Day 722 — Sheinbaum Rebuts Trump's 'Epicenter' Remarks, Reports 5 Drones Downed at Border, Urges INE to Regulate Social-Media Algorithms

At her September 23, 2026 (Day 722, Wednesday) mañanera in the National Palace, President Sheinbaum responded to President Trump's UN General Assembly remarks calling Mexico the "epicenter" of cartel violence, saying media coverage selectively quoted him while omitting his acknowledgment of Mexico's cooperation, and reiterating "tenemos buena relación con el presidente Trump." She noted she could just as easily point to the difficulty of neighboring a country with high illegal drug consumption and domestic gun manufacturing but chooses not to escalate, citing continued coordination under the binational Operación Águila and observing that "tienen elecciones en noviembre y Trump usa a México en las campañas." She reported that five unauthorized commercial drones were disabled inside Mexican territory near the US border, saying binational security collaboration must rest on mutual respect. Separately, she proposed the INE study minimum regulation of social-media algorithms, paid political advertising, automated ('bot') accounts and AI-generated content ahead of the 2027 midterms, noting 94.5% of Mexicans get news and information through social platforms and citing manipulation risks like those alleged in Colombia's elections. She also disputed international 'forced disappearance' framing, saying most of the roughly 30,000 open missing-persons cases involve people who left voluntarily rather than state-ordered disappearances; confirmed she is skipping the UN General Assembly in person for a second consecutive year, sending Foreign Secretary Roberto Velasco while she plans to attend APEC in China in November; and voiced support for Brazil's Lula da Silva against Washington pressure while reiterating opposition to trade blockades and foreign electoral interference regarding Venezuela, Cuba, Iran and Palestine.