Mexico dropped the ball on the caravan
According to the latest news reports, President Trump is planning to drop the caravan in Mexico's lap. He wants the "asylum" seekers to wait in Mexico rather than cross to the U.S. This is the latest from the Washington Post:
Central Americans who arrive at U.S. border crossings seeking asylum in the United States will have to wait in Mexico while their claims are processed under sweeping new measures the Trump administration is preparing to implement, according to internal planning documents and three Department of Homeland Security officials familiar with the initiative.
They call it "Remain in Mexico" and that's exactly where the caravan will remain.
Most of my Mexican friends are dumbfounded by the caravan story. Naturally, they have turned to conspiracies along with more charges of plain incompetence by President Henrique Pena-Nieto.
Let's look at the incompetence story. They repeat that President Pena-Nieto is just plain stupid and was outmaneuvered by President Trump. They tell me that the caravan was one bridge away and all you had to do was block the bridge. Why were they allowed to rush in? What "tonto" (fool) gave that order?
The other is a conspiracy theory, something that Mexicans are really good at. The conspiracy is that President Pena-Nieto wants President-elect Andres Lopez-Obrador to deal with this mess on day one. In about a week, the new president will face a country that is starting to sound a lot like the mayor of Tijuana and people in the streets calling on the caravan to go home. Who knew that the caravan would create the "Make Mexico great again" movement?
Frankly, I don't know if it was a conspiracy or a lack of leadership that allowed this problem to get out of hand in Mexico.
But one way or another, the caravan is now Mexico's problem.
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