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Mexico Deploys Troops to Border 02/06 06:04
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) -- A line of Mexican National Guard and Army
trucks rumbled along the border separating Ciudad Jurez and El Paso, Texas, on
Wednesday, among the first of 10,000 troops Mexico has sent to its northern
frontier following tariff threats by President Donald Trump.
Masked and armed National Guard members picked through brush running along
the border barrier on the outskirts of Ciudad Jurez, pulling out makeshift
ladders and ropes tucked away in the trenches, and pulling them onto trucks.
Patrols were also seen on other parts of the border near Tijuana.
It comes after a turbulent week along the border after Trump announced he
would delay imposing crippling tariffs on Mexico for at least a month. In
exchange, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum promised she would send the
country's National Guard to reinforce the border and crack down on fentanyl
smuggling.
Trump has declared an emergency on the border despite migration levels and
fentanyl overdoses significantly dipping over the past year. The U.S. said it
would, in turn, do more to stop American guns from being trafficked into Mexico
to fuel cartel violence, which has rippled to other parts of the country as
criminal groups fight to control the lucrative migrant smuggling industry.
On Tuesday, the first of those forces arrived in border cities, climbing out
of government planes. Guard members in the Wednesday patrol confirmed that they
were part of the new force.
"There will be permanent surveillance on the border," Jos Luis Santos Iza,
one of the National Guard leaders heading off the deployment in the city, told
media upon the arrival of the first set of soldiers. "This operation is
primarily to prevent drug trafficking from Mexico to the United States, mainly
fentanyl."
At least 1,650 troops were expected to be sent to Ciudad Jurez, according
to government figures, making it one of the biggest receivers of border
reinforcements in the country, second only to Tijuana, where 1,949 are slated
to be sent.
During U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's trip through Latin America --
where migration was at the top of the agenda -- the top American diplomat
thanked the Mexican government for the forces, according to a statement by the
Mexican government.
The negotiation by Sheinbaum was viewed by observers as a bit of shrewd
political maneuvering by the newly elected Mexican leader. Many had previously
cast doubt that she'd be able to navigate Trump's presidency as effectively as
her predecessor and ally, former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
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