US, Mexico agree to keep border open as pressure mounts to limit crossings

Mexico City, The Gulf Observer: Mexican and U.S. officials agreed to keep border crossings open, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Thursday, after several key rail crossings were temporarily shuttered due to high numbers of migrants arriving at the shared border.

“This agreement has been reached, the rail crossings and the border bridges are already being opened to normalize the situation,” Lopez Obrador told a morning press conference. “Every day there is more movement on the border bridges.”

Lopez Obrador said Wednesday’s meetings with the U.S. delegation, which included Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, were “direct” due to the importance of border commerce for both countries.

The talks come as a large caravan of migrants slowly headed toward the border with the hopes of gaining entry to the United States. Lopez Obrador said at last count this caravan included around 1,500 people.

The issue of fentanyl, a powerful and deadly opioid, was “hardly discussed,” the president added.

The United States has been pressing Mexico to do more to combat fentanyl trafficking, while Mexico has been pushing for stronger U.S. controls to prevent firearms from the neighbouring country from reaching powerful drug cartels.