Even the Washington Post now Admits, Trump Got What He Wanted From Mexico

Washington (dpa) - The United States will have an increased capacity to send asylum seekers back to Mexico under a new deal reached last week between Washington and its southern neighbour, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday.

"Those crossing the United States' southern border will be rapidly returned to Mexico," Pompeo told reporters in Washington. He said that while in the past the US was able to send back only hundreds daily, "we now have the capacity to do this full throttle."

Even the Washington Post had to admit, Trump got what he wanted. "Mexican negotiators persuaded President Trump to back down from his tariff threat by agreeing to an unprecedented crackdown on Central American migrants and accepting more-expansive measures in Mexico if the initial efforts don’t deliver quick results, according to officials from both governments and documents reviewed by The Washington Post."

Pompeo said he had "full confidence" Mexico would live up to its commitments, including deploying troops to its southern border, warning that the threat of tariffs is still active. He would gauge the effectiveness of the new steps within a month to 45 days, he said.

US President Donald Trump announced a deal with Mexico late Friday to avoid tariffs.

On Monday, Trump expressed hope that Mexico's tightening of border and immigration laws will reduce tensions.

On Twitter, Trump said that he expected an undisclosed security aspect of the deal to be brought to Mexican legislators for approval soon, but warned that "if for any reason the approval is not forthcoming, tariffs will be reinstated!"

According to Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, the deal with the US includes a pledge to deploy its new National Guard to the country's southern border with Guatemala and a stronger crackdown on criminal gangs that bring migrants in and out of Mexico.

Trump said that if, as agreed, Mexico sends 6,000 troops to its own southern border to prevent immigration from Central America then "no one will be able to get through."

Ebrard echoed Pompeo on Monday in saying that the countries would review the progress made as part of the deal in 45 days, and that the measures could be ramped up if the results were not satisfactory at that point.

"We are confident that the measures we propose will succeed. But if that is not the case, we have to face this discussion," Ebrard said.

Trump said that while tariffs on Mexico could have been good for the US, encouraging companies to shift production there from Mexico, the 25-per-cent import duties would likely have devastated Mexico's economy.

"That would leave Mexico in an unbelievably bad position and we don't want that either," Trump said.