The story is courtesy of the Mexican newspaper La Jornada
Washington and New York. President-elect Donald Trump declared that Mexico is “a dangerous place” that is effectively governed by cartels, in comments that are part of the efforts by the magnate and Republicans to maintain focus on Mexico, immigrants, and other external enemies to prepare the ground for political steps they will take as soon as they return to the White House on January 20.
“Mexico is really in trouble, a lot of trouble, it’s a very dangerous place,” Trump commented at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. “They are essentially governed by the cartels and we cannot allow that to happen.” He accused the Mexican government of allowing “millions of people” and “record numbers of drugs” to enter the United States.
“They can stop them,” Trump added before repeating his threat that his government will impose “very serious tariffs” on Mexico and Canada if they don’t do what he’s demanding. “We want to get along with everyone, but, you know, it takes two to tango. “As part of his efforts to impose U.S. dominance over North America, Trump also announced that he will be redrawing the map.
“We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Which has a great sound, the Gulf of America, what a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate.” For Trump and most Americans, “America” is the name of the United States.
Trump’s comments came as Republican leadership in both chambers of Congress began drafting plans to push bills on immigration and border control, tariffs, and other sanctions, among others that Trump and his allies want to enact “very quickly.”
Today, the House approved the Laken Riley Act, which authorizes the imprisonment of undocumented immigrants who commit non-violent crimes to proceed with their deportation. The law, named after a woman murdered in Georgia by an undocumented Venezuelan immigrant, will now proceed to the Senate where it is expected to be approved on Friday.
It’s worth noting that 48 Democratic representatives joined the 218 Republicans who approved the bill. The National Immigration Law Center criticized those who voted for the bill, stating that “the Laken Riley Act is a manifestation of cynical politics. The majority is manipulating a personal tragedy to blame immigrants. In reality, there is no correlation between immigration status and criminality. This bill is not a public safety measure, but an attack on established constitutional protections that will achieve nothing in keeping communities safe if enacted into law.”
Ricardo Chavira Chicano 