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The president-elect’s warning to neighbors earned a retaliatory salvo from south of the border accusing the United States of being the source of an array of problems.

In preparing his return to the White House, President-elect Donald Trump gave notice to Mexico and Canada alike that a failure to curb illegal border crossings would result in costly across-the-board tariffs. While Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was quick to call to talk things over, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded with threats of her own as she blamed America for arms trafficking and more.

“If even a small percentage of what the United States allocates to war were instead dedicated to building peace and fostering development, it would address the underlying causes of human mobility,” read one translation of the president’s letter.

Alleging that the ingredients being used to create fentanyl and other synthetic drugs were coming from Asia via Canada and the United States as well as Mexico, Sheinbaum pivoted to the firearms empowering the drug cartels and asserted, “Seventy percent of the illegal weapons seized from criminals in Mexico come from your country. We do not produce these weapons, nor do we consume synthetic drugs. Tragically, it is in our country that lives are lost to the violence resulting from meeting the drug demand in yours.”

The president went on to assert that any tariff will be met in kind while suggesting Trump’s actions presented a threat to General Motors, Stellantis, and the Ford Motor Company, contending job losses and inflation could result. “Why impose a tariff that would jeopardize them?”

She then insisted “North America’s economic strength lies in maintaining our trade partnership. This allows us to remain competitive against other economic blocs. For this reason, I believe that dialogue is the best path to understanding, peace, and prosperity for our nations. I hope our teams can meet soon to continue building joint solutions.”

Monday, Trump made clear, “On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders.”

“This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” added the GOP leader.

Of course, portions of Sheinbaum’s letter were indistinguishable from messaging out of the Biden-Harris administration under which the border crisis escalated as she contended, “You may not be aware that Mexico has developed a comprehensive policy to assist migrants from different parts of the world who cross our territory en route to the southern border of the United States.”

“As a result, and according to data from your country’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP), encounters at the Mexico-United States border have decreased by 75% between December 2023 and November 2024,” she went on. “Moreover, half of those who arrive do so through a legally scheduled appointment under the United States’ CBP One program. For these reasons, migrant caravans no longer arrive at the border.”

Much like referring to illegal aliens as parolees and other similar tricks to paint a better picture of the crisis, the president’s claim on caravans belied the reality of a recent report of a roughly 1,500-person strong parade en route from southern Mexico to the United States border in a bid to arrive ahead of the peaceful transfer of power.

“It is going to be more difficult, that’s why we are going in hopes of getting an appointment quicker so we are able to cross before [Trump] takes office,” a 23-year-old Venezuelan national said. “That would be easier.”

Kevin Haggerty
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