MEXICO CITY (AP) – U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis stepped into politically fraught U.S. relations with Mexico, seeking Friday to add a calming voice to the two neighbors’ defense ties.
Mattis was meeting with senior government officials in the capital on the eve of Mexico’s national Independence Day.
The relationship between Mexico and the United States has faced new challenges under President Donald Trump, who referred to Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists during his election campaign. Trump also has insisted Mexico will pay for a U.S. border wall, and has taken a series of measures to boost immigration enforcement.
On his flight Friday to Mexico City, Mattis said his visit is intended to build on what he called a steady defense relationship. He said he did not expect Mexican officials to raise the border wall issue or other contentious political matters.
“We have very supportive military-to-military ties, and this is simply to reinforce that,” Mattis told reporters traveling with him from Nebraska, where he met Thursday with the commander of Strategic Command and monitored North Korea’s ballistic missile launch over Japan.