CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico – The governors of Mexican border states are lining up to pledge that they’ll increase security measures at commercial crossings as they seek a resumption of normal trade between Texas and Mexico.
Governors and senior officials in the states of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Tamaulipas said Thursday that they are seeking agreements with Texas Gov. Gregg Abbot that will allow him to rescind his April 6 order for state troopers to perform safety inspections on all commercial traffic in an effort to root out migrant and drug smuggling operations.
The stepped up inspections have led to delays of hours and even days for some commercial truckers trying to cross the border, many with perishable goods that end up on the tables of Americans.
Gov. Miguel Angel Riquelme Solis of Coahuila state said in an interview Thursday that the snarled bridge traffic in his state is “dire,” with daily economic losses estimated at $8 million. He said he’s anxious to meet with Abbott, saying there has been communication with his office.
“We’re just waiting for confirmation for a meeting in person, or over the phone, Zoom, whatever works best,” said Riquelme, adding that his state has stepped up operations along its border with Eagle Pass and Del Rio to better coordinate with U.S. officials on the problem of immigration. “In reality we don’t have the problem of security that he [Abbott] is talking about, but I look forward to speaking to the governor. I’m ready to go to Austin, Eagle Pass, or Del Rio. We need to resume normal trade.”
Thursday morning, Chihuahua Gov. Maria Eugenia Campos Galvan was meeting by phone with Abbott in an effort to reach an agreement, said spokesman Carlos Omar Barranco.
The conversation comes as days of snarled commercial traffic appear to have largely eased up. Commercial traffic was largely flowing normal Thursday along the Texas-Mexico border, with waits up to three hours in the Juarez area to no wait times in Laredo and less than an hour in Pharr.
In the state of Tamaulipas, state spokesman Aldo Hernandez said the governor’s office has also been in touch with Abbott’s office about a possible meeting Thursday or Friday.
Wednesday, Abbott and Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Alejandro Garcia Sepulveda signed what both men called a “historic” agreement that would lift Abbott’s extra level of inspection if Nuevo Leon expanded its own inspections efforts on the Mexican side, something Garcia said the state began doing on Monday with the help of Mexico’s National Guard.
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