Mexico begins deploying 10,000 National Guard troops to US border
A convoy of Mexican National Guard and Army trucks rumbled along the border separating Ciudad Juárez and El Paso, Texas, on February 5 (local time).
They are among the first of 10,000 troops Mexico has deployed to its northern border following US President Donald Trump's threat to impose tariffs.
National Guard members, masked and armed, combed through bushes along the border fence on the outskirts of Ciudad Juárez, pulling out homemade ladders and ropes hidden in trenches and loading them onto trucks. Patrols were also organized in other border areas near Tijuana.
The move comes after a tumultuous week at the border, after Trump said he would delay imposing hefty tariffs on Mexico for at least a month. In return, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum pledged to deploy the National Guard to beef up border controls and crack down on fentanyl trafficking.
President Trump has declared a national emergency at the border, even though migrant numbers and fentanyl deaths have dropped significantly over the past year. In return, the US has pledged to step up efforts to stop guns from being smuggled into Mexico, which has fueled gang violence that has spread to other areas as criminal groups fight for control of the lucrative migrant smuggling industry.
The first of these forces arrived in border cities on February 4, disembarking from government planes. Guard members on patrol on February 5 confirmed that they were part of the newly mobilized force.
"There will be constant surveillance at the border," José Luis Santos Iza, one of the National Guard commanders in charge of the deployment in the border city, told reporters as the first troops arrived. "The operation is primarily aimed at stopping drug trafficking from Mexico to the United States, especially fentanyl."
At least 1,650 troops will be deployed to Ciudad Juárez, making it one of the largest border reinforcements after Tijuana, which is expected to receive 1,949 troops, according to government figures.
During a trip through Latin America by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, where migration is at the top of the agenda, the top US diplomat thanked the Mexican government for the deployment, according to a statement from the Mexican government.
Ms. Sheinbaum’s negotiations were seen by observers as a smart political move by the new Mexican president, who had previously been skeptical that she could deal with the Trump administration as effectively as her predecessor and ally, former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
