The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, shown this Thursday during her usual press conference of the morning her rejection against the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla, the 44 vessel flotilla that tried to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea, by the Israeli armed forces on Wednesday. “We are against this situation. Humanitarian aid has to get to Gaza,” said the president, who has demanded the “immediate” repatriation of the six Mexicans traveling on the mission.
“We know that at this time they are in the port of Ashdod (a coastal territory 40 kilometers south of Tel Aviv). Consular support has not yet been able to enter. What the Israeli authorities say is that they will take them to a detention center,” he said. Hours after the president of the President, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) has reported that the mission crew have been transferred to the Ketziot detention center, located near the border with Egypt. Sheinbaum has mentioned the names of the six Mexicans on board: Carlos Pérez, Ernesto Ledesma, Sol González, Arlín Gabriela Medrano, Laura Alejandra Veléz Ruiz and Diego Vázquez. A few days before, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also gave the name of Miriam Moreno, which has not been mentioned by the president. The Foreign Ministry explained that a national that was traveling on the Legal Support vessel of the Flotilla travels for Cyprus.
The president has indicated that the ideal case would be to let them reach Gaza, “but they were already intercepted.” “They have to deliver them immediately because they did not commit any crime,” he reiterated several times in his speech. And he recalled that in recent days, the Foreign Ministry sent several communications on the subject. One of them, Tuesday, affirmed that Mexicans embarked on the flotilla “are solidarity, peaceful and committed to peace, without linking with violent groups.” “Its purpose is none other than to offer humanitarian aid,” they exposed on Tuesday in a statement in which they called for respecting the physical integrity and security of those involved, an idea that the president has maintained Thursday.
Asked by a journalist about whether Mexico will break relations with Israel after what happened, the president has affirmed that “so far, she has not raised (that hypothesis).” And he added: “We were from the first countries that we put a complaint in The Hague, there was still President (Andrés Manuel) López Obrador.” In May of last year, Mexico asked to join the complaint against Israel in the International Court of Justice for the genocide in the Gaza Strip (presented in December 2023 by South Africa). Sheinbaum has avoided making a direct reference to the term “genocide” this Thursday, although he already used it a week ago by stating “that this genocide in Gaza” stops. But he has referred to the recognition of the state of Israel during his government after the recognition of the Palestinian Embassy in Mexico.
The tour of the Global Sumud Flotilla ended its tour when the Israel army took control of the three main ships (Soulwhere the direction of the Swedish mission and the activist Greta Thunberg was traveling, Sirius and Adara) In international waters. The Israeli Navy ship has reached the port of Ashdod (a coastal territory 40 kilometers south of Tel Aviv) this Thursday. In total, 400 fleet members have landed, and will be deported next week.
Israel defined the mission as a “provocation.” The Israeli Foreign Ministry said Thursday that none of the boats has managed to enter “an active combat zone” or “violate the naval block”, but has admitted that one of them, the Mikenohas not been addressed by the Israelis Armed Forces. The ship is about 11 kilometers from the coast of Gaza, according to geolocation tracking. “If you approach, your attempt to enter an active combat zone and break the blockade will also be prevented,” Israel warned.
The flotilla was already prepared on September 29 for this situation, when it was about 150 miles (240 kilometers) of the Palestine Strip. The first ships sailed at the end of August from Barcelona, with a tattooed mission: traveling through the Mediterranean to Gaza to break the Israeli block, carry help and open a humanitarian corridor in an initiative that the organizers then planned as “the largest flotilla in history.”
The interception of the flotilla and the retention of the Mexican crew, caused a mobilization of protesters in the large cities of the country to request their release. Those marches led to the closure of streets in Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara and San Cristóbal de las Casas.
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