President Claudia Sheinbaum offered her condolences for the death of Pope Francis at the beginning of her Monday morning press conference, joining the public mourning of people around the world.

In her Q&A session with reporters, she highlighted her government’s response to a claim that criminals from Mexico were planning to assassinate the president of Ecuador.

Among other issues, Sheinbaum responded to a question about her call last week with United States President Donald Trump and acknowledged some of the current sources of tension in the Mexico-U.S. relationship.

Government denies claim that ‘hired killers from Mexico’ are planning to kill president of Ecuador 

Sheinbaum noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) responded to a claim that “hired killers from Mexico and other countries” were planning to assassinate Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, who was re-elected on April 13.

The claim was made in an alleged Ecuadorian military intelligence report that circulated on social media last week.

“The transfer of hired killers from Mexico and other countries to Ecuador has begun,” the report said.

On Saturday, the Ecuadorian Ministry of Government released a statement entitled “the revenge of the bad losers,” in which it “strongly condemned” any attempt to take the life of Noboa or any other Ecuadoran official.

The statement referred to “intelligence information that warns of the preparation of an assassination, terrorist attacks and the heating-up of streets through violent protests.”

The Ministry of Government didn’t specifically refer to “hired killers from Mexico,” but asserted that it is “deplorable that criminal structures, in complicity with political sectors defeated at the ballot boxes, intend to impose chaos through violence, fear and terror.”

“… The state is on maximum alert,” it said.

Sheinbaum — who said last week that Mexico had no plans to restore diplomatic relations with Ecuador that it broke after a 2024 raid on its embassy in Quito — said that the Ecuadorian government hadn’t provided any proof for its claims or revealed the source of the information.

She read aloud a statement issued by the SRE on Saturday.

Nota Informativa de la @SRE_mx.https://t.co/SHgK21Gmp5 pic.twitter.com/1SlPJQkuyT

— Relaciones Exteriores (@SRE_mx) April 19, 2025

In the statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “categorically rejects the repeated and unscrupulous creation of narratives in official statements and/or leaks of official documents, which refer to Mexico as the source of supposed criminal acts or internal situations in that country [Ecuador].”

“The breaking-off of diplomatic relations with the Republic of Ecuador occurred due to the violent assault on the Embassy of Mexico in Quito on April 5, 2024, in flagrant violation of international law,” the SRE added.

Sheinbaum elaborates on her call with Trump 

A reporter asked the president whether she could provide additional details about her call last Wednesday with Trump, which both leaders described as “very productive.”

Sheinbaum said that she and the U.S. president spoke about the tariffs the United States has imposed on steel, aluminum and cars made in Mexico, and all other countries around the world.

“We didn’t reach an agreement, but we did put forward arguments,” she said.

Sheinbaum said that she pointed out that Mexico has a deficit with the United States on the trade of steel and aluminum, a situation the Mexican government has highlighted on various occasions.

She also said she advocated “zero tariffs” on products that fall under the USMCA, the North American free trade pact that superseded NAFTA in 2020.

With regard to the tariffs on vehicles made in Mexico, Sheinbaum declined to comment on the specifics of her conversation with Trump, but told reporters that, as “always,” she defended Mexico’s interests.

In subsequent remarks, she reiterated that an agreement with the United States on the trade of steel, aluminum and cars has not yet been reached, but stressed that there is communication between Mexico and its northern neighbor, both at the ministerial and presidential level.

Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard predicted in early April that trade negotiations with the United States would last around 40 days.

“Our goal in the next 40 days is to achieve the best conditions among all countries of the world for the [Mexican] auto industry,” he said.

“The same thing for steel and aluminum,” Ebrard added.

Other tensions in the Mexico-US relationship 

Sheinbaum acknowledged that tomatoes and water are other sources of tension in Mexico’s relationship with the United States.

The United States government announced last week that it would impose duties of almost 21% on imports of most tomatoes from Mexico starting in July, while Mexico has a large water debt with its northern neighbor under the terms of a 1944 treaty.

Sheinbaum didn’t say whether she spoke to Trump about the tomato and water issues, but stressed that her government is discussing them with its U.S. counterpart.

Mexico is struggling to supply the water it owes to the United States due to drought, which has been particularly severe in the north of the country.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)