The detention of Mexicans at the “Alligator Alcatraz” prison in the U.S. state of Florida and a reduction in the robbery of freight trucks were among the issues discussed at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Tuesday morning press conference.
Here is a recap of the president’s July 22 mañanera.
Sheinbaum: Mexicans detained at Alligator Alcatraz should be ‘immediately’ repatriated
A reporter noted that Human Rights Watch (HRW) published testimonies of people who have been detained at immigration detention centers in the United States.
Along with the organizations Americans for Immigrant Justice and Sanctuary of the South, HRW published a 92-page report on Monday entitled “‘You Feel Like Your Life Is Over’: Abusive Practices at Three Florida Immigration Detention Centers Since January 2025.”
The report “documents that people detained at Krome North Service Processing Center (Krome), Broward Transitional Center (BTC), and the Federal Detention Center (FDC) in Miami have been held in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, subjected to degrading treatment, and have not been given access to prompt and adequate medical care,” HRW said.
Sheinbaum didn’t comment on the report, but highlighted that her government sent a diplomatic note to its U.S. counterpart when it announced in early 2025 that it would send migrants to the U.S. military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
🚨Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz just toured “Alligator Alcatraz” and came out shaking: “It’s 34 people per cage. They drink, brush, and defecate in the same tiny unit. The photos don’t come close to the stench of it.”
We’re packing human beings into kennel conditions, then… pic.twitter.com/SZxgpzKXCP
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) July 12, 2025
She said earlier this year that her government told the Trump administration in the note that “no Mexican should be sent anywhere except Mexico.”
On Tuesday, the president said that her government sent another diplomatic note to its U.S. counterpart when it announced last month that it would detain undocumented immigrants at a facility in the Florida Everglades called “Alligator Alcatraz” due to the presence of the reptiles in the surrounding marshland.
Sheinbaum said that in the second note, her government expressed its view that any Mexican detained in the United States should be deported immediately and not held at Alligator Alcatraz.
“We know that there are some Mexicans in this detention center and we’re insisting that they be deported [to Mexico] immediately,” she said.
Sheinbaum said that Mexico’s consulates in the United States are investigating to determine whether any Mexicans held by U.S. authorities have suffered violations of their human rights.
“If that is the case, the protocol that must be followed will be followed,” she said.
“But what we’ve requested is that they be deported immediately in order to repatriate them.”
Asked how many Mexicans are detained at Alligator Alcatraz, Sheinbaum said the number was 14.
“All steps are being taken to have them repatriated immediately. A diplomatic note was sent, and from the Embassy of Mexico in the United States and the consulates, we’re insisting that they be integrated into Mexico as soon as possible,” she said.
Robbery of freight trucks down 22% in 2025
National Guard Commander Hernán Cortés Hernández reported that the number of robberies of freight trucks on Mexico’s highways declined 22.41% in the first six months of 2025 compared to the same period of last year.
Data he presented showed there were 3,126 robberies between January and June, down from 4,029 in the first half of 2024.
Cortés said that in order to combat the crime of highway robbery “with greater force,” Sheinbaum ordered the implementation of “Zero Robbery” plans on the Mexico City-Querétaro, Mexico City-Puebla and Mazatlán-Culiacán highways.
He said that 29% of robberies targeting freight trucks occur on the Mexico City-Querétaro and Mexico City-Puebla highways, while the beefing up of security on the Mazatlán-Culiacán highway is due to the “particular situation” in Sinaloa, where rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel are engaged in a bloody war.
The National Guard (GN) chief outlined the plans to combat robberies on the aforementioned highways, noting that hundreds of troops and GN vehicles have been deployed to them, and highlighting that their efforts will be supported by helicopters and drones.
“With this deployment of troops and [surveillance] means we’re seeking to reduce even more the incidence of robberies of freight and private vehicles,” Cortés said.
The robbery of freight trucks and other vehicles has long been a problem in Mexico. In early 2024, the then-president of the Confederation of Industrial Chambers said that the crime — which includes the hijacking of trucks in some cases — costs the economy over 7 billion pesos (US $375 million) per year.
Sheinbaum highlights security survey results
Early in the press conference, Security Minister Omar García Harfuch reported that authorities have arrested more than 26,000 people for high-impact crimes since the current government took office on Oct. 1. He said that 204 tonnes of drugs and 14,000 firearms have been seized in the same period.
Later in the mañanera, a reporter noted that 63% of respondents to a recent poll said that Sheinbaum’s efforts to combat insecurity in Mexico have been good or very good.
The president called for the results of De las Heras’ July security survey to be displayed on the screen behind her.
“It’s a well-known polling company, and the question is whether the [security] situation has improved,” Sheinbaum said.
She noted that 56% of respondents said that the security situation has improved (52%) since she took office or remains “just as good” (4%) as before.
Among the other results Sheinbaum highlighted were those that showed that 53% of respondents said that her efforts to combat insecurity have been good and an additional 10% said that those efforts have been “very good.”
Asked how she felt about the results of the survey — for which 1,000 people across Mexico responded to questions during interviews at their homes — the president responded:
“We have to keep working. … As long as people continue to feel unsafe in any part of the Republic we have to keep working. And, furthermore, [combating insecurity] is our job and we’re doing it every day.”
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
