Mexico sent armed soldiers to seize a port owned by an Alabama company – and Biden did nothing.
Now Congress is giving Trump the power to make Mexico pay.
The House just passed legislation that lets Trump bar any ship that docks at a stolen American facility from ever entering a U.S. port.
Mexico Seized a US Company's Port at Gunpoint and Biden Did Nothing
On March 14, 2023, Mexican military and police forces breached Vulcan Materials Company's deep-water port at Punta Venado in Quintana Roo – at gunpoint.
Vulcan, an Alabama-based construction materials company, had operated legally in Mexico for more than 35 years.
The Mexican government didn't care.
Senators Katie Britt of Alabama and John Cornyn of Texas immediately demanded action.
Biden gave them nothing.
The armed occupation continued.
Then AMLO – Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador – doubled down.
In August 2024, he declared the port and surrounding limestone quarry a "Protected Natural Area" – a legal maneuver designed to strip Vulcan of its concession entirely before he left office.
Mexico Has Been Seizing American Assets Since 1938
This isn't the first time Mexico has done this.
In 1938, President Lázaro Cárdenas seized the assets of 17 foreign oil companies – including American firms – in a nationalization that shocked the world and set the template for left-wing Latin American strongmen ever since.
AMLO rallied 500,000 supporters in Mexico City to celebrate the 85th anniversary of that original theft – the same month his forces stormed Vulcan's port.
He nationalized lithium in 2022.
In May 2023, his navy took over a stretch of private railroad under a presidential decree.
In 2024, AMLO nationalized Spanish energy company Iberdrola's Mexican assets.
Vulcan wasn't a target of opportunity – it was part of a pattern.
A hard-left Mexican president with open contempt for American business interests was methodically working through foreign ownership of anything he considered a national resource.
What Trump Gains as the House Passes the Defending American Property Abroad Act
The Defending American Property Abroad Act of 2026 passed the House 247 to 164 on March 27.
Forty-one Democrats broke with their party to vote yes – a sign that even the left couldn't defend what Mexico did.
Rep. August Pfluger of Texas introduced the bill.
Speaker Mike Johnson backed it.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer called it a vote to protect American companies and stabilize the global supply chain.
GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain cut to the chase: "You do not get to steal from American companies and expect us to sit back and do nothing about it."
Here's what the law actually does.
Any ship that docks at a port stolen from an American company in the Western Hemisphere – including Vulcan's seized facility at Punta Venado – is banned from entering a U.S. port.
Shippers who want access to American markets have a simple choice: avoid the stolen facility or lose access to the biggest economy on earth.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where Senators Britt, Hagerty, and Cornyn have been pushing companion legislation for years.
Mexico Violated USMCA and Now Faces Tariffs and a Port Ban
Biden's passivity invited this.
AMLO watched an American company get bullied, harassed, and ultimately robbed by his government since 2018 – and Washington's response was letters and floor speeches.
Trump's posture toward Mexico is categorically different.
Tariffs on Mexican goods are already in effect.
The USMCA is up for renegotiation, with Trump holding every chip – and the U.S. Trade Representative has already named Vulcan's seizure as a live issue at the negotiating table.
And now Congress is handing him a maritime lever on top of it – the power to shut Mexico's trade-dependent shippers out of American waters the moment they benefit from stolen American property.
Vulcan supplies limestone aggregates that build roads, bridges, and port facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The workers who build those projects – the ones pouring concrete in Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama – depend on that supply chain.
When Mexico sent soldiers into that port at gunpoint, it didn't just rob an Alabama company.
It took a swing at American workers and bet that nobody in Washington would hit back.
They lose that bet now.
Sources:
- Nicholas Ballasy, "House passes bipartisan bill to allow U.S. president to limit port access for certain countries," Just The News, March 29, 2026.
- "PASSED: Rep. Pfluger's Legislation to Defend American Property Abroad," Office of Rep. August Pfluger, March 27, 2026.
- "U.S. Senators Katie Britt, Bill Hagerty, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Hold Mexico Accountable," Senator Katie Britt press release, September 23, 2024.
- "Hagerty, Colleagues Reintroduce Legislation to Protect American Assets From Unlawful Seizure," Senator Bill Hagerty press release, July 22, 2025.
- "U.S. Senators Katie Britt, John Cornyn Release Statement Calling for Urgent Action," Senator Katie Britt press release, 2023.
- Virginia Grace McKinnon, "House Passes Legislation to Combat Mexican Government's Seizure of American-Owned Port," The Daily Signal, March 27, 2026.
