President Donald Trump has stated that Mexico is largely governed by drug cartels, despite his seemingly cordial relationship with Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Trump made this statement during a surprise press conference in Florida, where he signed several executive orders. A reporter asked the president about CIA drone flights over Mexican territory to monitor drug traffickers.
“I have a very good relationship with Mexico, but I believe that Mexico is largely governed by cartels, and that is a sad thing to say. If they wanted help with that, we would give it to them,” said Trump.
‘Opened Up Prisons’
The president emphasized that cartel involvement in the Mexican government has been going on for years, but “especially now, it is led by the cartels.”
Trump further claimed that Mexican authorities have allowed “millions of people to enter our country from prisons and jails all over the world, not just from South America, Africa, Asia, mostly from the Congo in Africa. They opened their prison and came through Mexico, and we have some of the worst criminals coming from the Congo and other places. So, it’s not just South America, and it’s not just Venezuela, but they opened their jails.”
‘Absolute Criminals’
He also stated that crime rates in Venezuela and other parts of the world have dropped significantly because they’ve sent their prisoners, drug lords, and gang members to the United States.
“They’ve given us their prisoners, they’ve given us their drug lords and their gang members, and it’s hard to believe we accepted this. It’s hard to believe we allowed open borders, and we’re getting, you know, hundreds of thousands and millions of people coming from all over the world, and they are absolute criminals.”
‘Border is Safe’
Trump presented no factual evidence for any of his claims, instead using his signature rhetorical broad brushstrokes.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris never visited the border to address immigration issues, said Trump, adding that he has visited the border. He also stated that immigration authorities are “doing a great job.”
“We have the safest border we’ve ever had, even safer than it was four years ago, and the Border Patrol is doing an incredible job, ICE is doing an incredible job, Tom Homan is incredible, and we have the best numbers we’ve ever had, and we’re going to keep it that way.”
