Mexico's National Guard Reinforces Northern Border

Mexico’s National Guard Reinforces Northern Border
10,000 Guards Deployed
Strategy to Halt Tariffs

Mexico began moving troops from the southeast of the country to strengthen its border with the United States on Tuesday.

Fulfilling an agreement to pause for one month the tariffs that President Donald Trump had threatened to impose.

“They have already started sending them,” stated President Claudia Sheinbaum during her morning press conference.

The President referred to the initial elements of the National Guard (GN) that departed from Cancún International Airport in the Mexican Caribbean, with a promise to deploy 10,000 agents.

Military Reinforcement of the National Guard Departs from Cancún to the Border

Mexico's National Guard Reinforces Northern Border:, Frontera, States — Mexico’s National Guard Reinforces Northern Border – PHOTO: Screenshot Twitter (x)

Just before 4:00 AM local time (9:00 GMT), the Armed Forces personnel went to the Military City in Isla Mujeres, north of Cancún.

They moved in military vehicles to Terminal 1 of the airport, where a National Guard airplane was already waiting.

Local authorities indicated that from the state of Quintana Roo, 800 troops would depart for San Juan Río Colorado, in Sonora, a border state with Arizona, to join the contingent that aims to curb migrant trafficking and the flow of fentanyl, a matter that the Trump administration has labeled a priority.

According to local media and press reports, in addition to Cancún, other contingents also departed from Mérida and Campeche.

This forms part of the government’s strategy of “reorienting forces” to ensure the rest of the country remains secure.

“Others who were in the southern part of the border states are now moving towards the northern border, meaning it’s a deployment that does not leave the rest of the country without security,” emphasized the President.

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She assured that the tourist regions of Quintana Roo, such as Cancún, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum, will maintain a reinforced federal presence.

Currently, there are about 10,000 National Guard troops in the border states, but they have not been able to completely contain the violence in that area.

For example, the discovery of seven dead men on Monday in San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, right on the line with Arizona, showed the intensity of organized crime.

To compensate for the departure of the gendarmes from Quintana Roo, authorities told EFE that they would strengthen prevention and surveillance efforts throughout the state, with increased patrols and a greater presence of federal agencies on the streets.

The massive deployment is part of the agreements initiated between Mexico and the United States on security, migration, and trade, with the intention of avoiding the application of the 25% tariff that Donald Trump has warned he will impose if he considers Mexican actions on the border insufficient.

In 2019, then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to halt Trump’s tariff threat, also reinforced the borders, sending 15,000 troops to the north and 6,500 to the south.

An experience that the U.S. president mentioned to support the effectiveness of these measures.

“I hope to be involved in those negotiations, with President (Mexican Claudia) Sheinbaum, as we try to achieve an ‘agreement’ between our two countries,” commented the former U.S. president.

Confirming his intention to maintain dialogue but pressing with the possibility of imposing trade sanctions.

Mexico’s commitment involves having 10,000 National Guard agents on the border strip, so the contingent that left from Cancún represents the fulfillment of part of the total promised, as declared by Sheinbaum in her phone call with Trump.

Mexico’s National Guard Balances Internal Security and Migration

The president noted that the 120,000 members of the National Guard must be balanced, as about 30,000 are dedicated to patrolling highways and assisting in migration control.

While others support various entities in terms of internal security.

Although the number of intercepted migrants has decreased in recent years, drug trafficking, especially of fentanyl, maintains tension at the northern border, and the current agreement seeks to meet the U.S. demand for more rigid and visible containment.

The Mexican government insists that this border reinforcement will not unbalance protection in the rest of the territory, while seeking to demonstrate willingness for Trump not to apply the tariffs.

Economists note that this would negatively impact exports from both countries.

At Cancún airport, witnesses saw GN personnel board the plane with full equipment and a serious demeanor, “ready to fulfill the mission,” described some military personnel.

Who did not clarify the duration of the deployment to Sonora but confirmed that the transfer occurred “under direct orders from the Federal Government”.

The National Guard General Staff continues with the departure of more troops from other points of the country, like Mérida, Campeche, and even the Bajío, to converge in different border cities, in an operation that official spokespeople have called “unprecedented”.

Meanwhile, the presidency emphasizes that the objective of these mobilizations and the rest of the measures announced in the bilateral agenda is to reach an understanding between Mexico and the United States to avoid tariff retaliations and, at the same time, contain the escalation of violence that plagues the border strip.

SOURCE: EFE / AP