Joe Biden Meets Manuel Lopez Obrador At North American Leaders Summit

U.S. President Joe Biden met with Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador during the three-way summit of North American leaders on Monday. During the conference, Biden was met with blunt remarks from his Mexican counterpart as Lopez Obrador called upon the U.S. President to end the attitude of “abandonment” and “disdain” for Latin America and the Caribbean. Oddly, the comments from López Obrador starkly contrasted with the affectionate greeting he gave the U.S. President the day before.

According to the Associated Press, the two leaders shook hands, smiled, and even embraced. But that friendly exchange soon shifted the moment they sat down in an ornate room at the Palacio National with delegations and top officials from each side in attendance. The majority of the summit’s work is to be handled on Tuesday, where talks between the leaders of the U.S., Mexico, and Canada can last up to several hours or more. The leaders and officials will be discussing issues of legal and illegal migration as well as border security. On Monday, López Obrador bluntly challenged Biden to improve life across the region, telling him that he holds the key to making such an idea possible.

“This is the moment for us to determine to do away with this abandonment, this disdain, and this forgetfulness for Latin America and the Caribbean,” López Obrador remarked.

The Mexican leader later commented that too many imports of goods are entering North America from Asia instead of being produced locally. He then asked Biden if it was possible that such goods could be produced in the Americas. Biden acknowledged and agreed. However, his response was in defense of the billions of dollars the U.S. spends to aid many countries around the world.

Biden added that their responsibility does not end within the boundaries alone of the Western Hemisphere. He later referenced the recent influx of fentanyl flowing into the U.S. from Mexico which has caused the deaths of many Americans. The two leaders later met privately for about an hour before having dinner with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and their wives.

The summit followed after the son of “El Chapo,” Ovidio Guzman, was captured in a bloody arrest operation that later sparked protest in Sinaloa. The younger Guzman has been wanted by the U.S. for some time and was allegedly responsible for flooding the drug trade in the U.S. with fentanyl.

Prior to the summit, Biden made his first visit to the U.S.-Mexico border since taking up office in 2021. However, his brief visit was mired with criticism as many border officials said that he neglected to visit key stations, and strangely, almost no migrants were in sight during his entire visit.