Thursday, June 12, 2025

Sheinbaum addresses Noem’s accusations: Wednesday’s mañanera recapped

The protests in Los Angeles against immigration raids in the city were once again a dominant topic at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s morning press conference.

Here is a recap of the president’s June 11 mañanera.

Sheinbaum acknowledges US ambassador’s social media post contradicting Noem

A reporter asked the president whether she had received an apology from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after the U.S. official accused her of encouraging “violent protests” in Los Angeles, where thousands of people have taken to the streets in recent days to express their opposition to raids carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In response, Sheinbaum noted that the United States Ambassador to Mexico Ron Johnson had made a social media on the topic on Tuesday.

On X, Johnson wrote:

“I again join @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and President @Claudiashein in condemning the violent protests that are occurring in the US. These actions don’t help. Instead, they create more problems for the innocent majorities. Law and order will be restored.”

Sheinbaum said that Johnson “has been a very good channel” for communication “and his posts have been very respectful.”

She noted that she would meet with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau later in the day and said she would “touch on” the accusation Noem leveled against her on Tuesday.

Shortly after the homeland security secretary made her claim, Sheinbaum rejected it, writing on social media that it was “totally false.”

On Wednesday, she said: “What we have to seek is to avoid any misunderstandings and advance in the [bilateral] relationship, always defending the people of Mexico [and] our sovereignty.”

Sheinbaum accuses government critics of spreading misinformation that led to Noem’s claim

Sheinbaum acknowledged that she has called on Mexicans in the United States to oppose the proposed tax on remittances that has already been approved by the U.S. House of Representatives.

“Yes, we set out a strategy to mobilize [against the proposed tax] in many senses, always in a peaceful way,” she said, referring to remarks she made last month.

Sheinbaum subsequently asserted that opponents of her government distorted her remarks about opposing the proposed remittance tax, or took them out of context, to falsely claim that she incited violent protests in Los Angeles.

Last Sunday, “Mexican political personalities” claimed on social media that violent actions at protests in L.A. were “incited by the presidenta and the [ruling] Morena party,” she said.

Without mentioning any specific names, she said that political opponents disseminated “completely false” information on social media that was subsequently “picked up” by people in the United States.

People posting such information to social media “know that it’s a lie,” Sheinbaum said.

“They’re deliberately lying. … Instead of defending Mexicans … [they seek to] confuse those who read their posts,” she said.

“… It’s not a matter of criticizing the president, it’s a matter of wanting to elevate a conflict between Mexico and the United States. That’s why I say it’s unpatriotic. … They want to create, by lying, a problem between the United States and Mexico and that’s unpatriotic,” Sheinbaum said.

Miguel Elorza Vásquez, the federal government’s resident fact-checker, took the podium on Wednesday to criticize the online smear campaign accusing Sheinbaum and the Morena party of inciting violence in Los Angeles. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)

Just before the end of the president’s press conference, the federal government’s fake news debunker-in-chief Miguel Ángel Elorza Vásquez presented his regular “lie detector” segment.

“After the protests in Los Angeles, California, various commentators, cartoonists, media outlets and even politicians from the Mexican opposition have undertaken a campaign of lies and distortion to blame the president for encouraging violent protests,” he said.

“Those from Mexico who promote this lie join the disinformation chorus of United States media outlets and politicians who also promote it, and, at the same time, attack migrants with hate speech. The lie unites those who promote intolerance and hate on both sides of the border,” Elorza said.

He subsequently presented a video supporting his claim, and that of Sheinbaum, that a concerted disinformation campaign has been carried out to depict the president as an instigator of violent protest in the United States.

Sheinbaum: 61 Mexicans detained in LA raids 

Sheinbaum told reporters that 61 Mexicans have been detained in immigration raids in Los Angeles and are now in detention centers in the city.

She said that Mexican consular authorities are in contact with the detained people and their families and are providing them with “all the support they need.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that immigration agents have arrested 330 immigrants in Los Angeles since Friday.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])

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