MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico’s president on Monday hit back at U.S. criticism that her government was not doing enough to combat fentanyl, calling for the United States to do more to arrest drug traffickers on its own turf and stop the flow of weapons south across the border.
The comments came after President Donald Trump threatened 30% tariffs against his southern neighbor and largest trading partner over the weekend, accusing Sheinbaum of failing to stop fentanyl being smuggled into the United States.
“We do our part and they also have to do theirs,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said at her regular morning press conference.
“We have insisted on matters related to controlling the flow of weapons from the U.S. into Mexico, on the arrest of people involved in drug trafficking in the U.S., and on the responsibilities that belong to the United States,” she said.
Sheinbaum added that she believed Mexico and the U.S. were close to finalizing an agreement on security and expected it to be signed before the Aug. 1 deadline when the new tariffs are set to take effect.
Any security deal with Washington will not include the entry of U.S. security forces into Mexico, Sheinbaum said, reiterating a Mexican red line for any cooperation.
(Reporting by Aida Palaez-Fernandez; Writing by Brendan O’Boyle; Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Nick Zieminski)
