Mexican Prez Nieto shelves proposed US visit over wall

Washington, February 25 

Mexico and the US have shelved tentative plans for a visit to Washington by President Enrique Pena Nieto as tensions persist over a proposed border wall, US media has reported.

Pena Nieto had already cancelled a visit in January last year because of US President Donald Trump’s insistence that Mexico pay for the wall, which he wants as part of his efforts to curb immigration.

The White House had said in mid-February that the two presidents were working on arranging a meeting. But The Washington Post, which first reported cancellation of the provisional meeting, said both countries agreed to call it off after a testy telephone call ended in an impasse over the border barrier. The phone call took place last Tuesday.

Citing US and Mexican officials, the Post said Trump “would not agree to publicly affirm Mexico’s position that it would not fund construction of a border wall that the Mexican people widely consider offensive.” Pena Nieto’s visit had been considered for February or March, the Post said.

Building the border wall was a primary pledge of the 2016 presidential campaign by Trump. The leaders did meet once, on the sidelines of the G20 summit of major economies in Hamburg, Germany, last July. —AFP