Mexican and US Presidents Met Amid Tension over Migration, Fentanyl
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador recently visited the white house for a 31 minutes meeting with US President Joe Biden
Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the President of Mexico, met Joe Biden, the United States President – to discuss major issues such as migration, soaring gas prices, and fentanyl – in the United States during his White House visit. López Obrador said during his Tuesday visit that while the U.S. waited for the cost of gas in the country to go down, his government allowed Americans who live near the Mexican border to fill their fuel tanks on the Mexican side at a lower price.
During his thirty-one minutes’ conversation with the United States president, López Obrador said that petrol in his country is approximately one dollar less than in the U.S. – the average gas price in America is now $4.66, according to American Automobile Association (AAA). Furthermore, he noted that since the energy crisis erupted, his country sent seventy-two percent of its crude and fuel oil exports to the refineries of the U.S.
The meeting between both leaders came one month after López Obrador boycotted the Western Hemisphere conference of the U.S. president. He was intended to reflect something of a truce amid growing concerns over trade, migration, and the flow of fentanyl all over the southwest United States border. But, regardless of the tensions, the Mexican president expressed positivity about the relationship between both nations.
Illegal Drugs
Despite their geographical and cultural differences, Mexico is the United States’ second-largest trading partner. In addition, the majority of illegal migrants and drugs entering the United States come from Mexico, while guns flow the other way, which are used in Mexico’s violent organized crime.
Mexican and US Presidents Met Amid Tension over Migration, Fentanyl Source: Web
Additionally, the United States is concerned about the rise in drug-overdose deaths from fentanyl, mainly from Mexico. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has had an icy relationship with Lopez Obrador, who claims it was too involved in domestic affairs during the previous government. Mexican officials have downplayed the trade-in fentanyl for years.
