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Mexico’s Sheinbaum pushes back on Trump over migrant deaths and Cuba

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican government on Tuesday protested the deaths of its citizens in U.S. immigration custody asPresident Claudia Sheinbaumpushes back againstU.S. President Donald Trump'spolicies on multiple fronts.

FILE - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum gives her the daily, morning news conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, Feb. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme, File)

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters after disembarking Air Force One, Sunday, April 12, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

People walk a dog on a street in Havana, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Activists wave Cuban and Palestinian flags from the vessel Maguro, arriving from Mexico with humanitarian aid as part of the

Activists from the vessel Maguro that arrived from Mexico, behind, as part of the

Mexico Cuban Doctors

The progressive Mexican leader has walked a careful line with Trump for more than a year, addressing provocations with a measured tone and meeting U.S. requests to crack down on criminal cartels more so than her predecessors, in an effort to offsetthreats of tariffsand U.S. military action against the gangs.

But in the wake ofmounting deaths of Mexican citizens in custody of immigration officialsand the Trump administration’s decision to impose an energy blockade on Cuba — a key Mexican ally — Sheinbaum has taken a harder line.

“We’ve seen the president raise her tone,” said Palmira Tapia, an analyst for Mexico’s Center for Economic Research and Teaching. “There’s been a shift, and we’ve seen Sheinbaum be more vocal than before.”

Deaths in ICE custody

Sheinbaum's latest rebuke came on Tuesday, a day after 49-year-old Mexican citizen Alejandro Cabrera Clemente died in a detention center in Louisiana of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, or ICE, the fifteenth death of a Mexican citizen in U.S. custody in little over a year.

Mexico's government quickly called the deaths “unacceptable” and the ICE detention centers "incompatible with human rights standards and the protection of life.”

During a Tuesday press briefing Sheinbaum added that she requested investigations into the deaths of the 15 migrants, and instructed Mexican consulates to visit detention centers daily.

She said her government would raise the deaths in detention centers to Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and was considering appealing to the United Nations. Her government already said it would support lawsuits in the U.S. filed by detainees over poor conditions.

“We are going to defend Mexicans at every level,” Sheinbaum said, adding that “there are many Mexicans whose only crime is not having papers.”

The moves by Sheinbaum's government come on top of mounting disapproval in the U.S. of Trump's immigration enforcement. About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say Trump has “gone too far” in sending federal immigration agents into American cities, according to a February AP-NORCpoll.

“Growing dissatisfaction around ICE activities in the United States creates a more comfortable platform for members of the Mexican government to raise concerns about the fate of Mexican citizens,” said Carin Zissis, vice president of content strategy for the Council of the Americas.

A ‘cool head’

Sheinbaum has maintained what she has described as a “cool head” to provocations by Trump, who has exerted more pressure on Latin America than any U.S. leader in decades. In just a few months, the Trump administration deposed Venezuela's president,imposed an oil blockade on Cubaandthreatened military interventionagainst Mexican cartels.

She has to balance maintaining a strong relationship with Trump while repeatedly stressing Mexico's sovereignty to appease her own base. Her measured responses resemble that of a lawyer rather than the head of Mexico’s most powerful populist political movement.

Her government has come down harder on cartels than her predecessor and bolstered trade relations ahead of renegotiations of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, free trade agreement.

While Trump has taken public jabs at Sheinbaum — at one point suggesting cartels have greater control over Mexico than her government — he's also regularly made nods to their amicable relationship.

“She is really a nice person, I like her a lot,” he said last month, proceeding to imitate the Mexican leader in a high voice.

Divide over Cuba

But shifting geopolitics in the region, and the mounting deaths in ICE facilities, have also opened the door for Sheinbaum to take a firmer stance.

The main point of contention between the two governments has been Cuba. Solidarity with the U.S. adversary has been a cornerstone of Mexico’s political ethos since the Cuban revolution, which Fidel Castro, Ernesto “Che” Guevara and a group of exiles famously planned while in Mexico City. It's a particular sticking point with her progressive Morena party, whose founder ushered Sheinbaum into office.

The relationship hit a hurdle in late January, when Trump announced he wouldslap tariffs on any country that sends oil to Cuba. The move directly impacted Mexico, which for years has shipped oil to Cuba.

While Sheinbaum reluctantlypaused oil shipments to Cuba, she has continued to challenge the Trump administration's push for regime change.

“Mexico has every right to send fuel, whether for humanitarian or commercial reasons,” Sheinbaum said earlier this week.

She has described Trump's energy blockade of Cuba as “unjust” and accused the U.S. government of “suffocating” Cubans with sanctions. The Mexican leader hassent shipments of food and other aid, and even donated $1,000 of her own money to relief efforts in a symbolic gesture.

“This is a Rubicon issue for her," said Arturo Sarukhan, former Mexican ambassador to the U.S.

Even then, the moves by the Mexican leader have raised eyebrows in Washington.

Sheinbaum recently announced that her countrywould continue to have Cuban doctors work in the country, diverging from other nations in Central America and the Caribbean that have ended their programs in the face of U.S. pressure.

It was met with veiled threats from the Trump administration, which pointed to visa restrictions imposed on Central American officials with ties to what U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio referred to as a “forced labor scheme.”

The White House offered no comment on Tuesday about Sheinbaum's tougher stances, nor did it comment on the rising number of deaths of Mexican nationals in ICE custody.

Greater leverage

Sheinbaum's recently bolder tone suggests a calculation that her administration can push back on some politically important fronts as long as they also are making progress on strengthening trade and meeting Trump administration requests on security and migration, Zissis said.

At the same time, surging energy prices due to theIran warhave made the U.S. more dependent on allies in Mexico, she and other analysts said, prompting Washington to walk back from any drastic moves against Mexican cartels or Cuba, at least in the short term.

”We’re at a moment where, due to global events, we’re facing different economic uncertainties. That gives the U.S. and Mexico more reason to work together," she said.

At the same time, former Mexican ambassador Sarukhan said that Sheinbaum will have to be careful not to put at risk upcoming USMCA renegotiations, for which her government has made painstaking efforts to build a strong foundation.

"What’s going to be interesting going forward is whether she can continue to have her cake and eat it too,” Sarukhan said.

Weissert reported from Washington D.C.

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April 16, 2026

Mexico’s Sheinbaum pushes back on Trump over migrant deaths and Cuba

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican government on Tuesday protested the deaths of its citizens in U.S. immigration custody asPresident Claud...

UN watchdog says North Korea is boosting nuclear weapons capacity

By Joyce Lee and Kyu-seok Shim

SEOUL, April 15 (Reuters) - North Korea has made "very serious" advances in its abilities to turn out nuclear weapons, with the probable addition of a new uranium enrichment facility, as it stepped up activity at ‌a key complex, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday.

Enriching uranium can provide an alternative, and experts say, a more ‌effective, path to acquiring weapons-grade material in addition to reprocessing spent plutonium extracted from a nuclear reactor.

Speaking in Seoul, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed a rapid rise in activity at the 5-megawatt reactor, the reprocessing unit, a light water reactor and other facilities at the North's Yongbyon nuclear complex.

NORTH'S NUCLEAR PROGRAMME ESTIMATED AT FEW DOZEN WARHEADS

North Korea's nuclear programme was estimated at a few dozen warheads, he told a news conference, citing signs of activity such as the operation of a light water reactor and activation of other facilities besides Yongbyon.

"All of them point to a very ‌serious increase in the capabilities of the DPRK ⁠in the area of nuclear weapons production," Grossi said, using the initials of the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The watchdog had observed construction of a new facility similar to Yongbyon's uranium enrichment ⁠halls, he said, adding that analysis of external features showed a significant expansion of enrichment capacity.

Grossi told a meeting of the agency's governors this month that it was monitoring a new building at Yongbyon with similarities to an enrichment facility at Kangson, another key nuclear site near the capital Pyongyang.

SATELLITE IMAGERY SUPPORTS IAEA ASSESSMENT

Satellite imagery from April supported the IAEA's assessment, the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said on Monday.

It indicated ‌completion of a suspected uranium enrichment plant capable of producing weapons‑grade material, the centre said in a report.

On Wednesday, Grossi said the agency had not seen any evidence of Russian technology being used in North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.

References in a cooperation pact both countries signed last year appeared to be limited to civilian nuclear projects, though it was too early to draw firm conclusions, he added.

"Moving towards nuclear weapons would never give any country increased security," Grossi said, but could instead trigger proliferation.

SOUTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR SUBMARINE PLAN

Turning to South Korea's programme to ‌build nuclear-powered submarines, Grossi said he invited Seoul to work closely with the agency to avert proliferation risks, with formal talks to begin on the matter.

Naval reactors pose special challenges as nuclear fuel on submarines can go uninspected for long periods during missions.

"It is essential that this activity is not conducive to proliferation of ‌nuclear weapons," Grossi said, adding that the IAEA would seek an "ironclad guarantee" against any diversion of the material.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun reaffirmed in a meeting with Grossi that the country will work with the IAEA with transparency on the nuclear submarine project as a party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty that has taken the highest degree of safeguard measures, the ministry said in a statement.

South ‌Korea's submarine ambitions advanced after President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump finalised joint steps on trade and security last November, in which Washington approved its ally's plan to build the nuclear-powered vehicles.

(Reporting by Kyu-seok Shim and Joyce Lee; Editing by Ed Davies, Clarence Fernandez and Hugh Lawson)

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April 15, 2026

UN watchdog says North Korea is boosting nuclear weapons capacity

By Joyce Lee and Kyu-seok Shim SEOUL, April 15 (Reuters) - North Korea has made "very serious" advances in its abilitie...

Flotilla carrying activists and aid for Palestinians in Gaza sets sail from Spain

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Dozens of boats carrying activists and aid for Palestinians in Gaza set sail from the northeastern Spanish city of Barcelona on Wednesday.

Boats carrying activists and humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza reposition in the port during a symbolic send-off as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Mateu Parra)

Activists place Spanish and Palestinian flags on boats ahead of a Global Sumud Flotilla's planned departure bound for Gaza, in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Mateu Parra)

Activists prepare supplies aboard a boat taking part in the Global Sumud Flotilla destined for Gaza, in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Mateu Parra)

Boats carrying activists and humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza, part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, are docked at the port of Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Mateu Parra)

Spain Gaza Flotilla

Organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla say that more than 70 boats and 1,000 people from around the world will participate, with campaigners saying it's the biggest civilian-led mobilization of its kind against Israel’s actions inthe Palestinian territory.

Nearly 40 boats were leaving Barcelona while the rest will join the fleet from other ports along the Mediterranean as they sail eastward, according to Thiago Ávila, one of the flotilla's leaders who spoke at a news conference in Barcelona on Sunday during a symbolic send-off event. Bad weather had forced organizers to delay their departure, which was originally planned for April 12.

As attention has turned to the Iran war, activists hope that their latest mission will revive attention to the plight of Palestinians living in Gaza.

“We sail because governments have failed,” said Saif Abukeshek, a Palestinian activist and member of the flotilla's global steering committee.

“They want a society that feels helpless, that cannot act, that cannot mobilize," Abukeshek said on Sunday. “We refuse to be that society.”

Last week, Gaza marked six months sincea ceasefiremade the most intense fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas-led militants stop. Yet Israeli attacks have killed more than 700 people in the six months since the ceasefire, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Much of the ceasefire work remains to be done, from disarming Hamas and ending its rule to deploying an international stabilization force and beginning vast reconstruction. Around 2 million Gaza residents are still living in ruins with shortages of food and medicine, and only limited aid entering through a single, Israeli-controlled border post.

Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of a blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent Hamas from importing arms, while critics say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza’s Palestinian population.

The Global Sumud Flotilla's latest efforts come less than a year after another attempt wasfoiled by Israeli authorities.

Last fall, dozens of boats sailed close to Gaza, with one even crossing the 12-nautical-mile line (22-kilometer line) marking the divide from international waters to territorial waters off Gaza. But they were allultimately interceptedand seized or turned away.

Those sailing last year, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, were arrested, imprisoned and deported by Israel. Theyclaimed Israeli authorities abused themwhile in detention, accusations that Israeli authorities denied.

Their interception at sea had been broadcast live by onboard cameras, sparking worldwide protests at the time. But attention on Gaza has since waned, with eyes focused now on the latest Iran war upending the Middle East and roiling global markets.

Organizers hope this mission will bring back attention to the conditions ofPalestinians living in the Gaza Strip, which was ravaged by the Israel-Hamas war. More than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war in Gaza began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.

Greenpeace Spain and migrant rescue group Open Arms, which have committed their two large vessels to sail alongside the smaller flotilla boats, are among those supporting the flotilla.

“We sail because the people of Gaza have a right to exist and to breathe and to thrive on their land,” said Eva Saldaña, head of Greenpeace Spain.

byNeo

in

April 15, 2026

Flotilla carrying activists and aid for Palestinians in Gaza sets sail from Spain

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Dozens of boats carrying activists and aid for Palestinians in Gaza set sail from the northeastern Spanish city...

'Gym rat' Fernando Mendoza is right pick for Raiders – if team is patient | Opinion

With the countdown ticking for Fernando Mendoza to christen the NFL Draft – and likely a new era for theLas Vegas Raidersas the No. 1 pick overall – somebody just had roll back the clock with Troy Aikman.

A generation ago, in 1989, Aikman was that hotshot quarterback at the top of the draft. And it sure worked out. He led the Dallas Cowboys to three Super Bowl titles and has a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

But man, that NFL initiation was rough. Now it provides keen insight into the challenge ahead for Mendoza, whowon the Heisman Trophyand a national championship at Indiana, but is poised to start his NFL journey with a franchise that for years has been stuck in mediocrity.

“It just takes some time,” Aikman told USA TODAY Sports, walking and talking during the recent NFL owners meetings. “I think him understanding that and being patient with it all is going to be key for him.”

Patience. Sounds like a plan. Until, as Mike Tyson once declared, you get hit in the mouth. Then it becomes a plan in action. Mendoza has certainly demonstrated much grit; he scrapped his way from abarely-recruited prospect coming out of high school to ultimate draft-night prize. Yet hard-knock lessons in the NFL represent another type of beast.

“I really think that’s how you’ve got to approach it, to try to not only learn more about yourself, but to learn more about the league that’s different from where you come from,” Aikman added, flashing back to his rookie year.

“Hell, I was 0-11, so I didn’t win one game. But the good thing for me was as difficult as it was, the hardest year I’ve ever been through, I didn’t lose my confidence.”

Raiders roster challenges go beyond quarterback position

The Raiders have yet to publicly confirm that Mendoza will be the pick to open the draft festivities in Pittsburgh, yet with new coach Klint Kubiak collaborating with second-year general manager John Spytek (and with part-owner Tom Brady behind the scenes), they have done nothing to signal otherwise. And earlier this month, theysigned veteran Kirk Cousinsas the expected bridge quarterback to conceivably lessen the pressure on Mendoza.

Perhaps Mendoza someday will be hailed as the savior who blew in with the autumn wind and rescued a franchise. The Raiders, with their sixth coach in 10 years, haven’t made the playoffs since 2016 and haven’t won a postseason game since capturing the 2002 AFC title. Good luck, Mendoza, with sparking that turnaround while playing in one of the NFL’s toughest divisions.

Yet regardless of how well Mendoza navigates his NFL learning curve, the make-or-break factor hinges on him getting a lot of help, as in the supporting cast around him and the organizational plan to develop him. The results from last season’s 3-14 finish – the offense ranked last in points, yards, rushing yards, rushing average, touchdowns and first downs, and allowed the most sacks in the league – underscores just how much fixing is in order.

“Well, if you’re picking first, you’re usually not a very good team,” Raiders owner Mark Davis told USA TODAY Sports. “So, you’ve got a lot of holes to fill.”