Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador challenged President Biden on his “forgetfulness” to help Latin American countries during the North American Summit Monday. He also urged him to prioritize solving the immigration problem affecting the US-Mexico border.
Although public statements usually involve a positive tone, López Obrador pressed Biden for his “abandonment” and “forgetting” to help the Central American country.
Lopez Obrador said at a press conference on Monday, “This is the time to decide to remove this exclusion, this contempt and the forgetting of Latin America and the Caribbean.”
López Obrador also said that Biden has the “key” to improve life for the region.
BIDEN IS BUILDING A TAXPAYER’S WALL AROUND DELAWARE’S BEACH HOUSE DESPITE OBJECTIONS.
US President Joe Biden speaks during a press conference as part of the ‘2023 North America Summit’ at the Palacio Nacional on January 10, 2023 in Mexico City, Mexico.
Hector Vivas/Getty Images
“You hold the key in your hand,” the Mexican leader said of the US president.
By Tuesday, López Obrador’s speech was more positive as he praised Biden for not building “even one meter of wall,” an apparent reference to Biden’s predecessor, former President Donald Trump.
Still, López Obrador urged Biden to “insist” on Congress doing more to allow undocumented Mexican immigrants to work in industries where American workers struggle. in giving.
BIDEN ADMIN HAS SIGNED US-MEXICO WALL NEAR YUMA, ARIZONA
US President Joe Biden and his Mexican counterpart Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador shake hands during a welcoming ceremony at the Palacio Nacional (National Palace) in Mexico City, on January 9, 2023.
(NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP via Getty Images)
President Joe Biden, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the 10th Summit of North American Leaders at the National Palace in Mexico City, Tuesday, January 10, 2023.
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
The Mexican president also spoke at length about his country’s efforts to help reduce the amount of fentanyl in the US. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that has become the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in America.
“We are fighting fentanyl, these chemicals, we are doing it because we care about us. No one is our foreigner,” he said. “We really need to be able to help with what’s happening in the United States, the death from fentanyl. And as we discussed today, it’s not just an issue for the United States, because if we don’t face it. This problem, this scourge, we will suffer it. Therefore, we will act in a planned way.”
Biden, López Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met on Monday and Tuesday for the North American Leaders Summit, where the three world leaders shared their joint goals for global trade, managing large waves of migrants coming into the region, supporting Ukraine.
BIDEN SAYS HE WILL VISIT SOUTHERN BORDER AFTER TWO YEARS: ‘Slow down, slow down’
They also discussed managing energy issues in semiconductor production, mitigating the effects of climate change – promising to reduce methane emissions – and, making a coordinated regional plan to deal with future health risks related to disease.
“We are good partners, the three of us,” Biden said Tuesday at a joint press conference in Mexico City. He also said that everyone shares “good things” with each other.
“We share a common vision for the future, based on common values,” Biden added.
President Joe Biden, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed during a press conference at the 10th Summit of North American Leaders at the National Palace in Mexico City, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023.
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
US President Joe Biden, left, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, second from left, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pose for an official photo at the National Palace in Mexico City, Tuesday, January 10, 2023.
(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Despite the accolades, the leaders have found themselves at odds over the past year.
The US is urging Trudeau and Canada to help lead an international mission in Haiti to help address the ongoing humanitarian and security crisis.
“We need to make sure that this solution is led by the Haitian people themselves,” Trudeau said Tuesday, calling the situation “devastating.”
BILL MELUGIN ON WHY BIDEN DIDN’T SEE THE BORDER PROBLEM: ‘THIS IS HARD TO DO’
Also, the US and Mexico continue to plan for the best way to deal with the influx of immigrants who want to enter America.
Many of these immigrants – mostly from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela – are forced to wait in the US-Mexico as Title 42, the Trump-era immigration policy will expire.
Although the Biden administration continues to say that the border is “secure,” US Customs and Border Protection reported that there were more than 2.3 million people moving abroad in FY 2022 alone.
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This number is more than 1.7 million in history when met in FY 2021. As of FY 2023, which began in October, the number of immigrants is more than once last year.
Fox News’ Adam Sabes and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
