Many Mexicans are currently in a state of collective suspense.
Will the United States impose additional tariffs on imports from Mexico next week? How will Mexico respond if it does?
How many people were killed at the property in Jalisco that has been described as a cartel “extermination camp”? Who were the victims? What really happened at the now infamous ranch?
These questions are at the center of Mexico’s current national conversation.
At President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Tuesday morning press conference, they were once again a central focus of the dialogue between officials and reporters. But the questions remain.
Mexico could announce retaliatory tariffs on April 3
Sheinbaum told reporters that her government will wait until April 2 before deciding whether it will retaliate against U.S. protectionism.
The Trump administration is planning to impose at least some reciprocal tariffs on imports from United States’ trading partners on April 2. The U.S. government has already imposed 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports and 25% duties on goods from Mexico and Canada not covered by the USMCA free trade pact. It remains to be seen whether the United States will intensify the assault on its largest trade partner.
Sheinbaum said that in meetings with the United States government, Mexican officials are “providing all the information” about the impact that additional tariffs on Mexican goods would have on both the U.S. and Mexico.
“There is a lot of communication between [Economy] Minister [Marcelo] Ebrard and [Commerce] Secretary [Howard] Lutnick. They are in permanent communication,” she said.
Ebrard has previously asserted that blanket tariffs on Mexican goods would cause significant job losses in the United States and increase prices for American consumers. The Mexican economy would go into recession if blanket tariffs on Mexican exports to the U.S. were maintained for an extended period of time, according to some economists.
Sheinbaum said on Tuesday that she will announce measures against United States imports on April 3 if need be.
“According to what they present on April 2, we would announce measures, if that’s the case, on April 3,” she said.
On numerous occasions, Sheinbaum has expressed confidence that Mexico will avoid retaliatory tariffs on its exports to the United States as Mexico doesn’t impose duties on the majority of imports from the U.S. That may well be the case, but President Donald Trump is not known for being predictable, and has already shown he is willing to use tariffs to pressure Mexico to do more to stem the flow of drugs and migrants to the United States.
For her part, Sheinbaum has repeatedly stressed that Mexico, the United States and Canada should respect the free trade rules established by the USMCA in order to maintain North America’s capacity to effectively compete with other regions of the world.
Cartel ranch in Jalisco now under federal control
Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero told reporters that “federal authorities” are now in control of the ranch in Teuchitlán, Jalisco, where the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) trained recruits and possibly killed and/or cremated a large number of people.
Sheinbaum confirmed 11 days ago that the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) would take over the Teuchitlán case, but she said on Monday that the property was still in the “custody” of the Jalisco Attorney General’s Office.
Gertz said Tuesday that FGR forensic experts are now entering the property “to determine the reality about what is there.”
On Monday, federal Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said that authorities had confirmed that the CJNG trained recruits at the Izaguirre Ranch, but asserted that the presence of human remains on the property has not been definitively established.
He noted that the FGR has been tasked with carrying out an investigation into the property and the illicit activities that allegedly took place there, but stressed that the government itself currently has no evidence that the ranch was an “extermination camp,” as it has been described in numerous media reports.
On Tuesday, a reporter asked Gertz whether the FGR would allow journalists to visit the property, as the Jalisco Attorney General’s Office did last week.
“First let us take possession [of the ranch], we’re doing that at the moment. Our federal forces are going in at the moment, our experts are going in, they’re taking possession of the property,” the attorney general said.
“And we’re going to be reporting everything that is necessary every day,” Gertz said before indicating that journalists could be allowed to visit the site again as long as their presence “doesn’t hinder our work.”
Asked whether he was planning to visit the ranch himself, the attorney general responded:
“Those who have to be there are the [forensic] experts. I can’t replace the role of experts. I have the responsibility of an institution. And the experts have to give me an account of everything they find and I have the obligation to make it known to everyone. That’s my work.”
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
