At the President's morning press conference today, Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard reported on the meeting he held yesterday with U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo. He said the meeting was cordial and respectful, and he considered it to be successful and productive.
Secretary Ebrard explained that the flow of migrants is down about 36.2 percent, due to the government's actions, application of the Law on Migration, and deployment of the National Guard.
Secretary Michael Pompeo informed him that the United States Government respects these decisions and the progress that has been made. Both officials agreed that it would not be necessary to begin negotiations on the possibility of a Safe Third Country Agreement between Mexico and the United States, and that they would meet again in 45 days to discuss that and other issues in Washington, D.C.
Secretary Ebrard said that, during the meeting, he emphasized the concern of the Government of Mexico regarding the increased number of weapons that have been involved in crimes in Mexico. It was agreed that both countries would organize a coordinated operation in their respective territories based on the principle of shared responsibility.
Another issue raised at the meeting was a proposal to create a binational group to enable the State to recover the assets of the criminal organization led by Joaquín Guzmán Loera, in order to be able to use them for other purposes.
Lastly, the foreign secretary said that his meeting with Secretary Pompeo demonstrated the desire and commitment of the two countries to work on the issue of migration and on other issues of interest on the bilateral agenda.