The heavy-handed arrest of an undocumented Mexican man in the United States on Saturday and a massacre in the state of Guanajuato on Tuesday night were among the issues President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke about at her Wednesday morning press conference.
She also acknowledged a monologue delivered by “Star Wars” and “Narcos:Mexico” actor Diego Luna while he was guest-hosting a late-night talk show in Los Angeles on Monday night.
Sheinbaum describes ICE’s use of force against Mexican gardener as an ‘injustice’
A reporter noted that a video showing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents punching 48-year-old Mexican gardener Narciso Barranco has gone viral. She noted that he was detained by ICE in Santa Ana and highlighted that he has lived in the United States for 31 years, is originally from Cuernavaca, Morelos, and is the father of three sons who serve or have served in the U.S. military (Marine Corps).
“What opinion do you have about this?” the reporter asked the president.
“All of that is unfair, it’s an injustice,” Sheinbaum said.
“The Mexicans who live in the United States — the migrants, because they’re not just Mexicans — are people who went to the United States out of necessity and they’ve made their lives there. They are Mexicans and Americans at the same time, even if they don’t have nationality papers, because they’ve contributed to the United States their whole lives,” she said.
“Just imagine, the sons of this person are even part of the United States Army,” Sheinbaum said.
“We’re going to continue defending our brothers and sisters there. The [Mexican] Consulate got in contact with [Barranco] immediately,” she said.
NBC News reported on Wednesday that “initial videos of the arrest have been countered with videos from the [Trump] administration, which has said Barranco assaulted the officers with his weed trimmer.”
Barranco is undocumented “but has no criminal record,” according to his son, Alejandro Barranco, a Marine veteran who served in Afghanistan.
Sheinbaum acknowledges Diego Luna’s remarks in defense of immigrants
Having concluded her response to the question about Barranco, Sheinbaum took a moment to “recognize the monologue” Diego Luna delivered while guest hosting the television show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Luna denounced what he called “the authoritarian policies” of United States President Donald Trump and gave a staunch defense of immigrants in the United States.
Immigrants “are the ones who built this country, they feed it, they nurture and teach its children,” he said.
“They care for the elderly, they work in construction, hospitality, they run kitchens, they’re technicians, merchants, athletes, drivers, farmers. They pay a lot of taxes, … papers or no papers,” Luna said.
According to The Los Angeles Times, with his appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, Luna became the first Mexican to host a late-night talk show in English.
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Sheinbaum highlighted that the views he expressed are the same as her own.
His message, she said, was that millions of Mexicans “have given their lives so that the United States is what it is and the city of Los Angeles is what it is.”
“… We’ve said that the Mexicans there have to be recognized, that we don’t agree with the [immigration] raids, that migrants aren’t criminals,” Sheinbaum said.
“If there is a person who committed a crime, action should be taken. But the millions and millions of Mexicans [in the U.S.] aren’t criminals. They’re heroes and heroines,” she said.
Sheinbaum: Massacre in Irapuato is under investigation
Sheinbaum described a massacre in the city of Irapuato, Guanajuato, on Tuesday as “terrible.”
“It’s a terrible multiple homicide and it’s under investigation,” she said.
The Guanajuato Attorney General’s Office (FGEG) said later on Wednesday that 11 people had been reported as dead and 20 others sustained gunshot wounds and were receiving treatment in the hospital.
Gunmen opened fire during celebrations for the feast day of Saint John the Baptist in the Irapuato neighborhood of Barrio Nuevo late on Tuesday night.
Sheinbaum described the incident as a “confrontation,” although it didn’t appear that anyone shot back at the gunmen who perpetrated the massacre.
She also said children had “unfortunately died,” but the FGEG said that only one minor had been killed.
It said that the 11 people killed had been “preliminarily identified” as eight men, two women and a 17-year-old minor.
No arrests were reported and the motive for the attack was unclear. Guanajuato has been Mexico’s most violent state in terms of total homicides in recent years. The state has recorded more murders than any other entity so far this year, although homicide numbers have trended down.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
