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The president of the United States, Donald Trump, threatened this Thursday to double tariffs on products from Mexico if the country does not stop the migrant caravans that are supposedly heading to the border.
"MEXICO MUST STOP THEM, NOW; and if it does not, the tariffs on Mexico WILL IMMEDIATELY DOUBLE," the president said in a message published on social networks, without providing more details about the warning.
Shortly after, during a press conference, the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, stated that since the beginning of Trump's presidency, "no migrant caravan has arrived at the border" that both countries share.
Trump stated in the message that after the midterm elections - in which the Democratic Party won a majority in Congress - "the invasion of our country is happening again," without providing evidence to support that claim.
"Huge caravans are forming and beginning their illegal march through Mexico," said the president.
President Sheinbaum clarified that there are two caravans. One of them in Arriaga, Chiapas, which originally had about 500 or 600 people and in which today less than 100 participate. The other, he added, is a caravan that was recently formed in Honduras.
When asked about a possible military reinforcement on Mexico's southern border, Sheinbaum maintained that the National Immigration Institute has a lot of experience in dealing with these issues, given that in the last two years nearly ten caravans or more have arrived on that side, he noted.
The president said that in these types of situations, the Mexican immigration authorities inform each of the migrants about how the procedure works.
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"The vast majority return to their countries of origin once they know that, well, they cannot, they will not be able to cross the Mexican border with the United States," he noted.
On the other hand, the president warned that sometimes migrants receive incorrect information.
"It must be said, sometimes there are people who deceive migrants and tell them that, for example, with the result of the United States election the immigration policy changed, which is false," he added.
image source, Reuters
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Trump's threat comes in the middle of trade negotiations within the framework of the review of the T-MEC (Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada).
The president's message represents a new factor of uncertainty for these conversations.
With the USMCA in force, but subject to annual reviews after Washington refused to extend it over time, the trade relationship has been constantly under pressure.
And, on the other hand, with the electoral victory of the Democrats in the midterm elections, some analysts have suggested that the Trump government will redouble its efforts on issues such as migration to recover part of the electorate.
The Secretary of Homeland Security of the United States (DHS), MarkWayne Mullin, also insisted on the immigration issue.
Through a message on social networks he wrote: "We will use all resources to ensure that our borders are secure. This caravan of illegal migrants will NOT be allowed to enter our country. Period."
In recent days, several groups of Central American migrants have tried to make their way through Mexican territory to reach the United States, apparently encouraged by the idea that the electoral victory of the Democrats would allow them to successfully advance towards their objective.
Mexican authorities in the state of Chiapas deployed patrols and agents to prevent the crossing of hundreds of migrants, according to the Mexican press.
It is currently unclear how many caravans have attempted to cross into Mexico in recent days.
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