Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has vowed to ‘defend Mexicans at every level’ as the death toll of Mexican nationals in US immigration custody reaches 15, according to The Guardian. The deaths. Which have occurred in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers, have prompted strong reactions from the Mexican government, which has called the conditions in these facilities ‘incompatible with human rights standards and the protection of life.’.

Deaths in ICE Custody Spark Outcry

The latest incident occurred on Tuesday. When 49-year-old Mexican citizen Alejandro Cabrera Clemente died in an ICE detention center in Louisiana, though this marks the fifteenth death of a Mexican citizen in US custody in just over a year. Mexico’s government has quickly condemned the deaths as ‘unacceptable’ and has called for investigations into each case.

Sheinbaum requested that Mexican consulates visit detention centers daily and announced plans to raise the issue with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. She also mentioned the possibility of appealing to the United Nations. ‘We are going to defend Mexicans at every level,’ she said, adding that ‘there are many Mexicans whose only crime is not having papers.’

The White House did not comment on Sheinbaum’s tougher stance or the rising number of deaths in ICE custody, while the lack of response has raised concerns about the US administration’s accountability in the treatment of detained migrants.

Balancing Relations with Trump

Sheinbaum has maintained a ‘cool head’ in dealing with provocations from Donald Trump, who has exerted more pressure on Latin America than any US leader in decades. In just a few months. The Trump administration has deposed Venezuela’s president, imposed an oil blockade on Cuba, and threatened military intervention against Mexican cartels.

Despite these pressures. Sheinbaum has had to balance maintaining a strong relationship with Trump while asserting Mexico’s sovereignty to appease her domestic base. Her government has taken a harder stance on cartels than her predecessor and has backed trade relations ahead of renegotiations of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Trump has taken public jabs at Sheinbaum, suggesting that cartels have greater control over Mexico than her government. However, he has also regularly praised her, calling her ‘a nice person’ and expressing that he ‘likes her a lot.’

The main point of contention between the two governments has been Cuba. Solidarity with the US adversary has been a cornerstone of Mexico’s political ethos since the Cuban revolution. The relationship hit a hurdle in late January when Trump announced tariffs on any country that sends oil to Cuba, directly affecting Mexico, which has long shipped oil to Cuba.

Energy Blockade and Diplomatic Tensions

Sheinbaum reluctantly paused oil shipments to Cuba but 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,’ she said earlier this week.

She has described Trump’s energy blockade of Cuba as ‘unjust’ and accused the US government of ‘suffocating’ Cubans with sanctions. Her recently bolder tone suggests a calculation that her administration can push back on some politically important fronts as long as it is also making progress on strengthening trade and meeting Trump administration requests on security and migration.

According to Carin Zissis, vice-president of content strategy for the Council of the Americas, the surging energy prices due to the Iran war have made the US more dependent on allies in Mexico, prompting Washington to walk back from any drastic moves against Mexican cartels or Cuba, at least in the short term.