MEXICO CITY (AP) — The outgoing U.S. ambassador to Mexico said Monday he anticipated “major changes” in the diplomatic relationship between the U.S. and Mexico during the incoming Trump administration.
“There’s a lot of fear because of some of the threats being made,” Ken Salazar said in his final news conference. But he added that in order to fix a “broken” immigration system, the U.S. will need to work hand-in-hand with the Mexican government.
President-elect Donald Trump has threatened crippling tariffs if Mexico doesn't do more to slow migration and stop fentanyl trafficking.
Salazar, who has served as ambassador under the administration of President Joe Biden, is slated to be replaced with Ron Johnson, a former ambassador to El Salvador during Trump's first term who was previously in the CIA. Johnson, who was tapped by Trump in December, awaits Senate confirmation.
Salazar’s departure underscores a larger potential shift in relations between the U.S. and Mexico with the incoming Trump administration and newly elected Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum in power, something that could test the economic and political bonds of the most important diplomatic relationship in the hemisphere.
The neighboring nations have felt very few bumps in their relationship in recent years. Mexico has helped the U.S. block migrants from going north as figures like Salazar have largely avoided criticizing moves by Sheinbaum’s ally and predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
In his departing remarks on Monday, Salazar touted what he called “historic cooperation” between the two countries on security, migration, economic development, and combating fentanyl production.
That relationship was strained last year when López Obrador was angered by criticism from Salazar over a controversial judicial reform his government pushed through, and the dramatic kidnapping and capture of narco boss Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. The tensions at one point caused López Obrador to put relations with the U.S. Embassy “on pause.”
But Trump’s promise of mass deportations and slapping tariffs on Mexico and other trade partners is likely to only deepen those tensions. While Sheinbaum has responded with a stern but collaborative tone towards Trump, it’s still unclear if she will be able to maintain the same amicable relationship that the Trump once shared with López Obrador, also a populist.
Sharing a nearly 2,000-mile (3,218 kilometer) border and an inextricable trade relationship totaling hundreds of billions of dollars a year, maintaining strong diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Mexico have long been a crucial backbone of American foreign policy.