Ties between AMLO and U.S. Ambassador to Mexico raises concerns in the White House

The U.S. government is concerned about the close ties between its ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

Senior officials quoted by the media questioned the functioning of the "soft approach" shown so far by the diplomat, which seems to have encouraged López Obrador. Some say the Mexican president "has defied U.S. influence and undermines the safeguards of democracy."

When he took office as ambassador in September 2021, Ken Salazar was instructed to build a good and solid relationship with López Obrador in order to advance the White House agenda in Mexico. In particular, it was intended that Mexico would maintain its cooperation to contain migration to the U.S.

"In strategically important countries ruled by volatile leaders, U.S. ambassadors often have to walk a delicate line that requires cultivating a bond with the incumbent leader and pushing their own government's priorities," the article adds.

While Salazar complied and became close to the Mexican president, in the process, the ambassador appears to be putting his country's interests at risk. He appears not to have taken advantage of that link to support Biden on the immigration issue when he needs it most, according to officials quoted by the NYT.

In addition, the Mexican president has pushed an energy agenda that threatens U.S. companies. During the discussion on the energy reform, Salazar scheduled meetings between the Mexican president and a number of U.S. companies affected by the measure.

However, Salazar publicly stated that "the president is right" to seek changes to the legislation, something that seemed to contradict the Biden administration's message. This comment, later tweaked by the ambassador, was presented by Lopez Obrador as a sign of support for the legislation, which was ultimately rejected by Congress.

Despite the concerns, the Biden administration continues to back Salazar, according to the newspaper.

The diplomat responded on Tuesday that the United States and Mexico require lasting frameworks to resolve "concerns" on issues such as energy, migration and security between the two nations.

"Yes, there are concerns and those concerns have to be put on the table because, if they are not put on the table they cannot be resolved, but we cannot lose our way, the way is that problems have to be solved", he stated during an event held by the Confederación Patronal de la República Mexicana (Coparmex).