressed that Ebrard has “a lot of contact” with United States Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

She also said that Foreign Affairs Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente has a “very good relationship” with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Mexican steel and aluminum currently face a 50% tariff when entering the United States, while vehicles are subject to a 25% duty, although U.S. content is exempt from the tax. A 50% U.S. tariff on copper products will take effect on Friday.

Fresh Mexican tomatoes face a 17% tariff, imposed by the United States earlier this month after it withdrew from a 2019 agreement with Mexico that suspended an antidumping duty investigation.

Ebrard: Sheinbaum’s capacity to persuade Trump is ‘remarkable’

Ebrard told Sheinbaum’s press conference that “as a witness of the call” the president had with Trump, he was able to say that her “handling” of the discussion with the U.S. president was “splendid.”

“This is a result that is due to that,” he said.

“… Without any intention of flattery, I can tell you that the management the president has of her conversations, her manner, the firmness with which she defends the interests of Mexico and her capacity to persuade President Trump, is remarkable,” Ebrard said.

Earlier this year, The Washington Post described Sheinbaum as “the world’s leading Trump whisperer.”

Ebrard said that Mexico remains in a “much better” position than “the rest of the countries of the world” in terms of trade with the United States.

He highlighted, once again, that 84.4% of Mexico’s trade with the United States is tariff free thanks to the USMCA.

“No other country has that, with the exception of Canada,” Ebrard said.

De la Fuente also lauds Sheinbaum

Foreign Minister de la Fuente, who was also present during Sheinbaum’s call with Trump, was also effusive in his praise for the president.

He lauded Sheinbaum’s “leadership and her extraordinary capacity for dialogue” with Trump, who he described as “a world leader who has been very explicit in his propositions and points of view.”

De la Fuente also praised Sheinbaum’s “firmness in the defense of the interests of our country and her intelligence in conducting a conversation that provides enormous advantages to Mexico.”

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)

The post How Sheinbaum closed the deal on this week’s tariff reprieve: Thursday’s mañanera recapped appeared first on Mexico News Daily

Among other topics, she also discussed the Mexican economy and the almost 11-year-old Ayotzinapa case involving the disappearance of 43 students in Guerrero.

Here is a recap of the president’s July 30 mañanera.

50,000 Mexicans in US have requested government bank card to avoid new remittance tax 

Earlier this month, Sheinbaum promoted a government bank card that can help Mexicans living in the United States avoid the new 1% remittance tax on cash transfers that will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

On Wednesday, a reporter asked the president how many Mexicans already have the Finabien bank card.

Sheinbaum said that about 50,000 Mexicans have requested the card “by mail,” but didn’t specify how many people have already received it. Distribution of the card began a week ago.

Sheinbaum said that the government has the capacity to supply Finabien cards to all Mexicans in the U.S. who want one.

The card can be acquired at 53 consulates in the U.S., by mail or via digital application at miconsulado.sre.gob.mx.

Sheinbaum said that around 70% of remittances from the United States to Mexico are sent electronically by Mexicans who have a bank account in the U.S. or “some kind of card” that allows them to transfer money to their families.

She said that around 30% of remittances are sent via “these tienditas [small stores] that there are in different places in the United States.”

Sheinbaum was apparently referring to shops, including grocery stores and convenience stores, where people can transfer money to Mexico using services such as Western Union.

“They pay in cash and … say: ‘Please send this remittance to such and such place’ … and their families pick it up there,” she said.

“So, for that 30%, we’re giving them the option to do it in an easier way, electronically through the Finabien card,” Sheinbaum said.

‘The economy of Mexico is strong, it’s solid,’ says Sheinbaum 

Sheinbaum noted that the national statistics agency INEGI reported economic growth rates for the second quarter of 2025. Mexico’s GDP increased 0.7% compared to the first quarter of the year and 1.2% annually in seasonally adjusted terms.

Mexico’s economy grew 0.7% in Q2, outpacing analysts’ forecasts

She also acknowledged that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its forecast for the Mexican economy in 2025.

“They said the economy was going to collapse, that it was going to be a 0.3% contraction … and from here we said you are wrong,” Sheinbaum said.

“The economy of Mexico is strong, it’s solid,” she added.

The IMF is now forecasting that the Mexican economy will grow 0.2% in 2025.

Referring to U.S. President Donald Trump’s protectionist agenda, Sheinbaum conceded that “the issue of tariffs” has caused economic uncertainty, not just for Mexico, but for the “whole world.”

“And particularly for Mexico due to the economic integration we have with the United States. But the plan we developed is producing results and it will be even more effective next year,” she said, referring to the Plan México economic initiative.

Sheinbaum subsequently said while GDP growth is “one way of measuring the economy,” it shouldn’t be the only one “because the growth of the economy doesn’t necessarily reflect good salaries, well-being of the people and the reduction of inequalities.”

“And in Mexico, there has been a reduction in poverty, a reduction in inequality and more well-being for the people of Mexico,” she said.

Is a breakthrough coming in the Ayotzinapa case?

A reporter noted that the president met on Tuesday with parents of the 43 Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers’ College students who disappeared in Guerrero in 2014. She highlighted that the parents said after the meeting that they didn’t see any progress in the investigation into the almost 11-year-old case.

Sheinbaum said that the Federal Attorney General’s Office, supported by the federal Security Ministry, is working with “new investigation tools” and “new methods” as it it seeks to locate the students, of whom the remains of just three have been found.

“I think they will provide new ways to find the young men and learn the whole truth,” she said.

“… I understand the situation of the fathers and mothers who … are always looking for their sons, and answers, as well,” Sheinbaum said.

“Of course we understand their pain and their situation,” she said.

Sheinbaum said that she hoped to be able to provide an update on the investigation in early September, when she is scheduled to meet once again with the parents of the students, who were abducted in Iguala, Guerrero, on the night of Sept. 26 2014, and presumably murdered.

Over 100 people, including army personnel, have been arrested in connection with the case, but no one has been convicted of the crime.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)

The post 50,000 Mexicans in the US have requested a Finabien bank card: Wednesday’s mañanera recapped appeared first on Mexico News Daily

She also responded to a question about the new public transport cable car line set to be built in southern Mexico City.

Here is a recap of the president’s July 29 mañanera.

A 92-billion-peso investment in health care facilities

At the start of her press conference, Sheinbaum announced that Deputy Health Minister Eduardo Clark would speak about the new public hospitals that have opened since she took office last October, as well as those that will open before the end of the year.

“We’re talking about 31 new hospitals in the country,” she said, adding that the construction of “the majority of them” began during the 2018-24 government of former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

“They are 31 new, very important hospitals,” Sheinbaum said, noting that they are, or will be, operated by one of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers (ISSSTE) or the IMSS Bienestar healthcare agency.

Clark noted that the government has already inaugurated 13 new public hospitals and nine public health care centers, or clinics, since it took office last October.

He said that an additional 18 hospitals and three clinics will open before the end of the year.

Among the 13 hospitals that have opened since October are ones in Ciudad Juárez, Tijuana, Ensenada and Orizaba.

Among the 18 slated to open before the end of 2025 are ones in Mexico City, Puebla, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Ciudad del Carmen, Guanajuato city, Hermosillo, Acapulco and Mérida.

Clark noted that an additional 20 public hospitals are scheduled to open in 2026 and 2027.

Those 20 hospitals — some of which are already under construction — will be located in cities including Mexico City, Los Cabos, Oaxaca city, Saltillo, Culiacán and Chetumal.

“As you can see,” Clark said, “it’s an incredibly ambitious infrastructure plan.”

The deputy health minister also noted that the government is upgrading 256 operating rooms at public hospitals.

Sheinbaum said that the government is also hiring “all the specialist doctors and nurses” needed to perform surgeries in the upgraded operating rooms.

She said that the investment in the 31 hospitals that will have opened by the end of 2025 is around 50 billion pesos, while the outlay for the 20 to open in 2026 and 2027 is about 40 billion pesos.

The upgrades to the operating rooms will cost around 2.5 billion pesos, Sheinbaum said.

Combined, the investment the president referred to adds up to 92.5 billion pesos (US $4.9 billion).

Sheinbaum defends Mexican workers after reporter highlights Mexico has second second-lowest productivity in OECD

A reporter noted that Mexico ranked second to last for productivity among the 38 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Labour Productivity

Top 5 Countries

Ireland
Norway
Luxembourg
Belgium
Switzerland

Bottom 5 Countries

Colombia
Mexico
Costa Rica
Chile
Greece@OECD pic.twitter.com/vygCr5NaJz

— Informal Economy (@EconomyInformal) July 26, 2025

A bar graph published in the OECD Compendium of Productivity Indicators 2025 shows that Mexico ranks second last for “labor productivity in 2023,” behind only Colombia.

The 38 member countries were ranked according to “GDP per hour worked in current prices and PPPs,” or purchasing power parities.

In its compendium, the OECD said that “labor productivity is the most frequently computed productivity indicator.”

“It represents the volume of output produced per unit of labor input. The ratio between output and labor input depends to a large extent on the presence of other inputs, such as physical capital (e.g. buildings, machinery and transport vehicles) and intangible assets used in production (e.g. intellectual property products), technical efficiency and organizational change,” the organization said.

Asked whether she agreed with the OECD’s assessment that Mexico is the second least productive country in the organization, Sheinbaum responded that it “depends on how productivity is measured.”

She went on to say that she has recently spoken to the CEOs of automotive companies about the United States’ auto tariffs, and told reporters that one of those people told her that Mexico has “the most productive plants” in the world and that there are no workers like Mexican workers.

“We would have to see how, in particular, [productivity] is being measured, but Mexican workers are first-rate,” Sheinbaum said.

World’s longest cable car line to be built in CDMX 

A reporter asked the president whether she could provide additional details about the Mexico City government’s project to connect the southern boroughs of Tlalpan and Coyoacán with a new Cablebús line.

Sheinbaum and Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada presented the Cablebús Line 4 project on Sunday. It will run 11.4 kilometers from the Pedregal de San Nicolás neighborhood in Tlalpan to the National Autonomous University (UNAM) in Coyoacán. Once completed, it will be the largest urban passenger cable car line in the world.

Hoy presentamos la #Línea4 del @MICablebusCDMX, una ruta eficiente, amplia y pensada para mejorar el día a día de quienes habitan en la zona sur.

Un proyecto que se construirá en coordinación con el @GobiernoMX y apuesta por el acceso equitativo en la… pic.twitter.com/xKBCUJsOXJ

— Clara Brugada Molina (@ClaraBrugadaM) July 28, 2025

The president — a former mayor of Tlalpan who highlighted on Tuesday morning that she lived in the borough for 30 years — said that the new Cablebús line will significantly reduce travel times for Tlalpan residents.

“This area where the Cablebús will set off [in Tlalpan] is right at the foot of the Xitle [volcano],” Sheinbaum said, highlighting that residents of that part of Mexico City travel toward the center of the capital on just one highway — la carretera Picacho-Ajusco.

Once the new Cablebús line is built, people will be able to travel to the Universidad Metro station at UNAM from Pedregal de San Nicolás in 40 minutes instead of 2.5 hours, the president said.

The construction of the new cable car line will alleviate the stress those people experience due to being stuck in traffic or traveling on public buses, Sheinbaum said.

She noted that urban cable car projects were built in the Bolivian capital of La Paz and in the Colombian cities of Bogotá and Medellin before the construction of the first Cablebús line in Mexico City

“That’s where we got the idea from and we called it Cablebús,” said Sheinbaum, mayor of the capital when the first two lines of the Cablebús system opened.

She said that construction of the Tlalpan-Coyoacán line will take at least one and a half years and cost 4.5 billion pesos (US $240 million). She said that the Mexico City government will carry out a tendering process for the construction of the project, but the federal government will provide the required resources.

“There are two companies in the world that build cable cars of this type. An Austrian company … called Doppelmayr and an Italian company called Leitner,” Sheinbaum said.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)

The post Mexico to open 18 additional hospitals this year: Tuesday’s mañanera recapped appeared first on Mexico News Daily

She also responded to claims that the U.S. government is pressuring Mexico to detain and extradite Mexican politicians with alleged links to drug cartels.

In addition, Sheinbaum offered a defense of the ruling Morena party’s top senator, Adán Augusto López Hernández, a former governor of Tabasco who has been caught up in a scandal involving the man who served as his security minister in the Gulf coast state.

Sheinbaum remains confident that Mexico will reach a deal with US to avert 30% tariff 

A reporter noted that United States Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on the weekend that there would be “no extensions” or “grace periods” for U.S trade partners, and that the tariffs scheduled to take effect on Aug. 1 “are set” to go into force.

United States President Donald Trump informed Sheinbaum earlier this month that the U.S. would impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico, “separate from all Sectoral Tariffs,” on Aug 1.

Despite Lutnick’s remark, Sheinbaum said that her government still believed that it could reach an agreement with its U.S. counterpart to stave off the tariff.

“We’re still talking, we’re still talking with [the U.S. government],” she stressed.

WATCH: @howardlutnick on President Trump negotiating a tariff deal with the European Union: “The question is, do they offer President Trump a good enough deal that is worth it for him to step off of the 30 percent tariffs that he set?” pic.twitter.com/wRUJ0ZiRpP

— Fox News Sunday (@FoxNewsSunday) July 27, 2025

Sheinbaum highlighted that the U.S. government recently signed new trade agreements with Japan and the European Union.

“And we expect an agreement this week,” she said.

“… Obviously the United States has its position and we have ours, but we believe we’re going to reach an agreement,” Sheinbaum said.

The president said last Thursday that her government was doing “everything” it could to stop the 30% duty from entering into force.

“There is a team working in the United States with the [U.S.] commerce secretary and the treasury secretary,” she said at her Thursday morning press conference.

“We made a series of proposals that have to do with Plan México and also reducing the trade deficit [with the United States], which is one of the concerns of President Trump,” Sheinbaum said.

“… We’re going to see whether the teams can find an agreement. … We’re confident we can reach a good agreement,” she said.

Claims that the US is pressuring Mexico to arrest politicians on drug trafficking charges are ‘completely false,’ says Sheinbaum 

A reporter told the president that there have been claims, especially in newspaper columns, that the United States has been exerting pressure on Mexico to hand over “alleged ‘big fish’ of narco-politics in Mexico.”

“I want to ask you whether this is true or not?” the reporter said.

Sheinbaum said that such claims are completely and utterly false.

“What are their sources?” she asked, referring to columnists.

Sheinbaum said that in none of her “many” calls with Trump has the United States president asked for Mexico to hand over any politician or any person with links to a politician.

She also said that neither the U.S. Department of State nor the Department of Justice has asked Mexican authorities to arrest and hand over a politician with alleged drug ties.

Asked whether “this issue” had “contaminated” trade talks with the United States, Sheinbaum responded, “No, not at all.”

Citing “sources familiar with the matter,” the Reuters news agency reported last month that the Trump administration was “pressuring Mexico to investigate and prosecute politicians with suspected links to organized crime, and to extradite them to the United States if there are criminal charges to answer there.”

Sheinbaum and Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry described the report as “completely false.”

On two occasions, the United States Embassy in Mexico has denounced as “false” supposed U.S. government lists of Mexican politicians with criminal links.

Sheinbaum’s latest rejection of claims that the United States is pressuring Mexico to arrest politicians with alleged cartel links comes as Senator Adán Augusto López Hernández, a former governor of Tabasco and ex-federal interior minister, continues to face questions and pressure over the scandal involving the man who served as his security minister in Tabasco, Hernán Bermúdez, who is wanted on charges related to his alleged involvement with the La Barredora criminal group.

‘There is no investigation against’ López Hernández, Sheinbaum stresses 

Sheinbaum noted that the Tabasco Attorney General’s Office has a warrant for the arrest of Bermúdez, and asserted that her government is “collaborating in whatever is necessary” to detain the former state security minister, who reportedly left Mexico in January.

She highlighted that the Finance Ministry’s Financial Intelligence Unit last week “froze the accounts of companies linked to this person.”

A reporter suggested that it was “obvious” that López Hernández knew about the alleged criminal links of his security minister in Tabasco, just as it has been claimed that it is “obvious” that former president Felipe Calderón knew about the illicit activities of his former security minister, Genaro García Luna, who was convicted in the United States of colluding with the Sinaloa Cartel and sentenced to more than 38 years in prison.

“That’s why the investigations have to continue,” Sheinbaum said.

“And he [López Hernández] already said, ‘ … Ask me. What I know, I’ll say,'” she added.

The aforesaid reporter noted that there have been calls for López Hernández to step down as the leader of the ruling Morena party in the Senate, and asked the president whether his “leadership” in the upper house is “solid.”

“Yes,” Sheinbaum responded before stressing that “there is no investigation … against the senator.”

López Hernández was governor of Tabasco between 2019 and 2021 before leaving that position to become interior minister in the government of former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

He resigned as interior minister in 2023 to vie for the 2024 presidential election nomination of Morena, a contest that Sheinbaum ultimately won before going on to claim victory in the election on June 2 last year.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)

The post Sheinbaum expects tariff agreement ‘this week’ with Trump administration: Monday’s mañanera recapped appeared first on Mexico News Daily

She also spoke about two significant reductions: one in the amount of fentanyl seized by U.S. authorities at the Mexico-U.S. border and another in the prevailing inflation rate in Mexico.

Here is a recap of the president’s July 24 mañanera.

Mexico doing ‘everything’ it can to stop 30% US tariffs from taking effect  

Asked about the United States’ proposed 30% tariff on imports from Mexico that is scheduled to take effect on Aug. 1, Sheinbaum said that her government is doing “everything” it can to stop the new duty from entering into force.

“There is a team working in the United States with the [U.S.] commerce secretary and the treasury secretary,” she said.

“We made a series of proposals that have to do with Plan México and also reducing the trade deficit [with the United States], which is one of the concerns of President Trump,” Sheinbaum said.

“The trade deficit can be reduced through different mechanisms that don’t affect the economy of Mexico. So we’ve been making a series of proposals and we’ll present them here [at a later time], hoping that we reach an agreement,” she said.

US announces 30% tariff on Mexican goods as bilateral talks continue

United States President Donald Trump informed Sheinbaum in a July 11 letter that “starting August 1, 2025, we will charge Mexico a Tariff of 30% on Mexican products sent into the United States, separate from all Sectoral Tariffs,” which currently apply to steel, aluminum, vehicles and auto parts.

In the letter, Trump noted that the United States “imposed Tariffs on Mexico” earlier this year “to deal with our Nation’s Fentanyl crisis.”

“… Mexico has been helping me secure the border, BUT, what Mexico has done is, is not enough,” he wrote.

On Thursday, Sheinbaum said she would seek to speak to Trump about the proposed 30% tariff “if it’s necessary.”

“… We’re going to see whether the teams can find an agreement. … We’re confident we can reach a good agreement,” she said.

Sheinbaum touts 50% decline in US fentanyl seizures 

Sheinbaum told reporters that the quantity of fentanyl seized by U.S. authorities at the Mexico-U.S. border has declined 50% since she took office last October.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows that 4,367 pounds (1,981 kg) of fentanyl were seized at the Mexico-U.S. border in the first six months of 2025, a 54.7% decrease compared to the same period of last year.

Sheinbaum asserted that the decline in fentanyl seizures at the border — which can be used as a rough proxy to estimate the amount of fentanyl being smuggled into the United States from Mexico — is evidence that more of the synthetic opioid is being seized in Mexico.

That confiscated fentanyl — produced in Mexico by criminal organizations with precursor chemicals imported from China — doesn’t reach the United States, she stressed.

Security Minister Omar García Harfuch reported on Tuesday that around 1.5 tonnes of fentanyl, “and more than 3.5 million fentanyl pills,” have been seized in Mexico since October.

On Thursday, Sheinbaum attributed fentanyl seizures in Mexico during her administration to “the entire security strategy,” which includes a greater emphasis on the use of intelligence and investigation to combat crime.

#MañaneraPresidenta | ¡QUE EE.UU TAMBIÉN HAGA SU PARTE!

Claudia Sheinbaum dijo que desde octubre de 2024 a la fecha se ha reducido un 50% el tráfico de fentanilo a Estados Unidos. Algo reconocido por las instituciones de ese país.

Esto gracias a la estrategia de seguridad.… pic.twitter.com/jkFf6L7JVM

— Juncal Solano (@juncalssolano) July 24, 2025

She stressed that authorities are also cracking down on methamphetamine, which is also produced by criminal groups in clandestine labs.

García Harfuch said on Tuesday that authorities have dismantled 1,193 clandestine drug labs since the government took office in October.

Sheinbaum highlighted that figure on Thursday, and noted that the estimated financial impact on organized crime groups due to drug confiscations, the dismantling of labs and the arrest of suspected criminals during her administration is 43 billion pesos (US $2.3 billion).

“All of this is part of the work we’re doing, and, as we always say, we’re also seeking that, on the other side in the United States, they do their part” to combat the distribution of fentanyl and other drugs, she said.

Sheinbaum highlights ‘significant reduction’ in inflation

A reporter noted that Mexico’s annual headline inflation rate, as reported by national statistics agency INEGI, declined to 3.55% in the first half of July. That rate is within the Bank of Mexico’s tolerated range of 2-4%.

En la primera quincena de julio 2025, el Índice Nacional de Precios al Consumidor #INPC presentó un nivel de 140.731 y representó un aumento de 0.15% respecto a la quincena previa. Con este resultado, la inflación general anual fue de 3.55%.

Por componente, la inflación anual… pic.twitter.com/I0mVGG5K9z

— INEGI INFORMA (@INEGI_INFORMA) July 24, 2025

Sheinbaum first said that beef, pork and chicken prices are “returning to their [normal] price” and helping to ease inflation.

The rate in the first half of the month represents a “significant reduction” in headline inflation, she said.

“It went from 4.13% to 3.55%,” Sheinbaum noted, referring in the first instance to the annual headline rate in the second half of June.

She said that the new inflation data gives the Bank of Mexico the “margin” required to continue lowering its key interest rate.

A continuation of the central bank’s easing cycle “will help us … increase investment” in Mexico, Sheinbaum said.

The Bank of Mexico has cut its key interest rate by 50 basis points after each of its board’s four monetary policy meetings this year. The rate is currently set at 8.0%, its lowest level in nearly three years.

The central bank’s next monetary policy meeting will take place on Aug. 7.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)

The post Mexico doing ‘everything’ to avoid 30% US tariffs: Thursday’s mañanera recapped appeared first on Mexico News Daily