Ken Salazar, the United States ambassador to Mexico, offered a press conference on Tuesday, November 26, whose main topic revolved around the migration problem that both nations face and whose solution the diplomat placed “in the south.”
“The solution to the migration that reaches the border between the United States and Mexico is in the south (…) the solution has to be found in the development of the southeast of Mexico, in the forgotten corner, places like Chiapas,” said Salazar in the speech that opened the event at his official residence.
The ambassador referred to the development projects that exist in the Mexican states in that area, such as the Interoceanic Corridor, and hoped for its continuation to “contain migration and raise the well-being of the people of Mexico in the southeast.”
Salazar also referred to the need to solve the problem of insecurity on the border with Guatemala and to do so in a coordinated manner between Mexico, the United States and the Guatemalan country.
The diplomat said that during his remaining time in office, at the end of the administration of President Joe Biden, who will be succeeded by Donald Trump on January 20, he will continue to dedicate his efforts to working in southern Mexico with trips to Palenque, in Chiapas, Tabasco and to Mérida, in Yucatan, where in the latter place he highlighted the creation of a US consulate.
Venezuela, Nicaragua, Haiti and Cuba, the main origin of migrants
“The four countries south of Mexico where migrants are leaving in very high numbers are Venezuela, Nicaragua, Haiti and Cuba. Venezuela is the first, where 7 million migrants have left due to the lack of democracy and an economy that works for the well-being of the people,” explained Salazar.
According to the ambassador, these four countries share the characteristics that lead to the migration crisis: non-democratic political systems, insecurity, economies in crisis and absence of government in the Haitian case.
“I am not changing my position. Since before I became ambassador, I have always said that democracy requires the security of the people, and that is the reality in places like Haiti, Venezuela, and of course here in Mexico,” he said.
Then the ambassador recalled the four states from which the majority of Mexican migrants who cross into the United States come; Chiapas, Michoacán, Guerrero, and Guanajuato (south and center).
“Why are so many Mexicans leaving those states? It is because security is required. That is the reality of Mexico that is recognized everywhere,” said the ambassador, who recommended that the president, Claudia Sheinbaum, focus on security and invest as she did during her time as head of government of Mexico City.
The ambassador avoided referring to the dialectical dispute that this week has been going on between President-elect Donald Trump, who threatened to impose tariffs on Mexico if the entry of fentanyl into the United States from the south is not reduced, and Sheinbaum, who on Tuesday responded with a letter in which she urged the Republican to address the problem from the perspective of coordination.
“Fentanyl, drugs and migration are complex issues. If they are to be resolved, Mexico and the United States will need to work as partners to reach a solution to these issues. I agree with Sheinbaum that consumption in the United States is part of the problem, as is arms trafficking from north to south,” Salazar acknowledged.
Source: elfinanciero
