WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump has picked former US ambassador to El Salvador, Ronald Johnson, as the next United States ambassador to Mexico, he said on social media on Tuesday.
Johnson served as the ambassador to El Salvador from 2019 to 2021. Trump also cited Johnson’s more than 20 years of experience with the CIA in his announcement.
Trump made illegal immigration along the US-Mexico border a key issue during his election campaign.
Mexico has played a key role in implementing US immigration policy in recent years, accepting migrants from countries to which the US struggles to deport people, such as Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
US government estimates, though, also suggest nearly half of the immigrants living in the US illegally are Mexican.
“Ron will work closely with our great Secretary of State Nominee, Marco Rubio, to promote our Nation’s security and prosperity through strong America First Foreign Policies,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
US Senator Marco Rubio has been tapped by Trump for secretary of state.
Mexico is bracing for the arrival of large numbers of its citizens deported from the US once Trump takes office in January. It has argued, however, the deportations are unnecessary, pointing to the contribution of Mexicans to the US economy.
Mexico is seeking an agreement with Trump to ensure it does not receive deportees from third countries in case of large-scale deportations of migrants from the United States, President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Thursday.
Trump has threatened tariffs on Canada and Mexico until they clamped down on drugs and migrants crossing the border.
Trump picks Ron Johnson as US ambassador to Mexico
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Trump picks Ron Johnson as US ambassador to Mexico
Macron vows stronger cooperation with Nigeria after mass kidnappings
- Macron wrote on X that France “will strengthen our partnership with the authorities and our support for the affected populations”
PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday that France will step up cooperation with Nigeria after speaking with his counterpart, as the West African country faces a surge in abductions.
Nigeria has been wracked by a wave of kidnappings in recent weeks, including the capture of over 300 school children two weeks ago that shook Africa’s most populous country, already weary from chronic violence.
Macron wrote on X that the move came at Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s request, saying France “will strengthen our partnership with the authorities and our support for the affected populations,” while urging other countries to “step up their engagement.”
“No one can remain a spectator” to what is happening in Nigeria, the French president said.
Nigeria has drawn heightened attention from Washington in recent weeks, after US President Donald Trump said in November that the United States was prepared to take military action there to counter the killing of Christians.
US officials, while not contradicting Trump, have since instead emphasized other US actions on Nigeria including security cooperation with the government and the prospect of targeted sanctions.
Kidnappings for ransom by armed groups have plagued Nigeria since the 2014 abduction of 276 school girls in the town of Chibok by Boko Haram militants.
The religiously diverse country is the scene of a number of long-brewing conflicts that have killed both Christians and Muslims, often indiscriminately.
Many scholars say the reality is more nuanced, with conflicts rooted in struggles for scarce resources rather than directly related to religion.
