MEXICO CITY, Feb 2 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray on Friday and discussed security and migration, Mexico's government said.

After the 20-minute meeting, they were joined by Canada's Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, said Steve Goldstein, U.S. undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs. He said more information would be available later.

Mexico is trying to prove itself a good U.S. ally in hopes of getting a favorable outcome from renegotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and the United States.

Tillerson, Videgaray and Freeland are expected to hold a news conference in Mexico City on Friday afternoon. Tillerson is also due to meet with President Enrique Pena Nieto. (Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter and Christine Murray; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) </s> US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (R) is set to meet with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to smooth over tensions (AFP Photo/PEDRO PARDO)

Mexico City (AFP) - US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson meets with Mexican leaders on Thursday to try to calm a row over President Donald Trump's trade and immigration policies.

Trump has outraged Mexico by vowing to build a wall along the border to keep out migrants, whom he branded rapists and criminals during his presidential campaign.

His government on Tuesday issued new orders to the authorities to begin arresting and deporting illegal immigrants, many of them Mexicans.

Trump has also threatened to put up barriers to Mexican exports, shift jobs from that country back to the United States and even halt remittances by US-based Mexicans back to their families.

Now he has sent Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to Mexico City to smooth over tensions -- and discuss with Mexican Enrique Pena Nieto how to curb cross-border migration and drug-trafficking.

"It's significant that the president is sending the secretaries to Mexico so early in the administration. It's symbolic of the meaningful relationship that our two nations have," White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters on Wednesday.

"These are important meetings regarding the president's agenda to improve the quality of lives for both people of Mexico and the United States by combating drug traffickers and finding ways to bolster both our economies through a broader relationship that promotes commerce and legal immigration."

Tillerson and Kelly were scheduled to meet with Pena Nieto at 1900 GMT after talks with Mexico's ministers of foreign affairs, finance and government.

Trump's stance on Mexico has driven the countries' relations to their lowest point in years.

Pena Nieto canceled a planned meeting with Trump in Washington last month over the US leader's vow to make Mexico pay for the wall.

US government officials said Tillerson and Kelly will aim to convince Mexico that it values their bilateral ties.

Spicer insisted Mexico and Washington have "a very healthy and robust relationship with the Mexican government."

But Maureen Meyer, an expert at the Washington Office on Latin America, a US human rights advocacy organization, said "relations have been severely strained by the Trump administration's rhetoric and actions."

"Secretary Tillerson has an opportunity to set relations on a more sound footing based on mutual respect," she said in a statement.

The US immigration authorities have arrested hundreds of people across the country as part of Trump's pledge to crack down on illegal immigrants.

Kelly on Tuesday issued new orders to step up the detentions.

Speaking in Guatemala on Wednesday before traveling to Mexico, Kelly said "my sincere advice to any citizen considering moving to the United States in crossing our boundaries irregularly -- migration -- my best advice is to not do it."

Mexico has hinted it could use border cooperation as a bargaining chip.

"We have been a great ally to fight problems with migration, narcotics," Mexico's Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo told the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail.

"If at some point in time things become so badly managed in the relationship, the incentives for the Mexican people to keep on cooperating in things that are at the heart of (US) national security issues will be diminished."

But Mexico has a lot to lose: it relies on the United States as a trading partner, sending 80 percent of its exports to its northern neighbor.

The United States has meanwhile allocated $2.6 billion worth of aid to Mexico for fighting crime under the 2008 "Merida initiative," US officials say.

Vowing to protect US industry, Trump has called for a renegotiation of the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada.

Pena Nieto has promised to defend Mexico's interests and called for respect from the United States.

"Neither confrontation nor submission: the solution is dialogue and negotiation," he said last month.

"Mexico does not believe in walls. Our country believes in bridges." </s> MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The United States’ top diplomat landed in Mexico on Thursday with debate swirling over the government’s efforts to win favor with Washington and save the NAFTA pact from collapse, sparking concerns it is ceding sovereignty to its northern neighbor.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson steps off his plane as he arrives to the presidential hangar in Mexico City, Mexico February 1, 2018. REUTERS/Henry Romero

Mexico has been at pains to prove itself a good ally to the United States on combating drug trafficking and immigration, in hopes this would help efforts to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement on as favorable terms as possible.

Those secret efforts sprang into view this week, when Reuters exclusively reported that Mexico is considering allowing U.S. air marshals aboard commercial cross-border flights, igniting a debate over what lengths Mexico should go to in order to win favor with its top trade partner.

“The question is, what else is (Foreign Minister Luis) Videgaray giving to Trump and his collaborators in exchange for preserving NAFTA?” Salvador Garcia Soto asked in his El Universal newspaper column, decrying Videgaray’s “opaque” maneuvering.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson landed in Mexico City on Thursday afternoon and was due to have dinner with Videgaray and other senior Mexican government and national security officials at U.S. Ambassador Roberta Jacobson’s residence.

Although Tillerson has not been a prominent player in the NAFTA discussions, the future of the treaty is certain to loom over his visit, especially at a trilateral meeting with Canada’s Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland on Friday.

Mexico’s government, and particularly the foreign ministry, has pushed hard to defend NAFTA, a lynchpin of its export-led economy, ahead of a July 2018 election in which the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party is currently polling third.

“All our efforts right now are based around NAFTA and making sure the pact doesn’t collapse,” said a senior Mexican diplomat.

Videgaray has said closer cooperation with the United States is the best way to achieve Mexico’s foreign policy aims.

“Obviously that would be something that we strongly want to avoid,” Videgaray said at an event in New York late last year, referring to NAFTA collapsing. “We realize that we could achieve much more by being constructive and by approaching the relationship looking for common ground ... with very active cooperation.”

Quizzed by ruling party lawmakers on Tuesday, Videgaray denied the air marshals were part of any NAFTA quid pro quo, but said the government was studying the plan.

CLOSER TIES

Tillerson’s Mexico City visit is the first leg in a week-long Latin America trip in which he hopes to keep up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro over his restrictions on domestic political opposition.

Earlier on Thursday, in a speech at his alma mater University of Texas at Austin, Tillerson raised the prospect that the Venezuelan military could decide to oust President Nicolas Maduro but said he did not know whether that would happen.

Tillerson insisted the Trump administration was not advocating “regime change” in Venezuela but said it would be “easiest” if Maduro chose to leave power on his own.

In his most important regional policy statement since his appointment, Tillerson also warned Latin American countries against excessive reliance on economic ties with China, while sounding alarm over Russia’s growing presence.

Tillerson is due to meet with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, and Videgaray for a second time, on Friday, and they are certain to discuss Central American migration and drug trafficking, two areas in which Mexico has sought to work more closely with the United States since U.S. President Donald Trump took office.

Videgaray, who flew to Washington earlier this week ahead of Tillerson’s arrival, is Pena Nieto’s most trusted adviser, and has forged close ties with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who serves as a senior advisor to the president.

The influential foreign minister has stepped to the fore of regional Latin American efforts to condemn Maduro’s government and has also proved a good friend to the Trump administration on sensitive foreign policy issues including North Korea, Israel and Honduras.

Former Mexican diplomat and intelligence official Gustavo Mohar said it would be foolish to assume such efforts could yield a positive NAFTA result.

“The priority of Mexico’s foreign policy in the short-term has been to reach an agreement with the Trump government on trade,” he said. “But that doesn’t guarantee you anything, because this guy (Trump) is very unpredictable.” </s> MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's foreign relations secretary says it might come as a surprise, but the country's relationship with the United States today is "more fluid, it's closer than it was with previous administrations."

Luis Videgaray said: "It might be surprising to some people, but that's a fact of life."

The comments were made at a joint news conference in Mexico on Friday with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Mexico has had well-known disagreements with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump during the past year over trade, immigration and payment for a proposed border wall.

Tillerson's stop in the country kicked off a six-day Latin America trip that will also take him to Panama, Argentina, Peru, Colombia and Jamaica.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Tillerson's Mexico stop kicks off a weeklong trip to Latin America which will take him to Argentina, Peru, and Colombia, with a final stop in Jamaica. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's foreign relations secretary said Friday that it might come as a surprise but his country's relationship with the United States today is "more fluid" and "closer" than it was with previous U.S. administrations.

Mexico has had well-publicized disagreements with President Donald Trump during the past year over trade, immigration and payment for a proposed border wall. But Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Videgaray said that "with the Trump administration, we're committed to having a very close communication and that has proven to be a tremendous benefit for the relationship."

"It might be surprising to some people, but that's a fact of life," Videgaray said at a joint news conference in Mexico with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland. The three countries are currently renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Tillerson's stop in Mexico kicked off a six-day Latin America trip that will also take him to Panama, Argentina, Peru, Colombia and Jamaica. He was greeted in Mexico City by a handful of protesters holding up signs reading "Dreamers, Trump's hostages," and "We are workers, not terrorists, not criminals."

The three spoke about security concerns, especially the trafficking in opiates and synthetic opiates like fentanyl that have caused a wave of overdose deaths.

"Given the deadly nature of the opioid crisis, we must do more to attack the business model of those who traffic drugs and guns," said Tillerson.

Asked about reports of Russian meddling in Mexico's July 1 presidential elections, Tillerson said "we know that Russia has fingerprints on elections around the world ... my advice to Mexico would be to pay attention."

The three officials said they also discussed the political and economic crisis in Venezuela and its government's decision to push up presidential elections to April under conditions that opponents say overwhelmingly favor President Nicolas Maduro, who is so far the only candidate.

"We shared our concerns for the humanitarian crisis that has unfolded in Venezuela," Tillerson said. "We all urge the Maduro regime to return to free, open credible, democratic elections."

Videgaray was quick to note that Mexico has limits on how far it will go in pressuring Venezuela.

"Mexico will in no case support any option that implies violence," Videgaray said.

Tillerson said the United States wants to see a "peaceful transition."

"If President Maduro would return to the Venezuelan constitution, restore the duly elected assembly, dismantle the illegitimate constituent assembly and return to free and fair elections, then he's happy to stay and run in the free and fair elections," Tillerson said. "If he wants to step aside and let someone else run in them, that's fine."

Venezuelan officials condemned Tillerson's remarks earlier Thursday at the University of Texas. Tillerson said that throughout the course of Latin America's history it has often been the military which has stepped in to "manage a peaceful transition."

That stung the Venezuelan government, whose soldiers have reportedly been going hungry like much of the rest of the population.

Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez went on state television Friday, flanked by a half-dozen military officers in uniform, to denounce Tillerson's comments. He said Venezuela's military is united and would never succumb to the influence of a foreign power.

"You don't know what you are doing," he said. "I invite you to correct yourself."

Venezuelan officials accused Tillerson of using his current trip to increase pressure on governments around the region to join the U.S. in "a perverse plan of aggressions against Venezuela."

AP writer Christine Armario contributed to this report from Bogota, Colombia </s> MEXICO CITY, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Mexico’s foreign minister said on Friday that Mexico would never support a violent solution to the crisis in Venezuela, whether internal or external, a day after U.S Secretary of State Rex Tillerson raised the prospect of a military uprising.

Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray made the comments in a news conference with Tillerson and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland in Mexico City.

Tillerson said on Friday that he wanted to see a free, fair election in Venezuela and a return to the constitution. He added that Mexico should pay attention to Russian intervention in elections around the world ahead of its July presidential election. (Reporting by Anthony Esposito and Gabriel Stargardter) </s> MEXICO CITY, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Mexico's foreign minister said on Friday that Mexico would never support a violent solution to the crisis in Venezuela, whether internal or external, a day after U.S Secretary of State Rex Tillerson raised the prospect of a military uprising.

Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray made the comments in a news conference with Tillerson and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland in Mexico City.

Tillerson said on Friday that he wanted to see a free, fair election in Venezuela and a return to the constitution. He added that Mexico should pay attention to Russian intervention in elections around the world ahead of its July presidential election. (Reporting by Anthony Esposito and Gabriel Stargardter) </s> Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly will spend Wednesday night and Thursday in Mexico City, meeting with government officials including Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto.

As the first visit of US officials to the neighboring country since President Trump’s inauguration, which has strained U.S.-Mexico relations, it will be a stark reminder of the complexities that shape the relationship between the two countries. Before leaving for the trip, Tillerson met with President Trump at the White House.

These discussions could not be more timely: on Tuesday, DHS rolled out new guidelines for cracking down on illegal immigration which included making it easier for “expedited removal.” This is the latest in a series of administration policies that have offended Mexico. A new order on immigration is also expected next week.

Tillerson and Kelly are expected to dive into new border and deportation plans head on. Mexico’s Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said on Wednesday that the new proposals will definitely be a part of a conversation. He said that Mexico will not accept new “unilateral” U.S. immigration proposals.

In board terms, according to senior administration officials, the conversation will touch upon security, especially as it relates to drug trafficking and counterterrorism. They will also discuss migration along the southern border and management of that border as well as economic relations, including trade.

The genesis of the visit can be traced back to Trump’s phone call with Pena Nieto on January 27th when they talked about working together to stop drug trafficking and other avenues of mutual interest. The conversation was a brief flash of bilateral hope. Yet just a few days later Pena cancelled his planned visit to the White House due to a tweet from Trump calling, again, for Mexico to pay for the border wall.

U.S.-Mexico relations had entered a golden hour before Trump and Pena both came into office, say experts. “What Mexico and the U.S. had been building for the last 20 years was the result of NAFTA and 9/11,” explains Arturo Sarukhan, Mexico’s former Ambassador to the US from 2007-2013.

The positive momentum grew exponentially with the 2008 Merida Initiative, a joint agreement to confront transactional crime and drug trafficking. The initiative, backed by congress and providing financial assistance directly to Mexico to combat drug trafficking, was expanded by Obama in 2011. It also allows for the financial backing of Mexican programs that help the U.S. to fend off illegal immigrants before they get to the US border.

Two people riding a tandem bike: that’s the metaphor Ambassador Sarukhan uses to describe the working U.S. and Mexico relations over the last decade. “The problem is that if one of two riders stops riding or stops pedaling both riders are going to fall and the bike is going to hit the ground,” he says. Now, he says, the U.S.-Mexico relationship is now at the lowest point since the 1980s.

Kelly gave Mexicans a hopeful sign in his confirmation hearing by endorsing the need for a dynamic approach to the US-Mexico border.

“A physical barrier in and of itself will not do the job,” Kelly told members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. “Certainly it has to be a layered approach.”

He added that border security “starts 1,500 miles south of the Rio Grande in the jungles of Latin America.”

DHS has increased apprehensions along the southern border in recent years. From 2015 to 2016 there was an increase of 10-15,000 apprehensions along the southern border a month, according to DHS, bringing the total a month to over 46,000 apprehensions monthly.

Yet just as important are reports that show that Mexico is also cracking down. One study by human rights groups in 2015 found that 168,000 migrants were detained in Mexico from July 2014 to June of 2015, a 73 percent increase the previous 12-month period. Many of Mexican detainees are “Golden Triangle” migrants, from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, that have bene coming to the US in recent years in higher numbers than ever before.

In public, U.S. officials have not extensively acknowledged Mexico for ramping up security and intelligence collecting. Instead, as a result of these muscular crackdowns, Mexico has been put under the limelight for human rights abuses. Amnesty International reported “frequent reports of extortions, mass deportations, kidnappings and other human rights abuses against migrants” in conjunction with the implementation of the Southern Border plan announced in 2014.

As Tillerson and Kelly sit down with Mexican officials, Mexico will have a chance to set their bargaining chips on the table in the realm of migration and border security. Alejandro Hope, a Mexican security analyst, explains that driving down Mexican efforts to stop illegals from heading to the U.S. border is one option. This would cause a nightmare for U.S, border patrol agents who already are thinly stretched.

Another possibility is refusing to participate openly with U.S. intelligence agencies regarding drug and narcotics cases. Mexico could also withhold information about non-Central American illegals that they have been sharing with the U.S. Driving a wedge into intelligence cooperation would also negatively impact Mexico but is likely to cause greater harm to the U.S.

“That could create a blind spot for the U.S.,” says Hope. He foresees this trip as an opportunity to assure fluidity of US-Mexico security cooperation.

It is important to find “soft landings” during these meetings as they will address a multitude of agendas, says Ambassador Sarukhan. These include trade, counterterrorism, climate change and a whole host of other areas for mutual benefit. Still, the possibility of the U.S. exporting non-Mexican illegal immigrants to Mexico is a barrier to these conversations — especially if the Mexicans feel their voice is being silenced.

“I can probably guess that the response will be that Mexico cannot take undocumented immigrants from other countries, deported across the border,” explains Ambassador Sarukhan. “It is Mexico. Mexico will only take Mexican citizens deported from the U.S. across our southern border.” </s> MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico’s foreign minister said on Friday that Mexico would never support a violent solution to the crisis in Venezuela, whether internal or external, a day after U.S Secretary of State Rex Tillerson raised the prospect of a military uprising.

Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray made the comments in a news conference with Tillerson and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland in Mexico City.

Tillerson said on Friday that he wanted to see a free, fair election in Venezuela and a return to the constitution. He added that Mexico should pay attention to Russian intervention in elections around the world ahead of its July presidential election.
United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrives in Mexico to meet with President Enrique Peña Nieto and Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray.