Mexico

Mexico, October 17, 2026. The Mexican press is treating the suspension of sanctions against Russia primarily as an energy price issue. El Financiero headlines that "Trump is in a hurry to lower diesel prices": the president has exempted massive Russian energy exports from tariffs, as provided for by a law he signed last month, because these measures complicated his initiative to reduce diesel prices before the midterm elections. The newspaper recalls that fuel prices remain at historic highs just a few weeks before the November 3 election.

The newspaper quotes the formula of the executive order published on Friday evening: "I exempt from the application of sanctions, restrictions, and obligations provided for by the Graham law," with a certification addressed to Congress stating that the exemption "is in the national interest" of the United States. El Financiero specifies that the directive formally imposes tariffs but suspends their application, so that Trump could activate them later.

The newspaper details what the law provided for: thirty days to impose 100% tariffs on all products from the five main buyers of Russian crude, sanctions against many Russian entities, and 500% tariffs on American imports of Russian energy products. The deadline expired on October 18. These provisions conflicted with the plan, announced the previous week, to collaborate with Vladimir Putin to release diesel reserves on global markets.

El Siglo de Torreón emphasizes the legal scope: the law, promulgated on September 18 and bearing the name of the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, aimed to toughen sanctions and limit the resources that support the war against Ukraine. The order suspends for the time being the sanctions against individuals and entities linked to the Russian government, financial and trade restrictions, and tariffs, but does not cancel the sanctions already imposed by previous executive orders. The exemption will last until Trump or the Secretary of State decides, in consultation with the Treasury.

Reforma and El Norte, via a news agency dispatch, summarize the decision in one sentence: Trump "has put the brakes on" the sanctions approved by Congress, claiming that the exemption is in the national interest. Congress appears in these texts as the author of the law, without any reported reaction from lawmakers or from Kiev or Moscow.