This is John Batchel, a conversation with good colleague, Professor Evan Ellis of the U.S. Army War College, about the relationship between Washington and Mexico City. The tariffs are the threat.

Colonel Scheinbaum, however, and her able lieutenants are maneuvering in a fashion, as Evan illustrates illustrates here that pleases Washington.

A delicate dance, he calls it.

Here's the story so far leaning towards Mexico cooperating on the border, about fentanyl, about the cartels.

Good conversations, perhaps, back and forth. More of this

tonight. Well, it is clear that there has been some type of negotiation. Mexico's economy

minister, Marcelo Obrard, actually has met with the U.S. Trade Representative, the new

representative of Jameson Greer, as well as the Commerce Secretary

Howard Lutnik. It appears that there's been some positive discussions on that, and

those positive interactions may have been reflected in President Trump's comment. I should note,

of course, you actually have the imposition of steel tariffs, which applied to Mexico as well as Canada,

which my understanding is those are still going forward. And then you had that secondary question

on top of the steel tariffs of these extra other tariffs for Mexico's imputed noncompliance

with the U.S. on border control and fentanyl. And so it's really the combination of those two

would be decimating for Mexico,

but my understanding is it's the decision on that second one

that's been postponed a little bit farther.

But you're absolutely right.

Mexico has been very clear, Claudia Shinebaum

in her mania mananeros, forgive me, that her talks to the country that they are trying to work through these issues.

And it's clear that Mexico has done a number of different things.

They've deployed 10,000 troops, National Guard forces to the border,

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