President-elect Donald Trump spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday. The call came two days after he announced that he plans to impose a 25% tariff on all imports from Mexico on his first day in the White House.
Trump called the conversation “good” and “very productive” in a post on Truth Social, saying the two leaders talked about border control and how to fight the flow of illegal drugs – but this topical talking point was the only one. the two can fully agree.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during the High Level Summit between Mexican and US leaders and businessmen at the National Palace in Mexico City on October 15, 2024. (Photo by Yuri CORTEZ/AFP) (Photo by YURI CORTEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images
Earlier in the day, Sheinbaum confirmed that he had spoken with Trump, and he discussed the shared border, writing in X: “I had a very good conversation with President Donald Trump. We discussed Mexico’s strategy on the phenomenon of migration and I pointed out that the caravan does not come to the coast the northern border because it is managed in Mexico.”
But Trump went further, stating that the Mexican president “agreed to stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border.”
In a follow-up post, he added, “Mexico will prevent people from coming to our Southern Border, effective immediately.
Sheinbaum then appeared to directly refute the president-elect’s account of the conversation, posting on X: “In our conversation with President Trump, I explained to him the comprehensive strategy that Mexico is implementing to deal with the phenomenon of migration, respecting human rights. Thanks for this, migrants and caravans helped before reaching the border, we reiterate that Mexico’s position is not to close the border, but to build a bridge between the government and between people.
Trump and Sheinbaum also agreed that they were talking about stemming the flow of illegal drugs, including fentanyl, into the US
Sheinbaum wrote in X that they “discussed strengthening collaboration on security issues within our sovereign framework and the ongoing campaign in the country to prevent the consumption of fentanyl.”
And after that call, Trump announced on Truth Social that part of his plan to tackle the fentanyl epidemic in the US will be a massive advertising campaign.
“I will work on a large-scale United States Ad Campaign, explaining how bad Fentanyl is for people to use – millions of lives needlessly destroyed,” Trump wrote. “When the Campaign is over, everyone will know how bad this Drug scare is.”
The call came after Trump this week announced plans to slap tariffs on Mexico, as well as Canada and China, in an effort to curb illegal border crossings and stop the flow of drugs into the US.
On Tuesday, Sheinbaum backed down, warning against starting a trade war that he said would damage the US
“President Trump, it’s not the threat or the tariffs that will address migration and drug consumption in the US,” Sheinbaum said at a press conference, reading from a letter he wrote to Trump. “This great challenge requires cooperation and mutual understanding.”
He also disputed Trump’s claims about migration and drugs, and he blamed the US for Mexico’s drug war – referring to US consumption and American weapons.
“We don’t make guns, we don’t consume synthetic drugs. The people who are killed for crimes to meet the demand for drugs in your country, unfortunately, are our responsibility,” he said.
The swift rebuke was a departure from Sheinbaum’s mentor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who had a good relationship with Trump during his first term.
While Trump also threatened tariffs on Mexico and closing the border in 2018, the two men negotiated a deal to boost Mexican immigration enforcement with U.S. support, reducing numbers at the border — and Trump dropped the threat.
