In what appears to be a case of “he said, she said,” newly elected President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum appear to have starkly different memories of a conversation that touched on the hot-button issue of migration.
After the phone call late Wednesday, Trump wrote on social media that the Mexican leader had agreed to stop immigration through Mexico and into the United States.
“Just had a great conversation with the new President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo. She has agreed to stop migration through Mexico and into the United States, effectively closing our southern border,” he said in a post on Truth Social. “It was a very productive conversation!”
Sheinbaum’s account differed from Trump’s.
“In our conversation with President Trump, I explained to him the comprehensive strategy that Mexico has adopted to address the migration phenomenon, while respecting human rights,” she said on to close, but instead build bridges. between government and people.”
Previously, Sheinbaum said she had an “excellent conversation with President Donald Trump.”
“I told him that caravans were not arriving at the northern border because they are served in Mexico,” she said in the post, referring to the large groups of migrants traveling together in hopes of reaching the US.
The call between the two leaders came just days after Trump said his new administration would impose new tariffs on imported goods from Mexico, Canada and China starting Jan. 20.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Monday that he plans to “charge Mexico and Canada a 25% tariff on ALL products” imported into the US, framing the proposal as a response to the ongoing fentanyl crisis .
Trump said the tariff will remain in place until “Drugs, especially Fentanyl and all illegal aliens, stop this invasion of our country!”
Mexico’s president sent a letter to Trump on Tuesday responding to the proposed tariffs, stressing the need for “cooperation and mutual understanding” to address these challenges. Drug use “cannot be addressed through threats or tariffs,” she said, according to a translation of the letter from the Mexican embassy.
Sheinbaum, a physicist and climate scientist who was elected earlier this year, is a member of Mexico’s left-wing Morena party, which was founded by her mentor and predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Sheinbaum vowed to make good on López Obrador’s biggest promises, such as combating the country’s high level of violence by continuing his “hugs, no bullets” policy of not directly battling criminal organizations that control have acquired large parts of Mexico in their struggle for territory. to smuggle drugs into the US, make money from migrant smuggling and extort residents to fuel their illegal businesses.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
