Sheinbaum catalogs «absolutely false» her accusation
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, considered invoking the Insurrection Act on Tuesday if the situation escalated in the city of Los Angeles and accused protesters of being paid to protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
«If there is an insurrection, I will certainly invoke it (…) there were certain areas of Los Angeles where there could have been an insurrection. It was terrible, but these insurgents were paid: there were riots they paid for,» he said in a press statement from the Oval Office.
The tycoon defended his decision, recalling that he «waited» for seven days before Minneapolis Governor Tim Walz decided to call in the National Guard during the violent protests following George Floyd’s death. «I told myself: if something like this happens, we need to make faster decisions,» he said.
Trump also described how television images in recent hours showed protesters «with huge hammers» hitting the pavement and «breaking the concrete.» «They loaded it on bridges and threw it onto the roof of a car,» he said.
«When there is no danger, they will leave,» said the President in a press conference where he took the opportunity to criticize California Governor Gavin Newsom, who he claimed «did a bad job» during the protests.
During the same press conference, United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem accused Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum of encouraging the demonstrations. «I condemn this. She should not encourage the violent protests that are happening,» she said alongside Trump.
Noem stated that «people are allowed to protest peacefully,» although she declared that the violence seen «is unacceptable.» «This will not happen in the United States, this President defends the ordinary American who wants to take their children to school every day, run their own businesses, and support their families,» she argued.
Shortly after, the Mexican President responded with a message on the social network X: «A few moments ago, in a setting before the Secretary of Homeland Security of the United States, it was said that violent protests in Los Angeles are being encouraged.
Sheinbaum emphasized that Mexico’s position will continue to be the «defense» of «honest Mexicans» and the «workers» who «help the economy of the United States,» as well as their relatives in the Latin American country. «I am sure that dialogue and respect are the best way to understand between our peoples and our nations and that this misunderstanding will be clarified,» she said.
On the other hand, the Director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) in the United States, Tanya Greene, stated in a press release that «Trump’s dangerous actions must be condemned by American and international leaders.»
The security law establishes the mechanism to follow to activate the use of this force during periods of «rebellion.» However, Trump has resorted to a regulation that allows him to confront state powers and turn them into federal ones to deal with these bands. To do this, he used the well-known Title 10, which establishes the operation of the US forces.
This allows him to confront the Californian governor, although it establishes three scenarios to deploy the National Guard: before an invasion or threat of invasion, before a possible rebellion, and when the impossibility of applying the law using security forces is considered.
