World
Mexico presidential candidate wants to move closer to US as leftist opponent prefers Cuba
FIRST ON FOX – Mexico will elect a new president in June and, for the first time the race is between two women, Xóchitl Gálvez Ruiz from a coalition of center-right-left parties, considered an unprecedented anti-communist coalition, and Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo’s leftist coalition.
The differences between the two women are vast – Galvez wanting to work with the U.S. as the country’s main ally while Sheinbaum seems to be more intent on following the far-left approach of the outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO.)
Gálvez was recently in New York and Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress, business leaders and officials from the State Department, where she presented her vision for Mexico and for the future of its relationship with the U.S.
During her visit she addressed the border, immigration, fentanyl, organized crime, nearshoring, and the future of the trade agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC). She reminded the U.S. that “according to a study published in the journal Science, organized crime is the fifth-largest employer in Mexico.”
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Upon her return to Mexico, Gálvez answered Fox News Digital questions at a press conference about the stark differences between her and her opponent.
“In the first scenario, Mexico gets back on the democratic track to strengthen the rule of law, and it confronts organized crime head on, and reclaims its territory, and reduces violence, eliminates extortion, and provides basic legal certainty for businesses. In this scenario, Mexico and the U.S. build a relationship that brings about not only prosperity but also security, safety, and democratic stability to North America,” she said.
Presidential candidate Xóchitl Gálvez is running as the underdog candidate. (Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
She claimed a win by her opponent will lead to major problems. “Mexico continues to move toward democratic erosion. Organized crime spreads, and the military gains political power and is incapable of providing security. Mexicans are victims of insecurity, extortion and violence, which hinder growth and development in entire regions. Mexico continues to be a trade partner but is not a geopolitical ally of the U.S., Mexico’s populist government flirts with Russia and China. And threatens to build new partnerships.”
Some analysts wonder why the bilateral relationship has not advanced during AMLO’s presidency and the Biden administration. Gálvez’ response: “Today we are partners, but we are not allies.”
She said if the ruling left-wing party wins again, “neither immigration, nor fentanyl, nor any other bilateral problem will be able to find long-term solutions. Solving the problems of immigration and fentanyl requires three things that the current government of Mexico and her candidate do not have: a state strategy, institutional capacity, and genuine will to collaborate.”
She said, “presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum only promises continuity and says that Mexico is better than ever when we know with all the evidence that is not true.”
Presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during a campaign rally at Plaza Liberación on March 3, 2024, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Mexicans will head to the polls for the general election on June 2. (Leonardo Alvarez Hernandez/Getty Images)
Presently trailing in several opinion polls, Gálvez, who hopes to close the gap as the June election gets nearer, told Fox News Digital, “The United States always has the fear that our customs agents let fentanyl pass through, and we complain to them that they let weapons pass through.”
Critics of Sheinbaum warn she has made clear that, under her leadership, Mexico will follow the principles of “free self-determination of the people, non-intervention in the internal affairs of other countries and the peaceful resolution of conflicts,” which leads her to promise the continuity of the “hugs not bullets” strategy to avoid confronting the drug cartels.
Unlike Galvez, who believes that the Mexico- U.S. relationship is the most important one, Sheinbaum wants to focus more on Latin America, where she has shown enormous sympathy with the regimes of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. She has even gone so far as to declare: “Mexico should never have a submissive relationship with the United States, ever.”
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Presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum waves to supporters. (Victoria Razo/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Economist and political analyst Alfredo Velasco told Fox News Digital, “To evaluate a candidate and her government program, we need to know her preparation, experience and performance in previous positions or activities. Rather than assigning value to her campaign promises, it is important to know her achievements. Of the candidates in the campaign, the most prepared with master’s and doctoral studies is Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo. The one with the most experience in public administration and the one who has accredited important achievements is also Sheinbaum.” Sheinbaum is the former mayor of Mexico City.
Xochitl Galvez holds a Mexican national flag during a political event at the Angel of Independence monument on Sept. 3, 2023, in Mexico City. (Gerardo Vieyra/picture alliance via Getty Images)
He continued, “Where I think there is a significant gap is in the approach to the campaigns. While Claudia Sheinbaum has a diagnosis and a 100-point program to address the country’s fundamental problems, Xóchitl Gálvez focuses her campaign on public insecurity, which is perhaps what worries the population the most.”
A multi-agency investigation targeting the Sinaloa Drug Cartel. (Tempe PD)
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Political analyst Juan Hernández, a former cabinet member under President Vicente Fox, believes Gálvez was very clear on her visit to the U.S. and that if she wins, she will work with Washington to stop money going to drug traffickers and the weapons going to Mexico. “She didn’t blame the U.S. but wanted to make sure that, to stop this cancer, both countries need to work together in a new way. She said she would be a great negotiator and emphasized that she is aware and concerned of how many people have died in the U.S. due to fentanyl consumption.”
The US-Mexico border fence with camp shelters left by migrants in San Ysidro, California, on Sept, 14, 2023. (Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Gettay Images)
Hernández continued, “There was more than one meeting with legislators. Their questions were very sincere, and she had a frank conversation with them. They asked her: Will you be strong in stopping the drug business in Mexico? She assured them that she will and that both sides need to work together in a new way. She insisted that they need to do their part as legislators, these cannot be done by Mexico alone.”
Ildefonso Guajardo, the former minister of economy and international liaison for Gálvez, told Fox News Digital that the tour was to basically “Wake up Washington!”
A musician performs during a campaign rally for presidential candidate Xóchitl Gálvez in Irapuato, Mexico, on March 1, 2024. (Ulises Ruiz/AFP via Getty Images)
He said, “Gálvez shared her vision of Mexico’s position in the most important relationship it has in North America and its positioning in the world.”
“She clearly established that her vision is focused on a moment in which we return to global polarization in two compasses: one defined by her values where she identifies with governments that protect human rights, advance freedom, and democracy; where, clearly, Mexico’s interest is not associated with countries that are autocracies or single-man governments. And her other compass is that Mexico shares a large border with the United States where most of Mexico’s economic interest is associated with this market and that is why this relationship is of enormous priority.”
Questions sent to the presidential campaign of Claudia Sheinbaum were not returned.
World
How Sheila the three-wheeler dodged danger on a record 14,000-mile journey to tip of South Africa
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Englishman Ollie Jenks remembers when his friend first pitched the idea to him.
“It was so ridiculous I couldn’t say no,” Jenks said.
The proposal by Canadian buddy Seth Scott, a fellow lover of cars and crazy adventures, was for them to drive a decades-old British-made Reliant Robin car from London to the southern tip of Africa — a 14,000-mile (22,500-kilometer) journey through 22 countries — to set a record for the longest trip in a three-wheeled vehicle.
Reliant Robins have cultlike status in the U.K. as humble three-wheelers that, in Jenks’ words, were designed to go to the shops and back in 1970s Britain. They went out of production in the early 2000s but remain loved in British culture, especially after a Reliant appeared as the Trotter brothers’ trusty but battered yellow van in the hugely popular sitcom “Only Fools and Horses.”
Yet you couldn’t find a less suitable vehicle to take thousands of miles through tropical jungles, mountain ranges and deserts down the west side of Africa. And that’s precisely why Jenks went for the absurd plan.
Sheila the three-wheeler
Sheila, the silver three-wheeler — one of the last Reliant Robins to be built — was acquired specifically for the adventure. Jenks and Scott set off in October with a can of fuel and a few essential supplies strapped to Sheila’s small roof, and a large amount of blind hope that they would somehow make it to Cape Town, South Africa, near the bottom of the world.
“No power steering, no air con, and it doesn’t do well up hills or down them. It is the most unsuitable car for probably any journey,” Jenks said in an unkind assessment of Sheila’s abilities. “We made friends with the designer of this car, and he’s scared to take it any more than 20 miles.”
Jenks and Scott ignored all the advice and took Sheila on the epic journey over four-and-a-half months that cost in the region of $40,000 to $50,000, Jenks said. They had help from sponsors and crowd funding, and documented the journey on an Instagram page that pulled in nearly 100,000 followers under the title: “14,000 miles, 3 wheels, 0 common sense.”
Attempted coups and airstrikes
They arrived in Benin during an attempted coup. They skirted through northern Nigeria as the U.S. launched airstrikes on Islamic State targets. They were given a military escort for about 300 miles (480 kilometers) through a region of separatist violence in Cameroon.
“Imagine this car in a military convoy,” Jenks said.
And there were many brushes with traffic-related danger, including when an overtaking bus almost flattened Sheila against a cliff face in Congo.
True to form that Reliants are sometimes not so reliable, there were also countless breakdowns on the punishing roads.
Sheila needed her wheel springs replaced in the first two weeks. The gearbox broke in Ghana, leaving them with only fourth gear. In Cameroon, there were clutch and distributor problems and then the big one: the engine blew up.
Through all the technical problems, the kindness of strangers and the intrepidness of Jenks and Scott kept them going. One man got a new gearbox shipped to Ghana. Reliant enthusiasts in the U.K. helped find a new engine to send to Cameroon.
After one breakdown, people helped load Sheila onto a cattle truck so she could be taken to a garage. Mechanics across the continent screwed, hammered and welded Sheila to keep her together, sometimes shaking their heads at the madness of it all.
Where no Reliant Robin has gone before
But there were also majestic moments, the kind that Jenks and Scott had envisioned to make it all worth it.
Sheila cruised through stunning mountain ranges and vast deserts — where surely no Reliant Robin has gone before. She went on safari, driving alongside galloping giraffes, spotting endangered rhinos, and posing for a picture next to a giant elephant.
More than 120 days after setting off, she rattled into Cape Town last month on an engine that began badly overheating in the Namibian desert and had been touch and go for about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers).
“This is a great underdog story,” said Graeme Hurst, a South African car lover who followed them on Instagram and came to see Sheila. “I see the farcical kind of comical nature of it … but also the sheer admiration. I mean, they have utter tenacity.”
In South Africa, Sheila was put on temporary display in a showroom for high-end cars and was the center of attention ahead of the glittering Porsches and Mercedes, showing off her broken side window, her petrol-stained windshield, her bent tire rims, and her countless dents and scratches.
She will rest now and be given the thorough service she deserves, Jenks said. Eventually, she’ll be driven to Kenya, put on a ship to Turkey, then make one last trip back to the U.K. to find a home at the London Transport Museum.
Jenks said he felt triumphant after reaching Cape Town, but relieved to have survived and finally be out of the tiny two-seater.
“It was like driving a motorized coffin,” he said.
___
AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
World
Pope Leo urges Africans to stay and ‘serve your country’ instead of migrating as displacement climbs
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Pope Leo XIV last Friday urged African youth to work toward improving their own countries rather than migrating elsewhere in search of better opportunities.
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church directed his remarks to university students at the Catholic University of Central Africa in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, during an 11-day apostolic journey in Africa.
“In the face of the understandable tendency to migrate — which may lead one to believe that elsewhere a better future may be more easily found — I invite you, first and foremost, to respond with an ardent desire to serve your country and to apply the knowledge you are acquiring here to the benefit of your fellow citizens,” Leo said.
While displacement in Africa has steadily increased in recent years amid economic and political challenges, Leo said each country’s rising generations should be “committed to society,” reflect their nations’ needs and confront systemic issues at home.
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Pope Leo XIV speaks as he meets with the community of Bamenda at Saint Joseph’s Cathedral in Bamenda on the fourth day of an 11-day apostolic journey to Africa April 16, 2026. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images)
“Africa, indeed, must be freed from the scourge of corruption. For young people, this awareness must take root from their years of formation,” he said.
“These are the witnesses of wisdom and justice, of which the African continent needs.”
He added that through education and spiritual formation, “you learn to become builders of the future of your respective countries and of a world that is more just and humane.”
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Pope Leo XIV delivers a speech during his visit to Central African Catholic University as part of his Africa tour April 17, 2026, in Yaoundé, Cameroon. (Ahmet Emin Donmez/Anadolu)
According to the World Migration Report, most of Africa’s displacement occurs internally within the continent, with 21 million Africans recorded as living in another African country in 2020.
Overseas African migration has also steadily increased, with figures more than doubling between 1990 and 2020.
In 2020, roughly 11 million Africans reportedly migrated to Europe, 5 million to Asia and 3 million to Northern America.
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Pope Leo XIV visits Central African Catholic University as part of his Africa tour April 17, 2026, in Yaoundé, Cameroon. (Ahmet Emin Donmez/Anadolu)
The causes of displacement are largely attributed to political conflict, corruption, violence and economic hardship, including widespread poverty.
These factors are particularly pronounced in countries such as Somalia, one of Africa’s largest sources of refugees; Nigeria, which is riddled with natural disasters and economic pressures; and Sudan’s surrounding areas, where civil war, political instability and food insecurity have driven large-scale displacement.
The Pope’s remarks come just days after President Donald Trump criticized Leo on Truth Social, calling him “weak on crime, and terrible for foreign policy.”
The backlash followed the pontiff’s criticism of the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran and his appeal for a return to peace.
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Tensions between the two boiled over several days before the Pope said last Saturday that it was “not in my interest at all” to debate the president.
Leo has insisted that his position is focused on bridging divides among nations and promoting peace and reconciliation.
Lebanon’s disaster management unit raises the death toll from weeks of Israeli attacks to 2,454, with 7,658 people injured.
Published On 22 Apr 2026
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