U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar is sort of saying goodbye to Mexico.  He will be replaced by the incoming Trump administration.   

This week, Ambassador Salazar shook up things south of the border with a very undiplomatic message. 

Here it goes: 

“Mexico is not safe.” “Republican austerity could worsen security.” “The ‘hugs, not bullets’ strategy did not work.” These were some of the pointed remarks delivered by Ken Salazar during his Wednesday press conference. As he approaches the end of his tenure, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico has chosen to voice his concerns openly, highlighting the violence crisis gripping Mexico and the security breakdowns that have strained bilateral relations in recent months.   

 

Salazar’s comments marked Washington’s toughest stance yet, as he blamed Mexico’s former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador for “closing the doors” on collaborative efforts to fight organized crime. “The previous president did not want to receive help from the United States,” he said.

 

After the “diplomatic pause” initiated by López Obrador in September and being sidelined at the start of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration in October, Salazar is now outlining his final phase in office, which will end in November. While he did not specify an exact departure date, Donald Trump’s decisive victory in the U.S. presidential election signals the imminent arrival of a new ambassador. With little left to lose, Salazar announced that he will spend his remaining weeks assessing key aspects of the U.S.-Mexico relationship, such as migration and trade. This week, his focus was on violence. “Security is what’s most important, it is the linchpin of a democracy,” he said. “The people of Mexico should not live in fear.”

• First, why is the US Ambassador sticking his nose in our politics?
• Second, is he speaking for President Biden?
• Third, why is he saying this now?  
• Fourth, is he applying for a job as Trump's ambassador to Mexico?