▲ In the first minute of today, the release of the El Cuchillo dam, located in General Bravo, Nuevo León, began to cover debt to the United States.Photo The Day
From the Editorial
La Jornada Newspaper
Monday, December 22, 2025, p. 6
The government of Mexico took extraordinary measures to deliver water from the San Juan River to the United States, in order to meet the commitments of the 1944 treaty on the matter, in accordance with the availability of the liquid in the Mexican basin of the Rio Grande and making it clear that it is a priority to guarantee the resource for human consumption of the Mexican populations that depend on these sources.
In the first minute of this Monday, the El Cuchillo dam, located in the municipality of General Bravo, Nuevo León, began to release its flow to begin complying with the payment of that water liability.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs specified that “the extraordinary actions” were identified within the stipulations of the treaty itself and its corresponding minutes (234 and 231), “in accordance with the availability of water in the Mexican basin of the Rio Grande.”
They include, he said, “delivery of a volume of the San Juan River resource, considering operational limitations and privileging agricultural use in Mexico.”
In that sense, “deliveries to the United States will be made when there is operational availability in the national hydraulic system, giving priority to human consumption.”
The Secretary of Foreign Affairs indicated that “this water source (San Juan River) has been used in the past to meet the delivery commitments of the Bravo, based on article 9 of the treaty and minute 331 of the IBWC (International Boundary and Water Commission between Mexico and the United States).”
He stressed that Mexico is providing timely follow-up to the commitments adopted in said agreement, and in coordination and dialogue with the users of the national basin for their attention. He reiterates that it is a priority to guarantee the resource for human consumption of the Mexican populations that depend on these sources.
Hours earlier, on its social networks, the municipality of General Bravo alerted its inhabitants of the opening of a floodgate and recommended that they stay away from the San Juan riverbed.
“It is known that the opening of a gate of the El Cuchillo dam is scheduled to open at 12 noon. It is recommended to stay away from the San Juan River,” he warned.
Despite the warning from the municipal authorities, neither the National Water Commission nor the government of Nuevo León commented on the matter.
