Vice President Kamala Harris’s motorcade was trailed in a high-speed chase through the streets of Mexico City on Tuesday on her way to meet President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Dozens of cameramen on motorcycles attempted to catch a glimpse of Harris as she traveled to the Palacio Nacional on her first foreign trip.
Transit security at one point attempted to run off the motorcyclists.
The vice president’s motorcade diverted from a main boulevard to an old brick street, losing the motorcycles upon arriving at the presidential palace.
Upon arriving, Harris and Lopez Obrador stood by a Diego Rivera mural, The History of Mexico, while the Mexican leader appeared to explain the artwork to the vice president, according to the traveling press pool.
Asked by reporters whether he would be discussing attempts to boost border security with Harris, Lopez Obrador said he would discuss measures to increase it in talks with Harris and focus on the root causes of migration.
“We are very pleased to have her here, and we will touch on that subject but always addressing the fundamental root causes,” Lopez Obrador said.
Moments later, during a one-on-one meeting into which some journalists were allowed for less than a minute, the U.S. vice president offered an upbeat assessment about U.S.-Mexico work on migration flows: “I strongly believe we are embarking on a new era.”
Harris and U.S. officials have said she is focused on the “root causes” driving migrants to leave their home countries, which the White House says include climate change, corruption, violence, and economic issues.
Harris is in Mexico to discuss efforts to stem migration from Mexico and Central America to the southern U.S. border, the second stop in a two-country trip.
In Guatemala on Monday, her motorcade was greeted by pro-Donald Trump protesters brandishing signs that read, “Kamala, Trump won” and “Kamala, mind your own business!”
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After meeting with President Alejandro Giammattei of Guatemala, Harris announced new efforts to stop human trafficking and address corruption, among other efforts, aimed at targeting the root causes of migration in the Northern Triangle region.
