Mexico deploys the first of 10,000 National Guard to US border after Trump's threat of tariffs

A line of Mexican National Guard and Army trucks rumbled along the border separating Ciudad Juárez and El Paso, Texas Wednesday, among the first of 10,000 officers Mexico has sent to its northern frontier following tariff threats by President Donald Trump.

Masked and armed National Guard members picked through brush running along the border barrier on the outskirts of Ciudad Juárez, pulling out makeshift ladders and ropes tucked away in the trenches, and pulling them onto trucks. Patrols were also seen on other parts of the border near Tijuana.

It comes after a turbulent week along the border after Trump announced he would delay imposing crippling tariffs on Mexico for at least a month. In exchange, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum promised she would send the country’s National Guard to reinforce the border and crack down on fentanyl smuggling.

Trump has declared an emergency on the border despite migration levels and fentanyl overdoses significantly dipping over the part year. The U.S. said it would, in turn, do more to stop American guns from being trafficked into Mexico to fuel cartel violence, which has rippled to other parts of the country as criminal groups fight to control the lucrative migrant smuggling industry.