[CTC] Mexican president cancels visit to Washington as tensions with Trump administration intensify

[Arthur Stamoulis]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/mexican-president-cancels-visit-to-washington-as-tensions-with-trump-administration-intensify/2017/01/26/ececc3da-e3d9-11e6-a419-eefe8eff0835_story.html?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_mexicous-1210p%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.d00c3fdeefaf
Mexican president cancels visit to Washington as tensions with Trump administration intensify

By Joshua Partlow <https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/joshua-partlow/> and Philip Rucker <https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/philip-rucker/> January 26 at 1:37 PM  <mailto:joshua.partlow at washpost.com;ruckerp at washpost.com?subject=Reader%20feedback%20for%20'Mexican%20president%20cancels%20visit%20to%20Washington%20as%20tensions%20with%20Trump%20administration%20intensify'>
MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on Thursday canceled a planned visit to the White House amid outrage in Mexico about President Trump’s efforts to start building a border wall, in what appeared to be one of the most serious rifts in years between Washington and one of its most critical allies.

The move came a day after Trump signed an executive order to construct a border wall <https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-pledges-to-start-work-on-border-wall-within-months/2017/01/25/dddae6ee-e31e-11e6-ba11-63c4b4fb5a63_story.html?utm_term=.7e06b14adb95>, which he has insisted that Mexico fund. Mexican officials have angrily rejected paying for the wall.

Addressing a GOP policy retreat in Philadelphia, Trump said Thursday afternoon, “The president of Mexico and myself have agreed to cancel our planned meeting” next week. “Unless Mexico is going to treat the United States fairly, with respect, such a meeting would be fruitless.”

Trump said that “border security is a serious, serious national issue and problem” that threatens the “sovereignty and safety” of Americans. “The American people will not pay for the wall, and I’ve made that clear to the government of Mexico,” he added. He also blasted the North American Free Trade Agreement, vowing that “I will not allow Americans to pay the cost” of the accord.

Earlier, Peña Nieto said in a tweet:  <https://twitter.com/EPN/status/824660333964824576>“This morning we have informed the White House that I will not attend the work meeting scheduled for next Tuesday with @POTUS.” 

Peña Nieto had sent out a recorded message on Wednesday night saying that he “regrets and disapproves” of the U.S. decision to move forward with the wall, but that he still planned to come to Washington next Tuesday to meet with Trump because of the importance of the negotiations.

But that decision changed after a Thursday morning tweet  <http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/26/trump-no-meeting-with-pe-nieto-if-mexico-wont-pay-for-wall.html>from Trump saying that if Mexico is not willing to pay for the wall, “then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting.”

Relations between the United States and Mexico have quickly deteriorated since Trump took power. Trump has proposed several policies that Mexico opposes, including the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, increased deportations of illegal immigrants, and the construction of the wall.

A border wall was one of Trump's signature promises and a rallying cry for his supporters during last year's presidential campaign. Peña Nieto has insisted that Mexico will not pay for the wall, casting the issue as a matter of dignity and principle for the nation. But he has tried to maintain a diplomatic approach to the new administration, suggesting that Mexico can negotiate with its largest trading partner and maintain good relations.

In Mexico, pressure has been mounting on Peña Nieto to respond more forcefully to Trump's proposals.


http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/25/politics/mexico-president-donald-trump-enrique-pena-nieto-border-wall/index.html?adkey=bn <http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/25/politics/mexico-president-donald-trump-enrique-pena-nieto-border-wall/index.html?adkey=bn>
Mexican president cancels meeting with Trump
 <http://www.cnn.com/profiles/daniella-diaz>
  <http://www.cnn.com/profiles/daniella-diaz>
"Mexico does not believe in walls. I've said time again," Peña Nieto said
·         Mexican officials laying the groundwork for meeting with Trump next week
Washington (CNN)Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on Thursday canceled a meeting with US President Donald Trump that had been set for Tuesday after renewed tensions over Trump's plan to build a wall on the border.

"This morning we have informed the White House that I will not attend the meeting scheduled for next Tuesday with the POTUS," Peña Nieto tweeted.
Earlier Thursday morning, Trump had tweeted that it would be better to skip the meeting if Peña Nieto continued to insist Mexico would not pay for the wall, which he had again said as recently as Wednesday evening.
Trump's pushback came after Peña Nieto said -- again -- on Wednesday that his country "will not pay for any wall," Trump tweeted that they should just skip their planned meeting at the White House.
"If Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting," Trump tweeted and in an earlier tweet he noted the US's trade deficit with Mexico and what he said were the American job losses caused by NAFTA.
 <>
 
Peña Nieto also said he had ordered government agencies to step up protection for immigrants.
"I've asked for the minister of Foreign Relations to re-enforce protection measures to our citizens," he said. He added that the 50 Mexican Consulates in the US will be used to defend the rights of immigrants in the country. He also issued a call to action to legislators and civil organizations to help immigrants.
Mexican delegation brings 'Mexico First' message <http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/25/politics/trump-mexico-visiting-delegation/index.html>
Peña Nieto closed his message by saying that Mexico offers and expects respect.
"Mexico offers its friendship to the people of the United States and expresses its wish to arrive at agreements with its government, deals that will be in favor of Mexico and the Mexicans," he said.
 <http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/25/americas/us-mexico-border-before-trump-trnd/index.html>
 
Trump wall: What the US-Mexico border looks like now <http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/25/americas/us-mexico-border-before-trump-trnd/index.html>
Earlier in the day, Trump signed two executive orders directing the construction of a wall on the US-Mexico border, boosting border patrol forces and increasing the number of immigration enforcement officers who carry out deportations.
Meanwhile, the Mexican officials that arrived Wednesday were expected to lay the groundwork for Peña Nieto's visit next week, which Mexican diplomats see as an important opportunity to get past the anti-Mexico rhetoric Trump used during the campaign and a chance to put the US-Mexico relationship back on track.
"There is ... frustration with our government and ourselves that we have not been able to tell the story of this important relationship," a Mexican diplomat told CNN ahead of the visit. "There are a lot of stereotypes of Mexicans in the US, but there are also stereotypes of Americans in Mexico. It is in the interest of both governments to explain what this relationship is and what we can do together."
Related: Reality Check: Illegal immigration has plummeted <http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/25/politics/reality-check-illegal-immigration/index.html>
In a Monday speech, Peña Nieto said his government is prepared to negotiate with the US if Mexico's national sovereignty is respected. He laid out economic integration and respect for the rights of migrants and the money they send home as his nation's key negotiating points.
Trump has suggested some of the $25 billion in annual remittances that migrants return home would be retained to pay for the border wall -- a project Mexico opposes and which Peña Nieto has said Mexico would never pay for.
"Neither confrontation nor submission. Dialogue is the solution," Peña Nieto said Monday <>
 
This won't be the first meeting for the two men. Trump flew to Mexico City during his campaign to meet Peña Nieto and said they discussed a wall Trump has vowed to build on the US southern border, but not his demand that Mexico pay for it -- an assertion the Mexican president later disputed.
"At the start of the conversation with Donald Trump, I made it clear that Mexico will not pay for the wall," Peña Nieto tweeted, after their meeting.
The visit was widely viewed as a public relations disaster for Peña Nieto.


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