A female president leads Mexican independence celebrations for the first time

MEXICO CITY (AP) — President Claudia Sheinbaum became the first female leader to preside over Mexico's independence celebrations in 215 years, with a message that she won’t accept foreign intervention, a significant statement as she negotiates pressure from the United States.

Sheinbaum led a traditional ceremony from the balcony of the National Palace in Mexico City known as the “grito,” or “shout” in English, Monday night. It’s an annual tradition when on Sept. 15, the president rings a bell marking the call to arms during the 1810-1821 fight to win independence from Spain.

Independence Day is formally celebrated Sept. 16, but the “grito” ceremony has been performed the night before for over a century.

A traditional military parade followed Tuesday, and Sheinbaum reiterated that “No foreign power makes decisions for us.”

In a speech before her Cabinet and thousands of soldiers, Sheinbaum added that “no interference is possible in our homeland” and although she didn’t mention any particular country, her words come at a moment when the U.S government has asked Mexico to do more to crack down on drug cartels and strengthen border security.

U.S. President Donald Trump ’s administration has even offered to send U.S. troops to fight cartels, some of them declared as terrorist organizations by his government, but Sheinbaum has repeatedly rejected it.

Her administration has been more aggressive in pursuing the cartels than her predecessor, handing over dozens of cartel figures to American authorities and pointing to lower fentanyl seizures at the U.S. border. But Sheinbaum insists that the actions have been carried out because they’re good for Mexico, not because of U.S. pressure.

Sheinbaum took power in October as Mexico's first female president.

People watch fireworks during the Independence Day celebration at the Zocalo, Mexico City's main square, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Orbach)

People watch fireworks during the Independence Day celebration at the Zocalo, Mexico City's main square, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Orbach)

Planes fly with contrails of the colors of Mexico's flag during the annual Independence Day military parade in Mexico City, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

President Claudia Sheinbaum rides through the annual Independence Day military parade, in Mexico City, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Children look out at the Independence Day military parade along Reforma Ave. in Mexico City, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Orbach)

President Claudia Sheinbaum rings the bell as she gives the annual independence shout from the balcony of the National Palace to kick off Independence Day celebrations at the Zocalo, Mexico City's main square, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

HAVANA (AP) — Cuban soldiers wearing white gloves marched out of a plane on Thursday carrying urns with the remains of the 32 Cuban officers killed during a stunning U.S. attack on Venezuela as trumpets and drums played solemnly at Havana's airport.

Nearby, thousands of Cubans lined one of the Havana’s most iconic streets to await the bodies of colonels, lieutenants, majors and captains as the island remained under threat by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The shoes of Cuban soldiers clacked as they marched stiff-legged into the headquarters of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, next to Revolution Square, with the urns and placed them on a long table next to the pictures of those slain so people could pay their respects.

Thursday’s mass funeral was only one of a handful that the Cuban government has organized in almost half a century.

Hours earlier, state television showed images of more than a dozen wounded people accompanied by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez arriving Wednesday night from Venezuela. Some were in wheelchairs.

The official announcer indicated that they were “combatants” who had been “wounded” in Venezuela. They were greeted by the Minister of the Interior, Lázaro Alberto Álvarez, and the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Álvaro López Miera.

Those injured and the bodies of those killed arrived as tensions grow between Cuba and U.S., with President Donald Trump recently demanding that the Caribbean country make a deal with him before it is “too late.” He did not explain what kind of deal.

Trump also has said that Cuba will no longer live off Venezuela's money and oil. Experts warn that the abrupt end of oil shipments could be catastrophic for Cuba, which is already struggling with serious blackouts and a crumbling power grid.

Officials unfurled a massive flag at Havana's airport as President Miguel Díaz-Canel, clad in military garb as commander of Cuba's Armed Forces, stood silent next to former President Raúl Castro, with what appeared to be the relatives of those slain looking on nearby.

Cuban Interior Minister Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casa said Venezuela was not a distant land for those killed, but a “natural extension of their homeland.”

“The enemy speaks to an audience of high-precision operations, of troops, of elites, of supremacy,” Álvarez said in apparent reference to the U.S. “We, on the other hand, speak of faces, of families who have lost a father, a son, a husband, a brother.”

Álvarez called those slain “heroes,” saying that they were example of honor and “a lesson for those who waver.”

“We reaffirm that if this painful chapter of history has demonstrated anything, it is that imperialism may possess more sophisticated weapons; it may have immense material wealth; it may buy the minds of the wavering; but there is one thing it will never be able to buy: the dignity of the Cuban people,” he said.

Thousands of Cubans lined a street where motorcycles and military vehicles thundered by with the remains of those killed.

“They are people willing to defend their principles and values, and we must pay tribute to them,” said Carmen Gómez, a 58-year-old industrial designer, adding that she hopes no one invades given the ongoing threats.

When asked why she showed up despite the difficulties Cubans face, Gómez replied, "It’s because of the sense of patriotism that Cubans have, and that will always unite us.”

Cuba recently released the names and ranks of 32 military personnel — ranging in age from 26 to 60 — who were part of the security detail of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during the raid on his residence on January 3. They included members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, the island’s two security agencies.

Cuban and Venezuelan authorities have said that the uniformed personnel were part of protection agreements between the two countries.

Meanwhile, a demonstration was planned for Friday across from the U.S. Embassy in an open-air forum known as the Anti-Imperialist Tribune. Officials have said they expect the demonstration to be massive.

“People are upset and hurt. There’s a lot of talk on social media; but many do believe that the dead are martyrs” of a historic struggle against the United States, analyst and former diplomat Carlos Alzugaray told The Associated Press.

In October 1976, then-President Fidel Castro led a massive demonstration to bid farewell to the 73 people killed in the bombing of a Cubana de Aviación civilian flight financed by anti-revolutionary leaders living in the U.S. Most of the victims were Cuban athletes returning to their island.

In December 1989, officials organized “Operation Tribute” to honor the remains of more than 2,000 Cuban combatants who died in Angola during Cuba’s participation in the war that defeated the South African army and ended the apartheid system. In October 1997, memorial services were held following the arrival of the remains of guerrilla commander Ernesto “Che” Guevara and six of his comrades, who died in 1967.

A day before the remains of those slain arrived in Cuba, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced $3 million in relief aid to help the island recover from the catastrophic Hurricane Melissa, which struck in late October.

The first flight took off from Florida on Wednesday, and a second flight was scheduled for Friday. A commercial vessel also will deliver food and other supplies.

“We have taken extraordinary measures to ensure that this assistance reaches the Cuban people directly, without interference or diversion by the illegitimate regime,” Rubio said, adding that the U.S. government was working with Cuba's Catholic Church.

The announcement riled Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez.

“The U.S. government is exploiting what appears to be a humanitarian gesture for opportunistic and politically manipulative purposes,” he said in a statement. “As a matter of principle, Cuba does not oppose assistance from governments or organizations, provided it benefits the people and the needs of those affected are not used for political gain under the guise of humanitarian aid.”

Coto contributed from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Workers fly the Cuban flag at half-staff at the Anti-Imperialist Tribune near the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in memory of Cubans who died two days before in Caracas, Venezuela during the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)