International

Sheinbaum says that “it will remain the Gulf of Mexico for the whole world” despite Trump

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday that the Gulf of Mexico will continue to be called that “for the whole world,” despite the order of the new president of the United States, Donald Trump, to rename the body of water as ‘Gulf of America’.

“I mean, what corresponds to the continental shelf of the United States, they call it the Gulf of America, for us it is still the Gulf of Mexico and for the whole world, so it is important to see what the decree says,” said the ruler in her daily press conference.

The president minimized the implications of Trump’s executive order, who complied with his warning to seek to call the Gulf of Mexico ‘Gulf of America’ for considering that Mexico is “governed by drug trafficking cartels” and is “a very insecure place.”

“Soon, we will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’,” Trump said on Monday in a speech full of political proposals to inaugurate a “new golden age” in the United States that also included “regaining” control of the Panama Canal.

Although Florida, governed by Ron de Santis – of the Republican Party – became the first state in the United States to call it the ‘Gulf of America’ in a weather alert, Sheinbaum said that the rest of the world will continue to call it the Gulf of Mexico.

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“The Gulf of Mexico, beyond anything, they establish it for its continental shelf, for us it is still the Gulf of Mexico and for the whole world it still is,” he stressed.

The Mexican president promised on Tuesday to “defend Mexico above all” after the decrees on migration, trade and drug trafficking signed by Donald Trump, but asked to “be calm.”

“It is important to be calm and read the decrees as such to be able to make an interpretation and that they know that the president of the Republic will always defend Mexico above all,” he said.

The president requested to analyze with “a cool head” the executive orders of Trump, who on his first day in office declared a national emergency on the southern border of the United States, ordered the designation of Mexican cartels as terrorists and asked to reinstate the immigration program ‘Stay in Mexico’.

The head of the Executive argued that “the emergency zone decree of the southern border (of the United States) that he signed yesterday, is very similar, practically the same as the decree that he signed in his first period, in 2019.”

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Sheinbaum also rejected that Mexico becomes a “safe third country” with the return of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) or ‘Stay in Mexico’, recalling that Trump implemented in his first administration, in January 2019, this program that forces US asylum seekers to wait in Mexican territory.

“This has nothing to do with a safe third country and all this, but it is a statement from the United States Government. What do we do about it? Act in a humanitarian way and, then, according to our foreign policy, our migration policy, seek the repatriation of these people to their countries,” he said.

And he insisted that his Government is prepared to receive potential repatriates from the mass deportations from the United States, where Mexicans represent almost half of the nearly eleven million undocumented immigrants in the country.

“We will always support the Mexicans who are in the United States, our compatriots, our countrymen, those two principles are fundamental and elementary for a president of the Republic,” he stressed.

The president of Mexico said she seeks “coordination” in security with the new president of the United States, Donald Trump, for his order to designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorists.

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“We all want to fight drug cartels, that’s obvious. So what do you have to do? We have to coordinate efforts, we have to collaborate, they in their territory, we in our territory,” said Sheinbaum.

The Mexican ruler recognized that “they can act in their territory, within their framework of action and their Constitution” after the order that Trump signed on his first day in office to classify the Mexican cartels, the Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua and the Salvadoran gang MS-13 as terrorist organizations.

“Mexico probably doesn’t want this,” Trump said in the Oval Office after signing the decree and giving a two-week period for the different departments of the United States Government to help compile a list of Mexican criminal organizations.

International

Ecuador oil spill worsens as containment dam collapses

The collapse of a containment dam holding back part of the 25,000+ barrels of oil spilled from a pipeline rupture nearly two weeks ago has worsened the environmental crisis in northwestern Ecuador, contaminating rivers and Pacific beaches.

The Ecuadorian government attributed the March 13 pipeline rupture—which led to the spill of 25,116 barrels of crude—to an act of sabotage. The spill affected three rivers and disrupted water supplies for several communities, according to authorities.

On Tuesday, due to heavy rains that have been falling since January, a containment dam on the Caple River collapsed. The Caple connects to other waterways in Esmeraldas Province, a coastal region bordering Colombia, state-owned Petroecuador said in a statement on Wednesday.

Seven containment barriers were installed in the Viche River, where crews worked to remove oil-contaminated debris. Additional absorbent materials were deployed in Caple, Viche, and Esmeraldas Rivers, which flow into the Pacific Ocean.

Authorities are also working to protect a wildlife refuge home to more than 250 species, including otters, howler monkeys, armadillos, frigatebirds, and pelicans.

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“This has been a total disaster,” said Ronald Ruiz, a leader in the Cube community, where the dam was located. He explained that the harsh winter rains caused river levels to rise, bringing debris that broke the containment barriersthat were holding the accumulated oil for extraction.

International

Federal court blocks Trump’s use of Enemy Alien Act for deportations

A federal appeals court upheld the block on former President Donald Trump’s use of the Enemy Alien Act on Wednesday, preventing him from using the law to expedite deportations of alleged members of the transnational criminal group Tren de Aragua.

With a 2-1 ruling, a panel from the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed previous decisions by two lower court judges, maintaining the legal standoff between the White House and the judiciary.

On March 14, Trump invoked the 1798 Enemy Alien Act, a law traditionally used during wartime, to deport hundreds of Venezuelans whom he accused of belonging to Tren de Aragua, a criminal organization that originated in Venezuelan prisons.

The centuries-old law grants the president the power to detain, restrict, and expel foreign nationals from a country engaged in a “declared war” or an “invasion or predatory incursion” against the United States, following a public proclamation.

Central America

Kristi Noem in Latin America: Talks with Bukele on expulsions and security policies

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem arrived in El Salvador on Wednesday for a meeting with President Nayib Bukele. In a post on the social media platform X, she stated that her goal is to increase deportation flights and expel foreign nationals who have committed crimes in the United States.

El Salvador is the first stop on Noem’s three-nation tour of Latin America this week. On Thursday, she will travel to Colombia to meet with President Gustavo Petro, and on Friday, she will visit Mexico, where she is scheduled to meet with President Claudia Sheinbaum.

After arriving in El Salvador, Noem, along with Gustavo Villatoro, El Salvador’s Minister of Justice and Security, visited the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot)—the megaprison built under Bukele’s administration, designed to house 40,000 inmates. Noem said she wanted to “see firsthand the detention center where the worst criminals are held.”

Cecot is considered the largest prison in the Americas and a key symbol of Bukele’s controversial crackdown on crime.

According to the Salvadoran government, the prison—located about 70 kilometers from San Salvador—houses members of gangs such as MS-13 and Barrio 18, who have been convicted of serious crimes. The facility also holds the 238 Venezuelans deported from the United States on March 15, in an unprecedented transfer that has drawn criticism from Venezuela’s government and international human rights organizations.