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Mexico faces challenges getting cartels under control as Trump threatens tariffs

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From The Center Square

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Tony Payan, director of the Center for the United States and Mexico at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, previously told The Center Square that a significant reduction in opioid trafficking will remain a challenge for years to come. “I’ve never seen it get better at all, no matter what you try.”

President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to hit Mexico with a 25% tariff unless it stops trafficking and illegal migration puts international trade at risk over problems that past leaders on both sides of the border couldn’t fix.

U.S. officials have pledged to work with their counterparts in Mexico for decades without a significant reduction in cartel drug smuggling, which has proven intractable for authorities in both Mexico and the U.S. Two cooperative agreements between the U.S. and Mexico have guided most of the joint work. The Mérida Initiative, from 2008 to 2021, and then Bicentennial Framework, from late 2021 to the present.

Both countries agreed to the Bicentennial Framework, which created a comprehensive, long-term approach to stop criminal groups that smuggle the illicit drugs and weapons. The illicit drugs come into the U.S. Cash and weapons flow back to Mexico.

Tony Payan, director of the Center for the United States and Mexico at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, previously told The Center Square that a significant reduction in opioid trafficking will remain a challenge for years to come.

“I’ve never seen it get better at all, no matter what you try. The Mérida Initiative in 2008, previous efforts at collaborating that were more improvised, and then the Bicentennial framework, which replaced the Mérida Initiative in 2021, and no results,” Payan said. “So drugs seem to obey their own logic. It has nothing to do with government efforts.”

Former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s government largely focused on reducing violence rather than confronting cartels. President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office last month, pointed the finger back at the U.S. on Tuesday.

In a letter to Trump, she said the incoming president must not be aware of efforts in Mexico. She said U.S. Customs and Border Patrol figures show a 75% reduction in encounters on the border between Mexico and the United States from December 2023 to November 2024.

“Half of those who arrive are through an appointment legally granted by the United States program called CBP One,” she said. “For these reasons, caravans of migrants no longer arrive at the border.”

Sheinbaum said the two counties need to work together to address the issues “that lead families to leave their places of origin out of necessity.”

“If a percentage of what the United States allocates to war is dedicated to building peace and development, the mobility of people will be fundamentally addressed,” she wrote.

Sheinbaum said lawmakers in Mexico are in the process of changing the constitution to declare the production, distribution and marketing of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs a serious crime without the right to bail.

She also said 70% of the illegal weapons seized from criminals in Mexico come from the U.S.

“We do not produce weapons, we do not consume synthetic drugs,” Sheinbaum said.

With the two countries on a collision course, consumers could pay the price. Tariffs could raise prices for U.S. consumers and slow economic growth. S&P Global, a credit-rating agency, reported that Trump’s proposed tariffs – a 10% across the board hike and up to 60% for China – could boost inflation by 1.8% and lower U.S. economic output by 1%, according to a post-election report.

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2025 Federal Election

Liberal MP Paul Chiang Resigns Without Naming the Real Threat—The CCP

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The Opposition with Dan Knight     Dan Knight

After parroting a Chinese bounty on a Canadian citizen, Chiang exits the race without once mentioning the regime behind it—opting instead to blame “distractions” and Donald Trump.

So Paul Chiang is gone. Stepped aside. Out of the race. And if you’re expecting a moment of reflection, an ounce of honesty, or even the basic decency to acknowledge what this was really about—forget it.

In his carefully scripted resignation statement, Chiang didn’t even mention the Chinese Communist Party. Not once. He echoed a foreign bounty placed on a Canadian citizen—Joe Tay—and he couldn’t even bring himself to name the regime responsible.

Instead, he talked about… Donald Trump. That’s right. He dragged Trump into a resignation about repeating CCP bounty threats. The guy who effectively told Canadians, “If you deliver a Conservative to the Chinese consulate, you can collect a reward,” now wants us to believe the real threat is Trump?

I haven’t seen Donald Trump put bounties on Canadian citizens. But Beijing has. And Chiang parroted it like a good little foot soldier—and then blamed someone who lives 2,000 miles away.

But here’s the part you can’t miss: Mark Carney let him stay.

Let’s not forget, Carney called Chiang’s comments “deeply offensive” and a “lapse in judgment”—and then said he was staying on as the candidate. It wasn’t until the outrage hit boiling point, the headlines stacked up, and groups like Hong Kong Watch got the RCMP involved, that Chiang bailed. Not because Carney made a decision—because the optics got too toxic.

And where is Carney now? Still refusing to disclose his financial assets. Still dodging questions about that $250 million loan from the Bank of China to the firm he chaired. Still giving sanctimonious speeches about “protecting democracy” while his own caucus parrots authoritarian propaganda.

If you think Chiang’s resignation fixes the problem, you’re missing the real issue. Because Chiang was just the symptom.

Carney is the disease.

He covered for it. He excused it. He enabled it. And now he wants to pose as the man who will stand up to foreign interference?

He can’t even stand up to it in his own party.

So no, we’re not letting this go. Chiang may be gone—but the stench is still in the room. And it’s wearing a tailored suit, smiling for the cameras, and calling itself “leader of the Liberal Party.”

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2025 Federal Election

RCMP Confirms It Is ‘Looking Into’ Alleged Foreign Threat Following Liberal Candidate Paul Chiang Comments

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Sam Cooper

The confirmation followed a day of escalating pressure on Canadian law enforcement after The Bureau revealed that the UK-based human rights organization Hong Kong Watch sent a formal letter to RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme, calling for a criminal investigation into Chiang’s reported remarks.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed late Monday it is actively reviewing the controversy surrounding Liberal MP Paul Chiang’s alleged remarks that appeared to endorse delivering a political rival to a foreign government in exchange for a bounty.

In a statement sent to The Bureau, the RCMP said: “Foreign actor interference, including instances of transnational repression, continues to be a pervasive threat in Canada. The RCMP takes all such reports and allegations seriously and — in close partnership with intelligence, law enforcement and regulatory agencies — dedicates significant resources to combatting and investigating criminal activity related to foreign interference in Canada’s democratic processes.”

“The RCMP is looking into the matter,” the statement continued, “however no specific details can be provided at this time.”

The confirmation followed a day of escalating pressure on Canadian law enforcement after The Bureau revealed that the UK-based human rights organization Hong Kong Watch sent a formal letter to RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme, calling for a criminal investigation into Chiang’s reported remarks. The comments, made during a January meeting with Chinese-language journalists, suggested that Conservative candidate Joe Tay could be brought to the Chinese Consulate in Toronto to claim a bounty placed on him by the Hong Kong police under Beijing’s National Security Law.

The organization alleged the remarks could constitute “counselling to commit kidnapping” under Canada’s Criminal Code. In their letter, Hong Kong Watch also referenced the Foreign Interference and Security of Information Act, which prohibits attempts to coerce or intimidate individuals for the benefit of a foreign state.

While the RCMP’s statement did not confirm the launch of a formal investigation, it emphasized that if “criminal or illegal activities occurring in Canada [are] found to be backed by a foreign state, it is within the RCMP’s mandate to investigate this activity.”

The RCMP said it does not typically disclose information related to ongoing investigations unless charges are laid. Nor will it confirm which individuals may be under protective watch.

Earlier Monday, Tay confirmed that he contacted the RCMP over concerns for his personal safety even before Chiang’s comments became public. Chiang, a former police officer and Liberal candidate in Markham–Unionville, has apologized for the remarks, calling them a “terrible lapse in judgment.”

Meanwhile, more than 40 Hong Kong diaspora organizations based in Canada and abroad issued a joint statement condemning Chiang’s remarks and calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to remove him as a candidate. Carney told reporters in Toronto that Chiang still has his “confidence,” and described the incident as a “teachable moment.”

The RCMP said its “overarching priority is the safety and security of the public,” and encouraged anyone who feels threatened online or in person to report such incidents to their local police. In cases of immediate danger, individuals are urged to call 911.

The statement also pointed to the existence of protective mechanisms for election candidates, including through Elections Canada and the federal government.

More to come

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