President Claudia Sheinbaum affirmed that Mexico “will always be a free, independent, and sovereign country” that works and negotiates with its neighbors without any relation of subordination, in an apparent reference to the United States government. During the delivery of housing from Infonavit in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, a border city with the United States, the head of state stated: “I want to tell you that Mexico will always be a free, independent, and sovereign country. And here on this border, it is even more symbolic to say so.” Sheinbaum pointed out that the relationship with neighboring countries is based on dialogue and cooperation: “The president has her principles clear. We negotiate, we work with our neighbors, but we never subordinate ourselves.” She noted that the central objective of her government is social justice and improving the living conditions of the population. “We continue to fight for social justice, to make well-being a reality, because I said that there are two words in the fourth transformation: justice and well-being,” she declared. “That is why these are homes for well-being, that is why the programs for well-being, that is why we increase the minimum wage for the well-being of the people of Mexico. That is the great difference between the past and the fourth transformation,” she added. Sheinbaum's statements come after the publication of an interview with U.S. President Donald Trump in The New York Post, in which he reiterated his position to attack drug cartels by land. When asked if such attacks could occur on Mexican, Venezuelan, or Colombian territory, he responded: “it could be anywhere.” The governments of Mexico and the United States agreed to share more information on security actions implemented in the United States, increase exchange on priority cases for Mexico, and continue and strengthen actions against weapons trafficking, under the Border Security and Law Enforcement Cooperation Program. This was announced by the Government of Mexico on Saturday following the third meeting of the Security Implementation Group (GIS) between the two countries, held last Friday at the headquarters of the U.S. Department of State. In a communiqué, it detailed that during the meeting, follow-up was given to the bilateral work under the Border Security and Law Enforcement Cooperation Program, based on four principles: “respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual trust and respect, shared and differentiated responsibility, and cooperation without subordination.” The federal government noted that both delegations highlighted the achievements made since the installation of the GIS in September 2025 to face common challenges in security matters. “Advances in the exchange of customs information, progress in understanding the global threats of unmanned systems, and the results in judicial cooperation were highlighted,” the text continues. It emphasizes the importance of “continuing to join efforts that translate into concrete results against impunity,” for which the U.S. delegation “recognized and thanked the Government of Mexico” for the transfer of 37 alleged high-impact criminals to its country on January 20 “under collaboration mechanisms and within the respective legal frameworks of each nation.” The transferred individuals will face charges in the United States for drug trafficking, money laundering, weapons trafficking, human trafficking, narco-terrorism, and support to foreign terrorist organizations.
