Mexico is the biggest threat to the United States

In his inaugural address, President Donald Trump only mentioned two countries by name, Mexico and Panama (he insisted on his lie that U.S. ships are mistreated in the Canal and that the Canal is “run by China,” so he promised to “take back the Canal”; which means a declaration of war on that small Central American country).

In the case of Mexico, he said he would reestablish his “Remain in Mexico” policy, under which asylum seekers in the United States must stay in Mexico, and he would sign an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

But Mexico appeared mainly in the cases of the border and organized crime, as Trump said his first executive order will be to declare a National Emergency on the southern border; and that he will declare drug cartels (the main cartels are Mexican) as terrorist organizations; it will also apply a 1798 Alien Enemies Act to apprehend and expel foreign members of criminal organizations from the country.

Here is what chatgpt.com says about the law:

The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 is one of four pieces of legislation known as the Alien and Sedition Acts. It was enacted in 1798 during John Adams's presidency in the context of tensions with France (the so-called Quasi-War Crisis).

Main Content of the Act

The Alien Enemies Act gave the president the authority to deport or restrain citizens of foreign countries with which the United States was at war, provided they were considered a threat to national security.

Key Points:

1. Application in times of war:

o The law only applied when the United States was officially at war with another country.

o It allowed the president to order the detention or deportation of any foreign national (non-U.S. citizen) from an enemy country if they were considered a threat.

2. National security justification:

o The idea was to protect the country from espionage or sabotage by foreign citizens in times of conflict.

3. In force today:

o It is the only one of the Alien and Sedition Acts that is still in force. It has been amended several times, but its core remains.

It was used, for example, during World War I and II.

Context and controversy:

• At the time, this law was very controversial, as it was part of a legislative package perceived as a tool to silence the political opposition (Thomas Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party).

• Although it was intended to protect the country, many saw it as a violation of civil rights and basic freedoms.

Are the United States and Mexico already at war? For Trump, that seems to be the case.

Regarding tariffs, Trump did not directly mention Mexico and Canada, but he did reiterate the creation of the External Revenue Service to collect tariffs that will be imposed on “foreign countries” (he did not specify which ones), which he says are taking advantage of the United States.

It was striking that in his speech he never mentioned China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea, considered the main adversaries of the United States, and instead most of the security measures referred to the expulsions of undocumented migrants, the fight against organized crime and drug cartels, as well as the restoration of law and order in the cities of the United States.

All these issues point directly to the relationship with Mexico, so Claudia Sheinbaum's government can no longer hope that President Trump's policies will not significantly affect the bilateral relationship. Trump is directing his policies towards countries that are weaker than the United States, such as Mexico and Panama, which are in his “backyard” and which he can intimidate and “bend” with relative ease.

Instead, he did not mention Canada and Greenland in his speech, even though in recent weeks he insisted that both will remain under the sovereignty or at least the guardianship of the United States. Trump may return to this topic in the next few days, but the fact that he did not mention it in his inaugural speech, and did insist that the US will “retake control” of the Panama Canal indicates what Trump’s priorities are at the beginning of his administration.

It is clear to Sheinbaum’s government that her repeated declaration that there will be a “good relationship” with Trump is, so far, pure wishful thinking.

The Mexican government had better prepare itself for a contentious and harsh relationship with Trump, unless it is willing to accept all the orders, demands, and insults of the new president of the United States, to avoid a major confrontation with Trump.

We will see what Sheinbaum decides, but from what she has shown so far, everything seems to indicate that she will accept Trump’s directives, trying to save some face in the eyes of national public opinion.

Interesting times are beginning.