Update: After both the United States and Mexico claimed to have had a 'very good discussion' to avert President Trump's tariff threat - and the US weighing a delay over concerns that both sides wouldn't be able to reach an agreement on all the measures Mexico would need to take to avert them, Mexico showed yet another act of good faith on Thursday - freezing the bank accounts of 26 alleged human traffickers.

The ministry's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) said in a statement it froze the accounts due to "probable links with human trafficking and illegal aid to migrant caravans." The FIU added that it would present the cases to the Attorney General's office. -Reuters

Negotiators from both countries are discussing a new framework that would "dramatically increase Mexico's immigration enforcement efforts" according to the Washington Post.

Mexican officials have pledged to deploy 6,000 National Guard troops to the country's southern border with Guatemala. We wonder - will Congressional Democrats pounce on Mexico for this decision like they did when President Trump did it?

The Mexican official and the U.S. official said the countries are negotiating a sweeping plan to overhaul asylum rules across the region, a move that would require Central Americans to seek refuge in the first foreign country they set foot upon after fleeing their homeland. Under such a plan, the United States would swiftly deport Guatemalan asylum seekers who set foot on U.S. soil to Mexico. And the United States would send Honduran and Salvadoran asylum applicants to Guatemala, whose government held talks with acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan last week. -Washington Post

In addition to the deployment of the National Guard, Mexico has promised to build more migrant detention centers and checkpoints to catch and deter northbound Central Americans.

Mexico sent representatives to Washington as soon as President @realDonaldTrump announced possible tariffs.



We are expected to have over 1 MILLION people arrive at our Southern Border this year.



Dems are playing games with the border. The president is not! — Brad Parscale (@parscale) June 6, 2019

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One day after US and Mexican negotiators failed to reach a deal to prevent punitive US tariffs from going into effect over border security, Mexican soldiers, armed police and migration officials blocked hundreds of migrants after they crossed into Mexico from Guatemala in a caravan on Wednesday.

A migrant argues with a federal police officer during a joint operation by the Mexican government to stop a caravan of Central American migrants on their way to the U.S., at Metapa de Dominguez, in Chiapas state, Mexico June 5, 2019. REUTERS/Jose Torres

According to Reuters, the response from Mexico marks a major step in compliance with President Trump's demands that the country halt the flow of illegal immigration, primarily from Central America, in order to avoid 5% tariffs which are set to begin on Monday. According to the report, and INM officials told Reuters that migrants were being asked to show papers to show their status in Mexico.

The operation in Chiapas coincided with a meeting of Mexican and U.S. officials at the White House on Wednesday to thrash out a deal that would avoid blanket tariffs on Mexico threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump last week. -Reuters

....talks with Mexico will resume tomorrow with the understanding that, if no agreement is reached, Tariffs at the 5% level will begin on Monday, with monthly increases as per schedule. The higher the Tariffs go, the higher the number of companies that will move back to the USA! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2019

"That many sailors and military police, yes, it’s new" - said Salva Cruz, a coordinator with Fray Matias de Cordova located in the southern border town of Metapa in the state of Chiapas, where most of the Central Americans have been crossing into Mexico.

Migration officials detained 350 to 400 people, the official said, noting that federal police and agents from the National Guard were present. Mexico’s government recently created a militarized police force called the National Guard made up of soldiers and federal police. ... Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM) said in a statement that a group of about 300 people entered Mexico by a border bridge Wednesday morning, and another 120 people joined the group as they walked to the city of Tapachula. The migrants later agreed to be taken by bus to a migration office to be processed, the INM said. -Reuters

In May, US border patrol officers arrested over 132,000 people crossing into the country from Mexico, which is 1/3 more than in April, and the highest monthly figure since 2006 in what US officials have repeatedly said are "crisis" levels.

Meanwhile, Mexico is also cracking down on groups which help to facilitate illegal migration.

On Wednesday afternoon in Mexico City, police detained Irineo Mujica, director of the U.S.-Mexico migrant aid group Pueblo Sin Fronteras, and Cristobal Sanchez, a migrant rights activist, according to Alex Mensing, a coordinator with the group. Pueblo Sin Fronteras has for several years guided annual caravans through Mexico, seeking to protect migrants and to advocate for their rights along a 2,000-mile trail ridden with criminals and corrupt officials who prey on lone travelers through kidnapping, extortion and other forms of assault. -Reuters

After Wednesday's talks failed to result in headway, Fitch downgraded Mexico's credit from BBB+ to BBB, while Moody's lowered Mexico's outlook from stable to negative.