A Mexican senator has hit out at President Andrés Manuel López Obrador after claims surfaced that he agreed to help quell migration into the U.S. due to pressure from then-U.S. President Donald Trump.
Lilly Tellez, a National Action Party Senator who represents the state of Sonora, was reacting to allegations that have been made by Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, in his new book Breaking History: A White House Memoir.
In a speech, Tellez repeatedly directed questions toward Mexico's president, known as AMLO, while suggesting his Fourth Transformation—the term Obrador used for his government political reform project—will be tarnished by the president "bowing in the dark" to the U.S.
"How did President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador bend before [U.S. President] Donald Trump? Why did President Lopez Obrador bend before Donald Trump?" Tellez asked.
"Did President Lopez Obrador plan to bow down to President Trump or was it a last-minute decision? Did President Lopez Obrador bow to Trump with a smile or a grimace? Did President Lopez Obrador bow down to Trump out of ignorance?"
"Aren't you ashamed of having bowed down to Trump, the president, by the way, who has offended and denigrated Mexican citizens the most?" she added.
Tellez spoke after local media reported on the allegations in Kushner's book, which will be released on August 23.
Kushner described how the Trump administration frequently met with AMLO's government to discuss its flagship policy of reducing illegal immigration at the southern border.
In one such meeting, between Kushner, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, Pompeo is alleged to have warned that Mexico needs to "pay attention" to the number of illegal crossings into the U.S.
"If they go up, we're going to have problems. If they go down, they will have an amazing partner here who will help them with whatever priority they have," Pompeo told Ebrard, according to Kushner.
Kushner, a former White House adviser, said he traveled to Mexico City in March 2019 to warn Obrador that Trump could retaliate if Mexico didn't control the illegal migration, including pulling out of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade agreement.
"I made a 12-hour trip to Mexico City to deliver my message directly to AMLO: If Mexico did not act immediately to reduce illegal border crossings, all deals were off, including USMCA," Kushner wrote.
In May 2019, Trump announced that he would implement tariffs on imports from Mexico as 144,000 migrants were taken into custody at the border that month, the highest figure during Trump's time in office.
The following month, Mexico sent thousands of military personnel to help stem the flow of illegal immigration across the border. Kushner added that Ebrard would later travel to the U.S to explain how Mexico planned to further tackle the illegal migration crisis, including deploying more than 25 elements of security forces.
"Your stunt worked, I told [Trump]. The Chancellor showed me his letters. Mexico will bend," Kushner said.
Newsweek has reached out to Obrador for comment.
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Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
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