Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Wednesday evening said he intends to travel to the U.S. to meet with President Trump despite reports earlier in the day that he had been “considering” canceling.
In remarks made in Spanish on Wednesday, Pena Nieto reiterated that Mexico will not pay for the U.S. border wall between countries, adding that “Mexico does not believe in the walls.”
“I regret and reject the decision of the United States to continue the construction of a wall,” Pena Nieto said, adding that “Mexico offers and demands respect for the United States, although it endorses its friendship with that nation.”
Pena Nieto also said he has ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) to enhance its operations at the 50 Mexican consulates in the U.S. to make them “true defenders of the rights to the migrants,” according to a translation of his comments.
Pena Nieto is scheduled to visit the U.S. next week, but Trump’s Wednesday afternoon order to start construction of a southern border wall had caused the Mexican leader to reconsider the trip north.
Trump’s determination should come as no surprise to America’s southern neighbor. He has repeatedly called for enhanced security on the US-Mexica border since he announced his bid for president in June 2015.
