Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds
- 🇲🇽🇺🇸 Sheinbaum agrees a trade deal with the U.S. is “very close”: Asked about Trump’s Monday claim that a deal is near, the president said “there are still some [unresolved] issues,” but “a lot of progress has been made.” She said Mexico’s objective in negotiations with the U.S. is to reduce tariffs on vehicles, steel and aluminum as much as possible and avoid “more tariffs.”
- 🚫 Sheinbaum denies making a “pact” with Chihuahua governor: The president rejected claims that she made a deal with Governor Maru Campos, allegedly offering an ambassadorship in exchange for the arrest of former Chihuahua Attorney General César Jáuregui, who is now in federal custody on treason allegations related to CIA agents’ alleged participation in a drug lab raid without federal approval or knowledge. She laughed at the claim and called it “gossip journalism” and “fictional journalism.”
- ⚖️ FGR to decide whether Campos should be investigated: Asked whether the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) should investigate Campos, at least for oversight of Jáuregui’s alleged treason, Sheinbaum said it’s up to the FGR to “evaluate” the situation. Regarding reports that she had “exonerated” Campos, she said: “That’s not my role.” Sheinbaum said Monday that, as far as she knew, the FGR had no evidence linking Campos to Jáuregui’s alleged authorization of CIA participation in an April drug lab raid in Chihuahua.
Why today’s mañanera matters
U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest remarks about Mexico were raised at President Sheinbaum’s Tuesday morning press conference, bringing the bilateral trade relationship into the spotlight.
“We’re not going to lose $150 billion with Mexico,” Trump said at a rally in Kansas on Monday, referring to the United States’ trade deficit with its southern neighbor, which was almost US $156 billion in the first eight months of 2026.
“And Mexico and us are very close to a great deal which will get that number way down, maybe down to … zero,” he said.
Trump’s remarks came as Mexico and the United States continue to seek to resolve a range of trade-related issues following the U.S. government’s decision in July not to renew the USMCA free trade pact for an additional 16 years.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Mexico’s trade talks with the United States had stalled as a direct result of U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s opposition to tariff cuts the Mexican government is seeking. But Trump’s remarks on Monday, and Sheinbaum’s comments on Tuesday morning, indicated that the two continue to make progress in their negotiations.
⚡️Trump dice en Kansas que está muy cerca de cerrar un “gran acuerdo” comercial con México.
Más información en los espacios de @nmas @nmasunivision https://t.co/DLOtY4Zyjz
— Ariel Moutsatsos (@arielmou) October 20, 2026
Also of note at today’s mañanera was the president’s response to claims that she had reached a “pact” with Chihuahua Governor Maru Campos related to the arrest last weekend of the former attorney general of the northern border state, César Jáuregui.
Jáuregui is now in federal custody, accused of treason in connection with allegations that he allowed CIA agents to participate in a drug lab raid in Chihuahua in April without the approval or knowledge of the federal government.
A reporter referred to a “theory” that has circulated in the media claiming that Sheinbaum reached a pact with Campos — a National Action Party (PAN) governor — that involves the former giving the latter a “prize” — allegedly an ambassadorship — for jailing Jáuregui, who was first detained by Chihuahua authorities on Saturday.
The president denied that was the case.
Sheinbaum agrees that a trade deal with the US is ‘very close’
A reporter asked Sheinbaum about Trump’s declaration on Monday that the United States is “very close” to reaching a trade deal with Mexico.
Sheinbaum agreed that a deal is “very close,” but added that “there are still some [unresolved] issues.”
“What is our objective? To reduce the tariffs we face today as much as possible,” she said, referring to U.S. duties on vehicles, steel and aluminum made in Mexico.
Sheinbaum said that Mexico is also aiming to avoid the imposition of “more tariffs.”
“That is our objective,” she said.
Sheinbaum said that the United States has made “proposals,” offering to reduce a certain tariff in exchange for Mexico doing “A, B, C, D” — i.e., making some kind of trade-related concessions.
“On this subject, there are still issues that we haven’t resolved because we want what’s best for Mexico,” she said.
“But there is a very good attitude from the United States government on this subject,” Sheinbaum said.
“… Both from the Commerce Secretary [Lutnick] and … Ambassador [Jamieson] Greer,” she said, referring in the latter case to the U.S. trade representative.
FT: Trump raised energy deals with Sheinbaum amid stalled trade talks
She said that her government cannot negotiate “anything that is outside our constitution and our laws,” nor anything that “we know will affect the national economy or the number of jobs.”
“So we’re doing this work, seeking the best possible agreement,” Sheinbaum said.
“A lot of progress has been made [but] we haven’t yet reached a final agreement,” she said.
Sheinbaum said last week that Mexico was “doing many things to help reduce the [U.S.] deficit, above all, buying goods from the United States and stopping purchases from other countries.”
Sheinbaum denies making a pact with Campos
Sheinbaum rejected claims that she had reached a “pact” with Governor Campos related to Jáuregui’s arrest.
She erupted in laughter when a reporter noted there are claims in the media that she offered an ambassadorship to Campos.
Sheinbaum referred to the claims as “gossip journalism” and “fictional journalism.”
“… Justice is above politics,” she said.
“We don’t make political pacts related to justice. I say that with complete clarity,” Sheinbaum said.
“… We don’t make pacts. Imagine reaching an agreement with a governor to see who you put in jail. What? No,” she said, stressing that prosecutor’s offices are responsible for investigating and prosecuting alleged crimes.
A reporter put it to the president that as the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office is not independent from the state government, as is the case in most Mexican states, Campos was essentially Jáuregui’s boss and therefore should be investigated by the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR), “at least for oversight” — i.e., failure to detect — “this treason” allegedly committed by Jáuregui.
Sheinbaum said it’s up to the FGR to “evaluate” the situation.
She subsequently said there are media reports claiming that she had “exonerated” Campos.
“That’s not my role,” Sheinbaum said.
“It’s the role of the Attorney General’s Office to investigate,” she said.
Sheinbaum said on Monday that, as far as she was aware, the FGR didn’t have any evidence linking Campos to Jáuregui’s alleged authorization of the CIA’s participation in the drug lab operation.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
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