▲ According to Trump, our country owes more than 986 million cubic meters.Photo Afp
Arturo Sánchez Jiménez
La Jornada Newspaper
Saturday, December 13, 2025, p. 3
Yesterday, Mexico and the United States reached an understanding on water management in the Rio Grande basin, through which the Mexican government committed to releasing 249,163 million cubic meters of water for the United States starting the week of December 15, while negotiations continue for the timely retribution of the exceptional deficit of the previous water cycle and with the intention of concluding a definitive plan no later than January 31, 2026.
The agreed volume is slightly higher than the 246 million cubic meters, whose immediate delivery was demanded this week by US President Donald Trump, although it remains well below the more than 986 million cubic meters that, according to the president, Mexico owes in total for the 1944 Water Treaty.
This treaty stipulates mutual deliveries of liquid, and that the United States will fulfill its water quantity each year, while Mexico will be able to do so in periods of five years. The last five years concluded in October 2025.
The agreement was announced after Trump last Monday accused Mexico of violating the bilateral water treaty and warned that he would impose a 5 percent tariff on Mexican products if the liquid was not delivered immediately.
Meanwhile, President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo has insisted that although Mexico acts under the principle of complying with international treaties, the defense of national interests and the guarantee of water supply for the population are the absolute priority of her government.
In a joint statement released last night, both governments noted that they “have reached an understanding on water management for the current cycle and the water deficit of the previous cycle under the 1944 Water Treaty,” and recognized “the critical importance of water delivery obligations under the treaty and their impact on our citizens.” They also reaffirmed the need to “increase commitment to improve timely water management.”
The document establishes that Mexico “intends to release 249,163 million cubic meters of water to the United States, with deliveries expected to begin the week of December 15,” and specifies that both countries reviewed “a series of actions to comply with the obligations of the Treaty, including timely retribution for the exceptional deficit of the previous water cycle.” At that point, it is indicated that the two governments “are in negotiations and intend to finalize the plan by January 31, 2026.”
There was no rape, but extraordinary drought
In a section signed only by Mexico, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) stressed that the country “has not incurred any violation” of the treaty.
He explained that the agreement reached occurs in a context of “extraordinary and unprecedented drought that has affected users in both countries,” and that, even so, Mexico has made additional deliveries “always within the framework of the treaty, hydrological availability and the operational and infrastructure limits of the region, without affecting water for human consumption and agricultural production on the border.”
The SRE added that the actions undertaken in the last year demonstrate that Mexico complies “in accordance with the real availability of the resource,” and affirmed that the country will continue to do so. He highlighted that in recent weeks both countries have worked “in an intense and coordinated manner” to define a technical route that allows addressing the deficit of the previous cycle with full respect for binational mechanisms and the sovereignty of each country.”
Finally, the Mexican government reiterated its willingness to collaborate “constructively” with the United States to ensure “mutually beneficial” compliance with the treaty.
