Laura Gamba Fadul
22 September 2021•Update: 23 September 2021
BOGOTA, Colombia
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador criticized the US on Wednesday for failing to address a migration crisis it is facing.
"Enough of coercive measures" toward migration, Lopez Obrador told reporters as thousands of Haitians and other migrants are stuck on Mexico's northern border seeking entry to the US.
The president urged the US to sign an agreement to help Central American countries.
He said at a news conference that Washington has not fulfilled its commitment to invest $4 billion in the region.
"Imagine if I had been standing around waiting for it,” he said. “Nothing has arrived, nothing. So, enough talk, we need action."
Mexico is in the midst of a migration crisis after thousands of mostly Haitian migrants have settled at the US-Mexico border. The US has been flying Haitian migrants from border camps as President Joe Biden faces pressure to stop expulsions.
And White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Monday that the executive mansion is seeking more information on viral videos that appear to show US Border Patrol agents on horseback violently grabbing Haitian refugees.
“Since the time of President Kennedy, the US has not invested enough in the region," Lopez Obrador said after pointing out that in the 1960s, Washington was committed to implementing a 10-year development plan.
Lopez Obrador sent a letter to Biden a few weeks ago, asking him to act to stop migration from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
"I am confident that President Biden's government will accept the proposal we are making to face the migratory phenomenon with development, welfare, employment in the Central American countries, in the countries where development, employment and welfare are needed," he said.
