President Claudia Sheinbaum had said it: Mexico would not let Trump's United States walk all over it, neither on the issue of duties, nor on that of migrants, nor even on geographical and territorial issues. And so, after having denounced none other than Google because, at the behest of the US president, last February it changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America on the maps, now it's Elon Musk's turn, now the tycoon's former right-hand man but still among the richest and most influential men on the planet, as well as a symbol of star-spangled power at least as much as the big tech of Mountain View. The Mexican government has announced that will sue SpaceX, Musk's now well-known space project, due to the pollution generated on Mexican territory by the launches of its rockets.
Starbase Launches Threaten Coastal Wildlife
Starbase, SpaceX's main operations center, is in fact located in South Texas, a few kilometers from the state of Tamaulipas, on the north-eastern border of the Spanish-speaking country. In that area, some environmental groups - both Mexican and American - have reported contamination of water sources and the presence of rocket debris, which would be endangering coastal wildlife, especially sea turtles and various species of birds. Musk has recently distanced himself from the public scene and has returned to dealing with his companies, especially Tesla, which is going through a worrying period of sales crisis: therefore he did not react immediately to the news of the complaint from the Mexican government. But it is not difficult to imagine that he will not consider the issue of vital importance and that he will have no problems in facing possible trials and sanctions.
The latest explosion 100 meters from the border
"We are examining everything related to the rocket launches, which are taking place very close to our border, and the impact they have on the area. Within the framework of international law, we are making the necessary demands," declared President Sheinbaum, as aggressive as ever. The announcement, moreover, came a week after the explosion of a SpaceX Starship rocket during a routine ground test, yet another fiasco for the American billionaire's company in the ambitious race to take humans to Mars. The SpaceX Starship 36 rocket exploded just 100 meters from Mexican territory, scattering fragments of metal, plastic and components into the Rio Grande, as well as farmland and pastures in the municipality of Matamoros, in the northeast of the state of Tamaulipas, on the border with Texas.
According to Musk's company, everything would have happened according to the rules and in the established places, but other sources claim that the contested launch was actually carried out even closer to the border that divides the two countries and on which Washington has repeatedly claimed it wants to build a wall to prevent any migrants from passing. In any case, President Claudia Sheinbaum has stated that the decision to file a lawsuit is not specifically linked to that explosion, but rather more generally to the “impacts on safety and the environment” that SpaceX's activity represents for Tamaulipas. "We will initiate proceedings because there is indeed contamination," he said at a press conference.
