U.S. president makes first visit to Mexico in almost a decade

U.S. President Joe Biden landed in Mexico City yesterday to take part in the North American Leaders’ Summit alongside his Canadian and Mexican counterparts Justin Trudeau and Andrés Manuel “AMLO” López Obrador. 

This is the first visit of a U.S. head of state to Mexico since former President Barack Obama crossed the border in 2014 to attend an earlier edition of the summit. 

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Homeland Security Chief Alejandro Mayorkas, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and Special Presidential Adviser for the Americas Chris Dodd are also part of the U.S. delegation for meetings in which immigration and security are likely to feature close to the top of the agenda.

The U.S. and Canada are the two largest receptors of Mexican immigrants in the world. Almost 12 million Mexicans live in the U.S., with another 100,000 in Canada. U.S. figures triple when second and third-generation Mexicans are also included in the account.

The meeting also takes place in the context of violence in Culiacán, in the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa, in response to the arrest of 32-year-old Ovidio Guzmán, son and successor of Mexican famous drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán — who is currently serving a life sentence in the U.S. 

Despite Washington being very much concerned about issues related to drug trafficking, and regardless of a U.S. Department of State order against Ovidio, the Mexican government denied his immediate extradition, or any potential link Mr. Biden’s trip and the timing of the arrest.

The leaders took some time off their schedules to condemn the violent takeover of government buildings in Brazil on Sunday, led by supporters of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. It remains unclear whether they will address the matter in their meetings. 

President Biden started his tour through the region earlier on Sunday with a visit to the Mexico-U.S. border, where he walked close to the controversial wall dividing the two nations alongside border patrol agents. 

A few days before, the Democrat leader confirmed his administration would impose a more restrictive immigration agenda regarding Nicaraguans, Cubans, and Venezuelans, based on a previous pandemic-related ban. In the meantime, seeking to improve legal entries, the Biden government is expected to accept up to 30,000 asylum seekers per month.

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