More than 2,500 Mexican troops from the states of Tlaxcala, Durango, Durango, Yucatán and Mexico City have fan-outed along this historically violent border city, according to NBC News.
The military is part of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who announces President Donald Trump’s executive order to the United States, which announced tariffs on goods in Mexico, Canada and China, and introduces fentanyl and immigration flows to the three countries. It is part of a movement intended to put pressure on it to stop. We
Trump delayed tariffs in Mexico and Canada for 30 days after the two countries announced measures to increase security at the border.
Mexican military and National Guard patrol the border near Chiudad Juarez, Mexico. (Erika Angulo / NBC News)
In total, Shanebaum deploys 10,000 troops on Mexico’s US border. The White House is promoting Mexican military deployment as a victory.
There is an increasing number of debate over the military’s deterrent effects. One human smuggler who spoke to NBC News said the military wouldn’t make a difference, but admitted that Trump’s stricter border policies have been significantly cut to his business.
“Order under”
In an interview along a fence across New Mexico’s borders, Mexican National Guard Major Alexander Vazquez Hernandez attributed the decline in illegal border intersections to the number of new personnel in the area.
Along with the Mexican National Guard, Major General Alexander Vazquez Hernandez says his forces have been given orders to maintain their presence along the border. (Gabe Gutierrez/NBC News)
“The main purpose is to block fentanyl trafficking,” he said in Spanish, adding that the deployment of the military helped them to recognize the main transport points.
Mexican National Guard troops have been mobilized to at least 13 cities, from Tijuana to Matamoros, across the border of about 2,000 miles.
“Security is on the rise,” Vazquez Hernandez said. “We’ve got positive results with more staffing here.”
But critics say the military does little to stop the flow of illegal immigration and drugs like fentanyl. Instead, it corresponds to a show of unnecessary forces that militarizes borders as political stunts.
“This is a waste of government resources,” he said, “Luis Zabara de Alba, director of Casa Monarca del Immigration, a shelter for immigrant families in Monterrey, Mexico and visiting professor at Yale University. said.
Casa Monarca immigrants told Zavala de Alba that they may remain in Mexico as they are not sure if they will be able to reach the US, but he said, “Though these measures include a temporary stream, Organized crime finds a way to cross hopeless immigrants.”
Major General Alexander Vazquez Hernandez, Center, Mexican National Guard and Mexican soldiers patrol Santa Teresa to the US (Erica Anglo / NBC News)
Border activity is much quieter than usual, so the NBC News pushed Vazquez Hernandez, as critics argue, about whether the military was just a show for Trump.
“We don’t have the answer,” he said. “We are working under the orders to maintain our presence.”
Complete tactical equipment guard members patrol the borders. Recently they quickly discovered a large, refined tunnel from El Paso, Texas. Measured 4 feet x 6 feet with full lighting and ventilation system.
Mexican troops said they found the tunnel along the Mexican border shortly from El Paso, Texas. (Erika Angulo/NBC News) The tunnel has full lighting and ventilation systems. (Erika Angulo / NBC News)
Most fentanyl is smuggled into the US by vehicles through legal ports of entry, not through country stretches at the border, so the National Guard and Mexican forces have increased their presence at official border intersections.
Illegal border crossings have fallen dramatically after the US tightened asylum restrictions in the second half of President Joe Biden’s administration.
After Trump was re-elected, Customs and Border Protection said the number of crossings fell by another 35% between December and January. Trump’s border emperor Tom Homan said this week that he was watching 229 encounters a day along the entire border, down from the peak of 11,000 a day during Biden’s term.
As part of its crackdown, the US State Department has designated Mexican drug cartels and Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua as foreign terrorist organizations, according to documents released Thursday in the Federal Register. US officials also told NBC News that the CIA has expanded its drone surveillance flights to target cartels.
Smuggling is down, but “it’s not a difference.”
Wearing a mask, Marcos, a human smuggler, agreed to speak to NBC News on the condition that his last name was withheld. He works in southern Mexico. The city of Tapachula is a major bottleneck for immigrants coming from Central America.
“That’s not a difference,” he said of the military. “That’s stupidity.”
This is not the first time Mexico has deployed its troops to enforce borders. On the campaign trail, Trump said he persuaded Mexico to send thousands of troops during his first term.
However, the second Trump administration is keen to promote early success with the current crackdown. Honduras Frontier police intercepted 23 migrants and buses earlier this month, according to an internal memo from Customs and Border Patrol obtained by NBC News. He was deported to Mexico and Guatemala.
Marcos said he has been smuggling immigrants for six years, at least in the short term, and will not stop. When he pushed whether he saw himself as a criminal, he replied that what he did might be against the law, but that it would be morally streamlined.
“I have never given up or taken anyone,” he insisted. “It’s like a travel agency. … People have dreams. And it’s not possible for us, many of them in Latin America and elsewhere.”
However, he admitted that his business has plummeted 80% since Trump took office.
Mexican military and National Guard patrol the border near Chiudad Juarez, Mexico. (Gabe Gutierrez/NBC News)
He said the cost of his services depends on nationality. Someone in Central America costs $12,000-$18,000. From South America, between $14,000 and $26,000. From Europe or Asia, $40,000.
Immigrants often steal money from their relatives in the US by scrowing money or benefiting from cartels. However, Marcos pleads for ignorance.
“This is something we don’t ask,” he says, adding that although he doesn’t work for the cartel, he often has to pay them to move immigrants through their territory. I did.
“Moving is a business for everyone,” he said.
Before Trump took office, he said his operations usually traveled dozens of people a week, and personally earned around $5,000 to $6,000 a month. Now he expects to make around $1,000 a month.
Still, he thinks Trump is wrong – his policies won’t stop people from coming to the US
“I think he’s focusing on the issue of migration in the wrong way,” he said. “Instead of closing the border, he should look further away to implement measures against corrupt people in our country.”
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