The United States’ aggressive maritime pursuit of alleged drug traffickers and an upcoming visit to Mexico by French President Emmanuel Macron were among the issues President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke about at her Thursday morning press conference.
Here is a recap of the president’s Oct. 30 mañanera.
Navy still searching for survivor of US strikes, says Sheinbaum
Sheinbaum said that the Mexican Navy was still searching for the sole survivor of U.S. military strikes on four alleged drug boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean. At least one of the strikes — which killed 14 people on Monday — occurred in international waters off Mexico’s southern Pacific coast.
Sheinbaum said that she was informed by the navy that it was required to continue the search for at least 96 hours.
“That’s what the international rules say … and that’s what [the navy] is doing, in accordance with international law,” she said.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who announced Monday’s lethal strikes on social media, said on Wednesday evening that the U.S. military had “carried out a lethal kinetic strike on yet another narco-trafficking vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO) in the Eastern Pacific.”
Earlier today, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on yet another narco-trafficking vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO) in the Eastern Pacific.
This vessel, like all the others, was known by our… pic.twitter.com/mBOLA5RYQe
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 29, 2025
He said that “four male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel — and killed — during the strike, which was conducted in international waters.”
Hegseth didn’t specify where in the Eastern Pacific the attack occurred.
Asked what information she had about the latest strike, Sheinbaum only said that Navy Minister Raymundo Pedro Morales would meet with a “counterpart” from the U.S. Coast Guard later on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the president voiced her opposition to the lethal strikes the U.S. military has recently been carrying out in both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
“We don’t agree with these interventions,” said Sheinbaum, who expressed the view that suspected drug traffickers at sea should be arrested rather than killed.
Ebrard represents Mexico at APEC meetings
Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and other world leaders traveled this week to South Korea, where Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings are taking place. Sheinbaum, however, stayed at home, leaving Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard to represent Mexico on the world stage.
The president told reporters that Ebrard, a former foreign affairs minister, had held positive meetings with various officials, including U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
With Greer, Sheinbaum noted, Ebrard is “reviewing the 54 famous non-tariff measures.”
Conversación con Jamieson Greer ( USTR) en Corea . Seguimos avanzando . pic.twitter.com/pFh2BZ1Ntt
— Marcelo Ebrard C. (@m_ebrard) October 29, 2025
The United States has accused Mexico of violating the terms of the USMCA free trade pact through the use of a range of non-tariff barriers to trade.
Sheinbaum said that Mexico and the U.S. were nearing the completion of their review of the non-tariff barriers and would soon be able to move onto “what concerns us, which are the [U.S.] tariffs on steel and vehicles.”
In 2025, the Trump administration has imposed tariffs on a range of imports from Mexico, including steel, aluminum, copper, tomatoes and light vehicles.
The U.S. government had planned to increase its 25% tariff on non-USMCA compliant Mexican goods this week, but Sheinbaum announced on Monday that she had reached an agreement with Trump to extend bilateral negotiations on trade and tariffs by a few weeks.
Accordingly, the slated increase of the U.S. tariff to 30% didn’t take effect.
Ebrard is well-versed in representing Mexico on the world stage, having attended numerous international meetings and summits while foreign minister during the presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a reluctant international traveler.
In South Korea, the economy minister also spoke to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and held meetings with officials from countries including Japan, Australia and Indonesia.
Emmanuel Macron to visit Mexico next week
Sheinbaum revealed that Macron would visit Mexico on Friday, Nov. 7.
“Do you remember he was going to come [earlier in the year]? He’s coming on the 7th,” she said.
Sheinbaum said that her government’s priority in its upcoming talks with the French president would be to push for the repatriation of pre-Hispanic codices that are in France.
“We want them to come back to Mexico, that’s our main interest,” she said.
Sheinbaum added that Macron would “obviously” be accompanied by French businesspeople and would meet with Mexican businesspeople.
“But our greatest interest is the repatriation of these codices that are very important for Mexico,” she said.
Asked whether she and Macron would hold a joint press conference, Sheinbaum said she assumed they would.
“The schedule is being agreed upon; the visit will be very brief,” she said.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
