Joe Biden depends on Mexico to make a difference in the fight against illegal migration and drug smuggling. When visiting Mexico City, differences become apparent once more.
US President Joe Biden wants to work more closely with Mexico to tackle deadly drug smuggling and record illegal migration to the US.
During a visit to the neighboring country to the south, Biden wanted to meet President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Mexico City for the North America summit. On Monday, the US President had already met his Mexican counterpart bilaterally. The two showed clear differences. López Obrador called for an end to “the contempt for Latin America”.
The North America Summit is a trilateral format of the three member states of the USMCA Free Trade Agreement. Biden had invited to such a summit in the White House at the end of 2021. It was the first meeting of its kind since 2016 – no North America summits were held during the tenure of Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump. This time the main topics are migration, drug smuggling and climate. However, a previously published White House paper contained few tangible results and agreements.
US wants to send back 30,000 migrants every month
There had already been some movement on the major issues of migration and drugs, which is important for Biden in domestic politics. Shortly before his visit to Mexico, the US President presented new regulations to curb illegal migration to the United States. This includes a new agreement with Mexico: the US wants to send back to Mexico 30,000 migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela who entered the US illegally every month. In return, up to 30,000 people from these countries are to be given the opportunity to enter the country legally every month – but only if they meet strict requirements. López Obrador indicated during Biden’s visit that he might be willing to expand on this.
A few days ago, Mexican forces also arrested the son of Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who was imprisoned in the United States. He had taken over part of his father’s Sinaloa cartel and was considered one of the most important dealers in the drug fentanyl in Mexico. The US government saw this as a significant step. The US has long urged Mexico to do more to stop drug smuggling across the border.
In Mexico City, Biden complained that tens of thousands of Americans had died from fentanyl. The number of drug-related deaths in the United States rose to more than 107,000 for the first time in 2021. Many of them died from a fentanyl overdose.
Above all, the issue of migration has particular domestic political importance for the US President. The Democrat has long been under pressure over the rising numbers of illegal border crossings. Republicans accuse him of triggering a crisis with his more liberal migration policies. Recently, the number of people entering the country illegally has increased dramatically: between October 2021 and October 2022, the US border protection agency registered well over two million attempts by people to get from Mexico to the USA – a record.
Mexico’s President: “Respect differences and sovereignty”
Mexico is of central importance to the topic because most migrants from Latin America come to the USA via Mexico: the common border is around 3,200 kilometers long. Biden is therefore dependent on cooperation with his Mexican counterpart.
However, the relationship between the two had suffered in the past year: the Mexican President, like other counterparts, had boycotted a summit with which Biden’s government wanted to improve its relationship with the countries of the region. At the welcoming ceremony on Monday evening (local time) in Mexico City, Biden and López Obrador were initially very close. In the subsequent conversation, however, it became apparent that the differences are far from being resolved.
“It is time to put an end to the forgetting, neglect and contempt of Latin America and the Caribbean,” said López Obrador. “President Biden, you hold the key to opening up and substantially improving relations between all countries in the Americas.” He advocated more economic cooperation, more “brotherhood” and “respecting our differences and our sovereignty”.
Biden also advocated closer cooperation with Mexico and other countries in the region in many areas. “It is clear that we are stronger and more secure when we stand together.” However, the US President also emphasized that the USA had already done a great deal for the countries on the continent in recent years and provided billions. And the focus cannot be solely on Latin America, but also applies to other regions of the world.
Source: Stern
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