MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s president emphasized on Tuesday that she will defend her nation’s sovereignty and independence but also pursue dialogue with U.S. President Donald Trump, a day after he began his new term with a flurry of orders, including measures to curb migration.
In her first comments following Trump’s inauguration, President Claudia Sheinbaum noted that some of his initial announcements closely resemble actions he took in his previous term, while she also sought to reassure Mexicans that their government will strenuously defend their interests.
“Regarding the decrees that President Donald Trump signed yesterday, I would like to say the following: The people of Mexico can be sure that we will always defend our sovereignty and our independence,” said Sheinbaum, flanked by two senior ministers.
“It’s always important to have a cool head,” she added.
In a response to Trump’s initial moves to halt unlawful migration, Sheinbaum said her government will act in a “humanitarian” way, even as she also pledged to repatriate foreign migrants to their home nations.
Trump is expected to sign more executive orders on his second day in office, following measures issued on Monday to designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations, in addition to suggesting across-the-board tariffs on Mexican and Canadian exports to the United States could take effect beginning in February.
At her regular morning press conference, Sheinbaum noted that while Trump signed an executive order declaring illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border as a national emergency, she will insist on respect for her nation’s people.
She also reiterated that her government would seek coordination on security and other matters with its northern neighbor, and that it was committed to revising trade terms in 2026.
The peso briefly reduced its losses during Sheinbaum’s message, although it later returned to earlier levels, performing the worst in a basket of global reference currencies.
(Reporting by Raul Cortes and Aida Pelaez-Fernandez; Additional reporting by Noe Torres; Writing by David Alire Garcia, Editing by William Maclean)
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