MEXICO CITY — Did President Donald Trump threaten to invade Mexico? Both sides say the answer is no.

6 Months Ago

5 Months Ago

6 Months Ago

Published accounts mentioned that Trump, in a phone call with Mexico President Enrique Peña Nieto, referred to all the "bad hombres" in Mexico and said that the U.S. military might have to take care of the problem if Mexico's armed forces weren't up to the task.

Mexican officials did not equate that with a threat to deploy south of the border.

"It's absolutely false that the United States president threatened to send troops to Mexico," Peña Nieto's spokesmen Eduardo Sanchez said in a radio interview.

Trump was speaking in English on the call and Peña Nieto, who understands English, was responding in Spanish, which was being simultaneously translated for Trump.

The call came amid a thunderclap of tension between the two countries last week over Trump's promise built a border wall between the countries. Trump had tweeted last Thursday that Peña Nieto shouldn't come to Washington, as planned, if Mexico wasn't prepared to pay for the wall. Peña Nieto quickly canceled his trip.

The two sides arranged a follow-up call for the next day.

The Associated Press, citing an excerpt from a transcript of the phone call, said that Trump warned that he was prepared to send American troops to stop "bad hombres down there" unless the Mexican military did more to control them. It was not clear whether the "bad hombres" were drug traffickers or other criminals, the news agency said.

Mexico's Foreign Ministry denied such statements were used at all.

A senior Mexican official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic affairs, told the Washington Post in an interview that "Trump definitely didn't threaten war. The call was constructive and friendly."

"During the call President Peña Nieto was emphatic on the importance of stopping the flows of guns and illegal cash from the U.S. into the hands of organized crime, and stressed the fact that many lives of committed Mexican soldiers have been lost fighting against criminals armed with weapons illegally introduced into Mexico from the U.S.," the official said. "The presidents agreed on the need to closely collaborate to fight against criminal organizations involved in the illegal drug trade."

The White House said the discussion was "lighthearted" and that the remarks were "part of a discussion about how the United States and Mexico could work collaboratively to combat drug cartels and other criminal elements, and make the border more secure."

Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said in an interview with foreign reporters Wednesday that "there are significant differences in the positions" of the U.S. and Mexico. "Some of those differences were reiterated by both sides. But the conversation was constructive. And the most important thing was the agreement to keep working, to keep having dialogue, to reach good agreements."

The comments came last Friday in a phone call between Trump and Pena Nieto. The excerpt from the transcript did not detail exactly whom Trump considers "bad hombres," nor did it make clear the tone and context of the remark, the AP reported.

A person with access to the official transcript of the phone call provided only that portion of the conversation to the AP. The person was not authorized to provide the excerpt publicly and gave it on condition of anonymity.

The Mexican website Aristegui Noticias on Tuesday published a similar account of the phone call, based on the reporting of journalist Dolia Estevez. The report described Trump as humiliating Pena Nieto in a confrontational conversation.

Mexico's foreign relations department said the report was "based on absolute falsehoods."

Eduardo Sanchez, spokesman for Mexico's presidential office, said the conversation was respectful, not hostile or humiliating.

"It is absolutely false that the president of the United States threatened to send troops to Mexico," Sanchez said in an interview with Radio Formula on Wednesday night.

The Mexican Foreign Relations Department had earlier told the AP: "The negative statements you refer to did not occur during said telephone call. On the contrary, the tone was constructive."

Mexico has consistently said it would not pay for the wall and opposes it.

The fresh fight with Mexico last week arose over trade as the White House talked of a 20 percent tax on imports from the key U.S. ally to finance the wall after Pena Nieto abruptly scrapped his Jan. 31 trip to Washington.

The U.S. and Mexico 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.

Trump tasked his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner — a real estate executive with no foreign policy experience — with managing the ongoing dispute, according to an administration official with knowledge of the call.

At a press conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May last week, Trump described his call with Pena Nieto as "friendly."

In a statement, the White House said the two leaders acknowledged their "clear and very public differences" and agreed to work through the immigration disagreement as part of broader discussions on the relationship between their countries.

Trump has used the phrase "bad hombres" before. 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.

The phrase ricocheted on social media with Trump opponents saying he was denigrating immigrants.

Information from the Washington Post and Associated Press was used in this report.

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