Republican senators presented a resolution on relations between the United States and Mexico, in which, although they stressed that there are “shared interests,” they affirmed that on issues such as illegal immigration and the fight against drugs, the Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, “seems intent on making each of these crises worse by refusing to take steps to alleviate them.”
“The Biden administration is not fully enforcing our laws. This collapse threatens America’s national security on issues ranging from illegal immigration to the fight against drugs,” added Senator Ted Cruz.
“Mexican President López Obrador seems intent on making each of these crises worse by refusing to take steps to alleviate them. This resolution exemplifies the US’s unwillingness to accept inaction on these reckless policies.. Make no mistake, we will hold him and his administration accountable,” Cruz said.
The resolution “calls for the prioritization of a detailed plan to reduce the production and trafficking of illicit narcotics in Mexico, including fentanyl produced with precursor chemicals from China.” In addition, it “encourages the government of Mexico to also take steps to address the above points.”
“Mexico-US bilateral relationship, under test,” considers Republican Senator Marco Rubio
Senator Marco Rubio indicated that “the bilateral relationship between the Biden administration and the government of Mexico continues to be tested.”
Rubio explained that “whether it is López Obrador’s ties to Marxist and anti-American tyrants in our region, Biden’s border crisis that is directly affecting the American people, or the reality that transnational criminal organizations control entire sections of Mexico and flood the American communities with fentanyl, we must do everything in our power to protect our nation and uphold the rule of law in the region from these threats.”
Republican Sen. Jim Risch, a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led Bill Hagerty, Cruz, Rubio, Roger Wicker and John Barrasso in reintroducing a resolution on US-Mexico relations.
“The United States and Mexico have many shared interests, including a more secure, prosperous, and democratic Western Hemisphere. Unfortunately, these interests are undermined by the ongoing security crisis on the US-Mexico border, as detailed in my committee’s report last yearand the erosion of economic and security conditions in Mexico,” Risch said.
“It is time for the United States and Mexico to take meaningful steps to effectively combat transnational criminal activities, including the illicit fentanyl trade, promote private sector investment and USMCA integrity, and strengthen the institutions necessary to address the negative influence of China and Russia in our hemisphere. I hope the committee will vote on this measure soon.”
Hagerty implored “Presidents Biden and López Obrador to uphold the integrity of the USMCA, effectively address the national security and humanitarian crisis on the southern border, stop once and for all the deadly flow of fentanyl and fentanyl precursors from China through Mexico and to American communities, and find opportunities to attract investment and unlock the economic opportunity presented by the global rebalancing of supply chains outside of communist China.”
“The Biden administration must work with Mexico and take immediate action to stop this never-ending stream of illegal immigrants and drugs into our country. Our resolution reaffirms the importance of partnership between our two countries in economic prosperity, humanitarian efforts, and national security. Barrasso remarked.
Among other things, the resolution also “reaffirms support for mutually beneficial relations between the United States and Mexico, including a stronger economic commitment.”
It was mentioned that it “expresses its concern about the worsening investment climate in Mexico and encourages the Biden administration to defend the economic interests of the United States by upholding the integrity of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.”
In addition, “urges the Biden administration to address the security and humanitarian crisis on the southern border of the United States through the eEstablishing effective immigration controls in the United States, focusing on US foreign assistance efforts to strengthen border security and migration management capacities in the region, and leveraging existing bilateral extradition treaties and the Palermo Protocols to prosecute transnational criminal actors who facilitate illegal migration to the United States.”
Last Wednesday, the Republicans presented two bills that advocate considering the Mexican cartels as terrorist groups in order to authorize the use of the Army to combat them.
“This initiative by the Republicans, in addition to being irresponsible, is an offense against the people of Mexico, a lack of respect for our sovereignty,” López Obrador said Thursday at his daily press conference.
However, the Secretary of Foreign Relations, Marcelo Ebrard, assured that the US authorities recognized that Mexico worked “effectively and quickly” to locate the four US citizens and denied that López Obrador’s reaction to the proposals of the Republican senators has created tensions between both governments.
“They are raising something that they know in advance is not feasible, and they are raising it because that is their electoral campaign and they believe that attacking Mexico and blaming it for things that Mexico is not only not to blame for, but that we are helping them,” criticized Ebrard.