Trump, Sheinbaum extend mutual invitations for visits after Washington meeting.

WASHINGTON- Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday that she and President Trump had a “cordial” hour-long meeting in Washington that ended with a mutual invitation to visit each other’s countries.

“We will set a meeting later,” Sheinbaum told reporters outside the Mexican Cultural Institute.

It was the first time the two had met face to face and followed months of clashes between the United States and Mexico over several controversial issues such as trade, immigration and how to combat drug trafficking.

But on Friday, the two world leaders were brought together by football.

Sheinbaum was in Washington to attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center, alongside Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The United States, Mexico and Canada are jointly organizing the football tournament which will begin in June.

In a social media post, Sheinbaum said the three leaders spoke about “the great opportunity that the 2026 FIFA World Cup represents for the three countries and the good relations we have.”

“We have agreed to continue to work together on commercial issues with our teams,” she added.

She later reiterated to reporters that the meeting had been “very positive” and had made Trump understand that Mexico was an “extraordinary” country. She said she personally invited him to visit Mexico and that he extended an invitation to return to Washington.

When asked if Trump had asked her anything, she said he had “nothing in particular.”

After months of friction between the two countries, Friday’s meeting could break the ice and set the stage for political negotiations as both presidents face pressure from their constituents.

Since the start of his second term in January, Trump has threatened to impose significant tariffs on Mexico, the United States’ largest trading partner – but so far, Sheinbaum has managed to avoid many tariffs.

Trump and his team also raised the prospect of U.S. strikes against suspected criminals and pharmaceutical labs in Mexico. But Sheinbaum insisted she would not allow the U.S. military to fight drug cartels within her country’s borders.

The ongoing negotiations come as Mexican attitudes toward Trump and the United States continue to deteriorate. In contrast, Mexicans continue to view their own government’s management of the border positively, according to a Pew Research Center report released in July.

The optimist consequences Friday’s meeting glossed over deep differences of opinion between the leaders of two nations that have a nearly 2,000-mile border and share deep economic, security and cultural ties.

The two North American presidents could hardly be more different: Sheinbaum is a scientist and longtime left-wing activist who maintains a low-key demeanor; Trump is a real estate scion who buys into right-wing arguments and craves being the center of attention.

Sheinbaum has had to walk a thin line in fending off Trump’s repeated threats to impose punitive tariffs on imports from Mexico, a country heavily dependent on cross-border trade with the United States.

She also rejected Trump’s suggestions that U.S. forces could intervene unilaterally in Mexico to attack drug cartels. She maintained her mantra of “cooperation, not subordination,” even as Trump mulled the possibility of hitting gangs in Mexico.

In various remarks, Trump praised Sheinbaum as “wonderful” and “brave,” while also stating that she rejected U.S. military aid to fight Mexican cartels because she was “scared to death” of the cartels.

Sheinbaum has assailed US strikes against suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Pacific have left dozens dead. She also declared Mexico’s opposition to U.S. military intervention in Venezuela or elsewhere in Latin America.

On several occasions, the Mexican president insisted that her country would be “no one’s piñata”.

During his career, Trump has long used Mexico and Mexicans as a political punching bag, catering to anti-immigration sentiment in the United States. Trump launched his 2016 presidential campaign by declaring Mexican immigrants to be criminals, drug dealers and “rapists” — while acknowledging that there were some “good people” among them — and repeatedly pledged to build “a big, beautiful wall” along the U.S.-Mexico border. that Mexico would pay. This is not the case.

After Friday’s meeting, Ronald Johnson, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, said on X that the meeting “reaffirmed a historic results-based partnership,” adding: “Their dialogue advances a high-level agenda focused on cooperation, security and prosperity.” »

Editors Ceballos reported from Washington and McDonnell from Mexico.