US launches a review of Mexican consulates that could lead to closures

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is conducting a review of the 53 Mexican consulates in the United States, a move that could lead some of them to be closed, a State Department official said Thursday.

No reason was given for the review, which was earlier reported by CBS News, or what it would entail, but it is likely to further inflame tensions between the neighboring countries. The official was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

President Donald Trump has engaged more aggressively in Latin America than any U.S. president in recent decades, capturing Venezuela’s leader in a military raid and pushing massive reforms in Venezuela, imposing an oil blockade on Cuba, getting involved in Argentine and Honduran elections, and threatening military action on Mexican cartels.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has sought to maintain a strong relationship with Trump and offset U.S. threats by cracking down more heavily on Mexican cartels, resulting in a dip in homicides. But a series of scandals in recent weeks have set off a political firestorm in Mexico.

First, two CIA agents died in an anti-narcotics operation with local authorities in northern Chihuahua state, leading to days of contradictions by Mexican authorities. Then last week, the U.S. indicted a number of officials in Sheinbaum’s party — including a top ally — on drug-trafficking offenses.

Earlier this week, Trump once again remarked, “If Mexico doesn’t act, we will.”

It all has ramped up Trump administration pressure on Sheinbaum and fueled speculation about her insistence on ensuring Mexican sovereignty.

Mexico’s network of diplomatic outposts is by far the most extensive in the United States. Its consulates help Mexican citizens living in the U.S. by providing identification documents, legal assistance and other needs.

“The Department of State is constantly reviewing all aspects of American foreign relations to ensure they are in line with the President’s America First foreign policy agenda and advance American interests,” said Dylan Johnson, U.S. assistant secretary of state for public affairs.

The U.S. has in recent years closed a Chinese consulate in Houston and three Russian facilities, including a consulate in San Francisco and outposts near Washington and New York.

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Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press writer Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed to this report.