If it wasn’t clear that global leaders have no respect for President Joe Biden and his administration, it should be now.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador sat down with “60 Minutes” in a program that aired Sunday to discuss the recent recommendations and proposals he’s given the United States for Mexico’s assistance in dealing with its southern border.
These ideas — or what some are calling demands — include the U.S. spending $20 billion annually on poor Latin American countries, lifting sanctions on Venezuela, ending the Cuban embargo and legalizing millions of “law-abiding” Mexican citizens who crossed the southern border illegally.
There’s no question that Lopez Obrador can control much of the problem on the U.S. southern border. The “60 Minutes” piece noted that in December, almost 250,000 migrants surged north from Mexico into the U.S. After Biden administration officials sought Mexico’s help, the number in January was about half that, according to Customs and Border Patrol.
When “60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi asked what Lopez-Obrador had done, he replied — through an interpreter — that Mexico had been more careful about its own southern border, and that he “spoke with the presidents of Central America, with the president of Venezuela, and with the president of Cuba.”
“We asked them for help in curbing the flow of migrants,” he said. “However, that is a short-term solution, not a long-term one.”
The “long-term” solution is, apparently, for the United States to pony up billions of dollars in protection money, and let its foreign policy toward communist regimes in Cuba and Venezuela be dictated in Mexico City.
The entire “60 Minutes” interview with Lopez Obrador can be seen below. It’s safe to say that international blackmailers are rarely treated so cheerfully.
Lopez Obrador has discussed the ideas with President Biden for a while, noting in December 2023 that he “proposed to President (Joe) Biden that a U.S.-Cuba bilateral dialogue be opened,” according to The Associated Press.
He also mentioned the $20 billion in aid for Latin American countries during discussions in January 2024, as reported at the time by the U.K. Daily Mail.
The Mexican president has frequently championed his ideas before the domestic news media as well, as the AP reported.
When Alfonsi asked what Lopez Obrado what will happen if the ideas aren’t implemented — if the demands aren’t met — he stated flatly, “The flow of migrants will continue.”
Even Alfonsi couldn’t help but bring up the fact that the “proposal” read like blackmail.
“Your critics have said what you’re doing — what you’re asking for, to help secure the border, is diplomatic blackmail,” she said.
“I am speaking frankly,” Obrador responded, without denying the charge. “We have to say things as they are and I always say what I feel. I always say what I think.”
Alfonsi then asked if he would continue to help with the southern border if his proposals weren’t met.
“Yes,” he said. “Because our relationship is very important. It is fundamental.”
That sounds considerably different from “the flow of migrants will continue.”
Considering that CBP reported 140,000 migrants in February, about 15,000 more than in January, it appears that flow is going to continue to rise, too.
via madpatriotnews
