Washington, (EFE).- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena on the “positive results” in reducing the number of migrants arriving at the common border, the State Department reported a statement this Saturday.
The head of US diplomacy conveyed this message during the meeting of two high-level delegations from the US and Mexico on Friday in Washington to follow up on the migration crisis in the region.
Blinken emphasized that “coordinated efforts with Mexico are producing positive results on the shared border,” the State Department statement said.
Mexico's increased deportations and immigration controls on bus and train routes to the United States have had a “positive impact,” he added.
Joint Action Between the United States and Mexico
These measures were agreed during the emergency meeting of both governments on December 27 in Mexico City, as the number of migrants crossing the border reached a record high this month, estimated at more than 300,000.
The situation created a crisis between the United States and Mexico as the Joe Biden administration closed several border points crucial to binational trade for several days.
At Friday's meeting, Blinken also expressed his desire to expand migration cooperation between the United States, Mexico and Guatemala following the inauguration of new Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo de León.
The foreign minister also pledged to work with other countries in the region to “address the root causes of migration and promote economic opportunities,” a demand that Mexico often puts on the table.
For its part, the Mexican Foreign Ministry announced on Friday an agreement for representatives of Mexico and the United States to visit the Darién jungle in Panama, where thousands of migrants pass through every year.
Likewise, they will seek to meet with Guatemala's new government to explore “the best ways to strengthen” cooperation.
Blinken was accompanied by Homeland Security Secretary and US Immigration Policy Officer Alejandro Mayorkas; and White House National Security Advisor Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall.
Together with the Mexican Foreign Minister, security chiefs Rosa Icela Rodríguez; Defense: Luis Cresencio Sandoval; by Marina, Rafael Ojeda, and by the National Migration Institute, Francisco Garduño.
Both committees will meet again in early February, but this time with a focus on fentanyl trafficking.