If Mexico can’t handle its “bad hombres,” the U.S. could send troops south of the border.
President Trump, in a phone call with his Mexican equivalent, apparently threatened to use force on the sovereign nation’s soil unless the country’s military steps up, according to a transcript obtained by the Associated Press.
The excerpt did not make clear who exactly Trump considers to be “bad hombres.”
The remark was made during a Friday morning phone call between Trump and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto.
Trump’s tone, the context of the remark, and Peña Nieto’s response were all unclear.
The phone call was meant to allow the two leaders to mend fences following a series of public spats over Trump’s plan to have Mexico pay for a border wall, something Mexico has refused to agree to.
The phone call between President Trump and Mexican president Peña Nieto was intended to patch things up between the new president and his ally.
(MARCO UGARTE/AP)
But it instead allowed Trump another opportunity to confront his counterpart.
“You have a bunch of bad hombres down there,” Trump told Peña Nieto, according to the excerpt seen by the AP. “You aren’t doing enough to stop them. I think your military is scared. Our military isn’t, so I just might send them down to take care of it.”
The Mexican website, Aristegui Noticias, on Tuesday published a similar account of the call that described Trump as humiliating Peña Nieto during a confrontational conversation.
Trump also reportedly bragged about his election victory and mentioned the size of the crowds at his inauguration during the call.
Mexico’s foreign relations department denied both accounts, saying they were “based on absolute falsehoods.”
Mexico’s leader has steadfastly refused to pay for Trump’s border wall.
(JOHN MOORE/GETTY IMAGES)
“The tone was constructive and it was agreed by the presidents to continue working and that the teams will continue to meet frequently to construct an agreement that is positive for Mexico and for the United States,” the statement said.
Yet the excerpts offer a candid look at how Trump’s temperament when dealing with foreign dignitaries one-on-one mirrors his blunt public personality.
Trump’s phrase “bad hombres” became a social media sensation after he used it in an October presidential debate. He vowed to get rid the U.S. of “drug lords” and “bad people.”
“We have some bad hombres here, and we’re going to get them out,” he said.
Before the phone call, Peña Nieto canceled a planned visit to the U.S.
Nieto and Trump have had a series of public spats over Trump’s determination to have Mexico pay for the planned border wall.
(DARIO LOPEZ-MILLS/AP)
Tensions with Mexico heightened last week after the White House proposed a 20% tax on imports from the U.S. ally would finance the wall after Peña Nieto abruptly scrapped his Jan. 31 trip to Washington.
The two countries conduct some $1.6 billion a day in cross-border trade, and cooperate on everything from migration to anti-drug enforcement to major environmental issues.
At a press conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May last week, Trump described his call with Peña Nieto as “friendly.”
Several reports emerged Wednesday that Trump has had equally antagonistic conversations with other American allies.
Trump had a terse exchange with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull Saturday in which he accused Australia of seeking to export the “next Boston bombers” when Turnbull asked if the U.S. would honor a pledge to take 1,250 refugees from an Australian detention center, according to the Washington Post.
