Mexico, on Tuesday, launched the 10,000-strong border force deployment it had promised US President Donald Trump in exchange for deferring a 25-percent tariff on exported products, President Claudia Sheinbaum said.
“The deployment has already started,” she told reporters a day after announcing a last-minute deal with Trump to tighten measures against illegal migration and cross-border smuggling of the drug fentanyl.
On Saturday, Trump unveiled sweeping sanctions against the United States’ three largest trading partners: Canada, China, and Mexico.
The president said that its immediate neighbours would pay a 25% export duty, with China paying an additional 10% on top of existing duties.
Canada and Mexico declared equivalent duties before their leaders reached an agreement with Trump on Monday to suspend the tariffs by a month.
Markets fell Monday as weekend warnings raised fears of a global trade war.
Sheinbaum stated on Tuesday that troops have been removed from areas of the country that “do not have as much of a security problem.”
No fewer than 450,000 people have been murdered countrywide since Mexico launched a major offensive against drug cartels in 2006.
The US border deployment “does not leave the rest of the country without security,” the president insisted.
