Mexico Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Texas Governor Greg Abbott pressured Mexico’s governors to lift border inspections due to long lines, Milenio newspaper reported.
Ebrard commented during a visit to Nuevo Leon state during the weekend, where he accused Abbott of “extorting” the governors of Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Coahuila and Chihuahua to end border inspections on cargo entering the U.S. from Mexico. The governors have spent the past weeks negotiating individually with Abbott over the inspections, Milenio reported.
“It is an extortion,” Ebrard said. “I close the border and you have to sign what I say, that is not an agreement. An agreement is that you and I agree on something, and the problem of migration is not from Mexico, it’s decisions that the United States must make,” Ebrard said.
A spokesperson for Ebrard confirmed the minister’s comments but declined to elaborate on the matter further. Abbott’s office didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment outside of business hours.
The Texas governor is up for re-election in November and he’s focused on the border as his top issue. While he had initially ordered the inspections, Abbott faced pressure to end them due to worsening gridlock, with cargo from Mexico facing waiting times of 24 to 30 hours to cross.
Ebrard is scheduled to visit Washington on Monday to advance cooperation at the Summit of the Americas, which will take place in June in Los Angeles.
