Mexico says it will review all forms of cooperation with the United States, including efforts to combat powerful drug cartels, in a sign of mounting frustration over President Donald Trump's antagonistic attitude toward the country.
President Enrique Pena Nieto gave the order to his cabinet in a meeting on Sunday after a week of heightened bilateral tensions, during which he rebuked Trump for repeatedly stoking conflict and chafing against Mexico.
Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said the review would cover all aspects of the relationship, ranging from border security and migration to trade and the fight against drug gangs.
Mexico has long been identified as the leading trans-shipment point for illicit drugs entering the US market.
Videgaray noting that no decision had yet been made to suspend or reduce collaboration, but said the government had to act given the degree of public support that had been expressed in Mexico for Pena Nieto's tougher stance.
The review will last "a few weeks" and take place under the aegis of the foreign ministry. After that, Pena Nieto would make decisions based on the "very public, notorious differences we have today with the United States," Videgaray said.
The White House referred a request for comment on the announcement to the State Department. There was no immediate response from the State Department.
The Mexican government's decision was backed by opposition lawmakers, who said it vindicated the Senate's call last week for the government to end cooperation on migration and security with the United States in response to Trump deploying the National Guard on the US-Mexico border.
After Trump set out his National Guard plans, Pena Nieto chided him in unusually forthright terms, telling him not to take out his domestic policy "frustration" on Mexico.
Trump, who launched his election campaign in 2015 by calling Mexicans who come to the United States rapists, has caused profound anger in Mexico with his repeated broadsides on trade and migration, as well as his plans for a southern border wall.
The latest Trump spat comes as Mexico, the United States and Canada are at a crucial phase in talks to rework NAFTA. The Mexican government has long said the renegotiation should be couched within a review of the entire relationship.
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