• 🇪🇸 World Cup diplomacy with Spain? Sheinbaum wouldn’t confirm whether she’d meet King Felipe VI during his possible visit to Mexico, but the stakes are real. The president has been pushing Spain to formally apologize for the conquest, and Felipe recently acknowledged “significant abuses” during colonization, the strongest royal statement on the matter yet.

• 🇨🇺 Personal donation to Cuba. The president revealed she donated 20,000 pesos (US $1,100) out of her own pocket to a humanitarian fund for Cuba, stressing the move had nothing to do with her role in government.

• 🕊️ Another Mexican dies in ICE custody. José Guadalupe Ramos Solano passed away at California’s Adelanto Processing Center on March 25 — at least the 14th such death in ICE custody this year. Sheinbaum promised stronger protest measures, including a formal complaint to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

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Why today’s mañanera matters

At her Monday morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum took the opportunity to comment on a range of international issues, including the death of another Mexican in the custody of U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement.

In her 18 months in office, Sheinbaum has shown herself to be a more outward looking president than her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who famously quipped that the “best foreign policy is domestic policy.”

Still, the current president — after disclosing the size of a personal donation she made to buy humanitarian aid for the people of Cuba — stressed on Monday that her top priority is to “protect” Mexico and the Mexican people.

“That is my obligation and my responsibility,” she said.

Today’s mañanera was important as it served as further testament of the international issues the Sheinbaum administration is dealing with at a time when it also faces major challenges at home, including ongoing security concerns, weak economic growth, rising inflation and legislative setbacks.

Could Sheinbaum meet with the King of Spain during the World Cup?

A reporter asked the president whether the government had received any confirmations from leaders and heads of state who were invited to come to Mexico to attend the opening ceremony and opening match of the FIFA men’s World Cup in Mexico City on June 11.

Sheinbaum responded that government officials, including World Cup coordinator Gabriela Cuevas, will look this week at which leaders and heads of state have confirmed they will attend the opening ceremony, which will take place at the Estadio Banorte (Estadio Azteca) before the opening match between Mexico and South Africa.

The reporter asked the president whether she would meet with the King of Spain, Felipe VI, if he came to Mexico, and whether such a meeting could mark a “complete reset” of bilateral relations with Spain.

“Let’s wait and see who’s coming,” Sheinbaum responded before noting that her government could hold an event a day before the World Cup opening ceremony to welcome officials from other countries.

Earlier this month, King Felipe IV acknowledged that during the Spanish conquest and colonization of America, “there were significant abuses” and “moral and ethical controversies,” marking an unprecedented statement on the matter for a king of Spain.

Sheinbaum has called on Spain to apologize for abuses committed during the conquest and the fall of Tenochtitlán.

Sheinbaum reveals she donated 20,000 pesos to Cuba 

Sheinbaum told reporters that she had made a donation of 20,000 pesos (US $1,100) to a fund created to purchase humanitarian aid for the people of Cuba.

“There were problems with the deposit,” she added, without providing further details.

Sheinbaum apparently made her donation to a bank account of a recently created non-governmental organization called Humanidad con América Latina (Humanity with Latin America).

Earlier this month, former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador called on Mexicans to make monetary donations to the account.

Former president AMLO calls on Mexicans to donate money for Cuba in rare public message

Sheinbaum stressed that her 20,000-peso donation was “personal.”

“It’s my personal decision as Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo to donate to an account that a series of organizations opened in order to take aid to Cuba,” she said.

“… It has nothing to do with my role as president,” Sheinbaum added.

The people of Cuba are facing a situation of extreme hardship due to factors including a recent U.S. blockade of oil shipments. However, the U.S. is allowing a Russian tanker to take oil to the communist-run island.

Sheinbaum on Monday said that Mexico has “every right” to send fuel to Cuba, although it hasn’t done so recently following a threat from U.S. President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on goods from countries that supply oil to the island nation.

Sheinbaum acknowledges death of Mexican in ICE custody

Sheinbaum acknowledged that another Mexican had died in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

She said that her government would take “more measures” than it has previously taken to express its discontent with the death of another Mexican in the custody of ICE.

In light of the latest death, Sheinbaum said that her government would take “various actions of protest,” including the submission of a complaint to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

📢 Claudia Sheinbaum advierte “tomará medidas” contra Estados Unidos por muerte de mexicano en detención migratoria a manos de ICE. #México #Migración #EEUU #Política pic.twitter.com/HBvUGJZOyh

— Soledad Durazo Barceló (@SoledadDurazo) March 30, 2026

ICE said in a statement on Monday that José Guadalupe Ramos Solano, “a criminal illegal alien from Mexico previously convicted of possession of a controlled substance and theft, passed away on March 25, 2026, at 9:29 p.m.”

“Ramos was being held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center [in California] when security staff discovered him unconscious and unresponsive. Staff immediately initiated life-saving procedures, and he was taken to Victor Valley Global Medical Center in Victorville, California, where he was pronounced deceased,” ICE said.

ICE said that Ramos had “received constant medical care” for “several medical issues,” including diabetes and hypertension. However, Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it was demanding “an immediate review of the Adelanto center due to serious oversights and evident deficiencies in the provision of medical care to people under its custody.”

The death of Ramos came after a 19-year-old Mexican man died in ICE custody in Florida earlier this month. There have been at least 14 deaths in ICE custody so far this year.

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