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What’s New This Week

Good morning, this week, a stunning breach of classified U.S. military intel through a Signal group chat raises urgent questions about digital security at the highest levels. Meanwhile, new tariffs threaten to send car prices soaring and strain U.S.-Mexico trade ties. And if you want to know who feels the impact of Washington’s decisions first? Look no further than the border towns caught in the middle.

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Trade Winds

Signal Breach: Why Secure Communications Matter in Cross-Border Leadership

This week’s headlines delivered a jarring reminder of the stakes involved in high-level government communications. In an astonishing lapse, classified details of a U.S. military strike against Houthi targets were mistakenly shared in a Signal group chat that included a journalist — exposing not just sensitive intelligence, but the fragility of digital communication even among seasoned national security professionals.

For those of us who have held top secret security clearances and worked at the intersection of national security, border enforcement, and international relations, this breach was both familiar and deeply unsettling.

When I served as Chief of Staff at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the largest law enforcement agency in the country, I held clearances that gave me access to high-level intelligence and sensitive operations. One of the most critical missions under my oversight involved the Predator Drone program — a key piece of our homeland security and border surveillance strategy. Information related to that program was tightly guarded. If it had been leaked in the way we just saw happen with Signal, the fallout would’ve been swift and severe: people would’ve lost their jobs, and worse, lives could have been endangered.

CBP’s work doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It sits at the crossroads of trade, migration, and security — three pillars that demand constant vigilance and discretion. A breach of operational details like drone deployment locations, coordination with Mexican agencies, or cartel tracking technology would do more than just embarrass a government agency — it could disrupt international cooperation and put frontline officers, migrants, and civilians at grave risk.

We often talk about trade and investment as vehicles of diplomacy — and they are. But they depend on a foundation of trust, transparency, and, critically, security. When that foundation is cracked, everyone loses. This breach raises serious questions about how prepared we are — across agencies and administrations — to manage the ever-evolving challenges of cybersecurity and secure communication.

In cross-border leadership, confidentiality isn’t optional — it’s operational. It is the difference between success and catastrophe, between collaboration and confrontation.

The lesson here is urgent and clear: we must modernize not just our digital infrastructure but also the culture of discipline and accountability that surrounds sensitive communications. That includes enforcing strict protocols, using secure platforms appropriately, and recognizing that every misstep can reverberate globally.

As we navigate this upcoming election year and prepare for new administrations and international realignments, let’s remember that strong borders aren’t just physical — they are digital. And the way we protect information is as important as the goods and people we move across our frontiers.

Power Move

Cross-Border Currents — Navigating the Impact of New U.S. Auto Tariffs on the U.S.-Mexico Trade Landscape

The U.S. government’s decision to impose a 25% tariff on imported automobiles and parts, effective April 3, 2025, is reverberating across the U.S.-Mexico trade corridor.

As someone who’s worked on both sides of the border — in government and in cross-border commerce — I know just how intertwined our automotive industries are. Mexico exports more cars to the U.S. than any other country. These are not simply foreign products — they’re often U.S.-designed, Mexican-assembled, and cross the border multiple times before reaching consumers.

That’s what makes these tariffs so disruptive. They threaten not just Mexican auto exports, but also U.S. jobs, consumer prices, and supply chain stability. A single imported part hit with a tariff can inflate costs across an entire product line — costs that get passed on to American families.

For Mexico, this could spark a long-term shift toward market diversification. But for now, the urgency lies in adaptation. U.S. and Mexican firms must explore options like reshoring critical components, increasing automation, and pursuing USMCA certification strategies to reduce exposure.

At Intermestic Partners, we help businesses manage exactly this kind of uncertainty. With the right strategy, disruption can become opportunity.

But this moment also calls for more than reaction. It calls for recommitment to the North American vision — where competitiveness is built on collaboration, not confrontation.

Let’s keep the current flowing — not just through factories and ports, but through shared purpose.

The Border Buzz

Why the Border Feels the Shocks First

Growing up in Nogales, Arizona — a city literally divided by a fence — I learned early on that what happens in Washington or Mexico City doesn’t stay there. It reaches border communities fast. Sometimes overnight. And almost always before anyone else feels it.

The recent announcement of new 25% U.S. tariffs on imported autos and parts? Before the paperwork is even dry, border communities are already bracing. Not because they build cars here — but because they feel every economic tremor. Auto workers in Hermosillo,Sonora worry about shifts in production. Retailers in Nogales watch foot traffic slow. Families with loved ones in maquilas plan for uncertainty.

That’s the reality of living on the line. Border communities are the early warning system for broader geopolitical change. Whether it’s a trade policy, a national security leak, or a shift in migration enforcement, the impacts hit the frontera first. And when they do, they don’t come with warning labels — just higher prices, longer waits, canceled shipments, and policy whiplash.

During my time in public service and in business, I’ve seen how resilient border people are. We adapt. We move fast. But we also carry the weight of policies made by people far from the realities we live. We need leaders — on both sides of the border — who understand that decisions made in capital cities must be tested by the lived experience of border residents.

Because if you really want to understand the future of U.S.-Mexico relations, don’t just read the headlines — listen to the border.

Power Poll

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