Mexico's president increasingly backed against a wall in managing Trump relationship

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum' s strategy of managing a tumultuous relationship with President Donald Trump may be running up against wider regional tensions and lack of willingness by the Trump administration to make concessions, experts say.

Since Trump took office, the freshly elected Mexican president has been lauded, and even dubbed a sort of “Trump whisperer,” for being able to offset the brunt of U.S. tariffs that have dealt a blow to other foreign economies. Sheinbaum has done so by cracking down on cartels with a heavier hand than her predecessor, delivering dozens of cartel affiliates to American authorities and pointing to lower fentanyl seizures at the U.S. border.

It was an exchange she said Thursday that she hoped to formalize. When the two leaders spoke in February, Trump tied the fentanyl coming from Mexico to the tariff threat, she said.

“So what do we propose?” Sheinbaum said at her morning press conference Thursday. “If this problems reduces, then we evidently want to see that 25% (tariff) shrink.”

But now, observers say Sheinbaum is increasingly backed against a wall. Michael Shifter, senior fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue, said Sheinbaum is now having to walk “a fine line” with Trump that appears to only be getting more complicated.

"There’s a sort of uncertainty that hangs over the relationship,” Shifter said. “Sheinbaum likely feels incredibly frustrated because she has taken major steps toward dealing with the cartels. And it never seems to be enough to satisfy Trump.”

Just a day before, Sheinbaum met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his visit to Mexico, in which the leaders discussed security issues and agreed to continue working together to combat crime.

For weeks, Sheinbaum had been gunning to sign a formal security agreement with the U.S. underscoring the importance of respecting Mexican sovereignty, with the hope of setting clear rules amid Trump's volatile foreign policy tactics.

The push for the security deal came as Sheinbaum has repeatedly and publicly rejected offers by the Trump administration to send U.S. troops to fight cartels. Her meeting with Rubio came just after the Trump administration carried out a strike in the southern Caribbean, killing 11 people it claimed were trafficking drugs to the U.S., something Rubio said was meant as a warning.

“I think the idea behind having an agreement is creating and building parameters,” said Carin Zissis, Washington interim director of the Council of the Americas. “You can see why Claudia Sheinbaum would be emphasizing sovereignty when on the way to visiting Mexico, Secretary Rubio was highlighting a U.S. military attack on an alleged vessel in the Caribbean."

“U.S. boots on the ground, that’s a very concrete concern from the Mexican side,” she said.

But by Wednesday's meeting, it was clear the two governments were not going to sign a formal agreement. Instead, they announced a high-level group of Mexican and U.S. officials who would monitor their cooperation. It was unclear how much of a change that would actually make, given the fact that Mexican officials have been meeting regularly with the Trump administration since January.

“That seems like a fancy term that means nothing, but it means a lot,” Rubio said of the newly established joint group.

Palmira Tapia, a political analyst for Mexico's Center for Economic Research and Teaching, said it was a sign that while Sheinbaum was following through on promises to crack down on cartels, Trump was not likely to make many concessions to the Mexican leader.

Just last month, Trump glibly told press that “Mexico does what we tell them to do” and last week said that while he liked Sheinbaum, he believed that Mexico was still run by cartels.

“There aren't really any incentives for Trump,” Tapia said. “Because his winning strategy has been to get what he wants with the threat of tariffs.”

It's left Sheinbaum with few alternatives at a time when tensions have peaked in Latin America due to the U.S. strike in the Caribbean.

The move ruffled the feathers of a number of leaders across Latin America, who still grapple with the complicated legacy and violent fallout of past American intervention in the region. Following the meeting with Rubio, Mexico's government once again reminded the Trump administration of the importance of operating in the region "without subordination” and respecting allies.

However, Zissis and other observers said that while the Trump administration has showed little willingness to cede ground, Sheinbaum does have a few cards up her sleeve.

One, long used by Mexico's government, has been helping the U.S. in block migratory flows north. The other is Sheinbaum's soaring level of popularity in Mexico, where polls show she boasts anywhere between 70% to 80% approval.

At the same time, they said Sheinbaum has little room to radically shift her strategy toward Trump.

“It’s a very delicate balance, because at the same time that she’s handled this relationship so well, so much is at stake for Mexico,” Zissis said.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Mexico's Foreign Secretary Juan Ramon de la Fuente shake hands following a news conference at the Foreign Ministry in Mexico City, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, center, arrives to meet with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum at the National Palace in Mexico City, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, pool)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, meets with Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum, right, at the Palacio Nacional in Mexico City, Wednesday, September 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, pool)

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, right, meets with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the National Palace in Mexico City, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Police in Ohio's capital city said Wednesday that they have gathered enough evidence to link a man charged in the double homicide of his ex-wife and her husband in their Columbus home last month to the killings.

Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said in an Associated Press interview that authorities now believe Michael David McKee, 39, a vascular surgeon who was living in Chicago, was the person seen walking down a dark alley near Monique and Spencer Tepe's home in video footage from the night of the murders. His vehicle has also been identified traveling near the house, and a firearm found in his Illinois residence also traced to evidence at the scene, she said.

An attorney representing McKee could not be identified through court listings.

His arrest Saturday capped off nearly two weeks of speculation surrounding the mysterious killings that attracted national attention. No obvious signs of forced entry were found at the Tepes’ home. Police also said no weapon was found there, and murder-suicide was not suspected. Further, nothing was stolen, and the couple’s two young children and their dog were left unharmed in the home.

“What we can tell you is that we have evidence linking the vehicle that he was driving to the crime scene. We also have evidence of him coming and going in that particular vehicle,” Bryant told the AP. “What I can also share with you is that there were multiple firearms taken from the property of McKee, and one of those firearms did match preliminarily from a NIBIN (ballistic) hit back to this actual homicide.”

Bryant said that the department wants the public to keep the tips coming. Investigators were able to follow up on every phone call, email and private tip shared from the community to the department and some of that information allowed them to gather enough evidence to make an arrest, she said.

That work culminated in the apprehension of McKee in Rockford, Illinois, where the hospital where he worked — OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center — has said it is cooperating with the investigation. He has been charged with premeditated aggravated murder in the shooting deaths. Monique Tepe, who divorced McKee in 2017, was 39. Her husband, a dentist whose absence from work that morning prompted the first call to police, was 37.

McKee waived his right to an extradition hearing on Monday during an appearance in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Winnebago County, Illinois, where he remains in jail. Bryant said officials are working out details of his return to Ohio, with no exact arrival date set. His next hearing in Winnebago County is scheduled for Jan. 23.

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said Wednesday that the city doesn't prioritize high-profile cases any more than others, noting that the city's closure rate on criminal cases exceeds the national average. The city also celebrated in 2025 its lowest level of homicides and violent crime since 2007, Ginther said.

“Every case matters. Ones that receive national attention, and those that don’t,” he told the AP. “Every family deserves closure and for folks to be held accountable, and the rest of the community deserves to be safe when dangerous people are taken off the street.”

Ginther said it is vital for central Ohioans to continue to grieve with the Tepes' family, which includes two young children, and loved ones, as they cope with “such an unimaginable loss.”

“I want our community to wrap our arms around this family and these children for years to come,” he said.

This undated booking photo provided by the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, shows Michael David McKee, who was charged in the killing of his ex-wife, Monique Tepe, and her husband Spencer Tepe at their Columbus, Ohio, home on Dec. 30, 2025. (Winnebago County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Spencer and Monique Tepe's home in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)

This image taken from video shows Michael David McKee walking into the courtroom on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Rockford, Ill. (WIFR News/Pool Photo via AP)