At her Tuesday morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum considered the question of who was responsible for the acts of violence committed during protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles in recent days.
Later on Tuesday, United States Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accused Sheinbaum of encouraging “violent protests” in the city.
“Claudia Sheinbaum salió y alentó más protestas en Los Ángeles, y yo la condeno por eso. Ella no debería estar alentando protestas violentas como las que estamos viendo”, dijo Kristi Noem, secretaria de Seguridad Nacional de Estados Unidos, junto a Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/OzWpehufDm
— Emeequis (@emeequis) June 10, 2025
“Claudia Sheinbaum came out and encouraged more protests in L.A. and I condemn her for that. She should not be encouraging violent protests that are going on,” Noem told reporters in the Oval Office.
Sheinbaum promptly rejected the claim, writing on social media that it is “totally false.”
“Here I leave my statement from yesterday in which I clearly condemn the violent demonstrations,” she wrote above video footage of her speaking at her Monday press conference.
At that press conference, Sheinbaum said “we don’t agree with violent actions as a form of protest” and “the burning of police cars seems more an act of provocation than resistance.”
She also said that “we call on the Mexican community to act peacefully and not succumb to provocations.”
Sheinbaum urges peaceful protest and due process after 42 Mexicans detained in Los Angeles ICE raids
In her social media message in response to Noem, Sheibaum also wrote that “our position is and will continue being [one of] the defense of honest, hardworking Mexicans who help the economy of the United States and their families in Mexico.”
“I’m sure that dialogue and respect are the best means for understanding between our people and our nations, and I’m sure that this misunderstanding will be cleared up,” she concluded.
On Tuesday morning — hours before the woman she hosted at the National Palace earlier this year leveled a serious accusation against her — Sheinbaum also spoke about her likely face-to-face meeting next week with United States President Donald Trump.
Who was responsible for acts of violence during protests in LA?
A reporter noted the prevalence of protesters in Los Angeles waving Mexican flags. He asked the president whether she would call on Mexicans in the U.S. to not take the national flag to demonstrations against immigration raids.
“I believe the important thing is that there are no violent actions,” Sheinbaum responded a day after she condemned violence in Los Angeles during protests over the weekend.
“We don’t know how much provocation there really was because … [there were] a lot of compatriots [in the U.S.] who said on social media that there were people they didn’t know [at the protests], who did these [violent] actions,” she said, referring to the torching of vehicles and the hurling of projectiles at authorities.
Sheinbaum repeated her call for Mexicans to not succumb to “any provocation” and to “not promote any act of violence.”
“We are not in favor of that,” she said.
Asked whether she was saying that “infiltrators” were responsible for acts of violence in L.A., Sheinbaum responded:
“We don’t have all the information to be able to assert it. What is certain is that there were violent actions with which we don’t agree.”
Thankful for the clarity of @LAPDPoliceChief Jim McDonnell in a moment when most are afraid to stand to identify the actual background of those who riot. pic.twitter.com/M7os2Bpmxs
— Paul Chappell (@PaulChappell) June 9, 2025
L.A. Police Chief Jim McDonnell blamed hooded and masked “anarchists” for acts of violence in the city during protests.
“When I look out there at the people doing the violence. That’s not the people that we see during the day who are legitimately out there exercising their First Amendment rights to be able to express their feelings about the immigration enforcement issue,” he said on Monday.
“These are people who are all hooded up. They’ve got a hoodie on, they’ve got face masks on. They’re people who do this all the time, get away with whatever they can. Go out there from one civil unrest situation to another using the same or similar tactics frequently, and they are connected. Some would call them anarchists,” McDonnell said.
What will Sheinbaum and Trump speak about if they meet in Canada?
Sheinbaum said that security, migration and trade will be the top issues for discussion if she holds a bilateral meeting with Trump during next week’s G7 Summit in Canada.
The president, who revealed on Monday that she would attend the event, didn’t confirm that she would have a one-on-one meeting with Trump in Alberta, but indicated that bilateral talks would take place.
“Obviously, we want a general agreement on security issues, which we already have, which is very advanced. The issue of sovereignty was made very clear, that Mexican sovereignty must not be violated,” said Sheinbaum, who has stressed that Mexico would never accept any kind of intervention in Mexican territory by U.S. forces to combat Mexican criminal organizations.
With regard to migration, she said she would speak to Trump not just about stopping migrants from reaching the United States but also about “Mexicans who live in the United States and contribute to the U.S. economy.”
“That obviously has to be part of the agenda,” Sheinbaum said.
With regard to trade, she noted that there are “outstanding” issues between the two countries, namely tariffs on Mexican steel, aluminum and cars as well as goods that don’t comply with the USMCA.
Security, migration and trade are “the three main issues that I believe must be dealt with in the meeting,” Sheinbaum said.
“… In fact, they are issues that have been dealt with bilaterally by the different secretaries of state since the Trump administration came in,” she added.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
