Mexico begins deploying troops to US border after tariff pause

MEXICO CITY

Mexico began deploying troops to its border with the US on Tuesday as part of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s pledge to send 10,000 additional members of the country’s National Guard to prevent cross-border drug trafficking, particularly of fentanyl.

During her morning briefing, Sheinbaum said members of the National Guard and military have been relocated from other regions of the country to reinforce the northern border, as previously agreed to with President Donald Trump.

"In some areas where there are elements of the National Guard and security issues are not as problematic, they are being sent to the northern border…It’s a deployment that does not leave the rest of the country without security," she said.

The National Guard has deployed 6,310 members to the northern border to contain the flow of asylum seekers and fentanyl, as agreed by Sheinbaum and Trump to pause 25% tariffs imposed by the US president on Mexico.

The military deployed 2,700 troops to the northern border in the early hours of the morning.

"These personnel will reinforce the troops already deployed at the border, with the aim of stopping the flow of fentanyl, other drugs, and illegal immigration into the US, as well as preventing the entry of firearms from the United States," the Mexican army said in a briefing.

The troops have been allocated along the northern states of Mexico which border the US such as Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua and Tamaulipas.