Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Accused of 'Extortion' by Mexico Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard Over Truck Inspections

Texas Governor Greg Abbott was slammed by Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, calling the official's truck inspection in April an act of "extortion" against the South American country.

Ebrard made his comments during an interview on Sunday with Milenio, opening up about the mandate Abbott issued last month to pressure the governors of Mexico to tighten their security on Mexico's side of the border, according to an Al Jazeera news report.

It can be recalled that the mandate was made effective at Texas' almost 2,000-kilometer border with Mexico, prompting authorities to conduct more thorough checks to detect drugs and migrants trying to enter the United States illegally, Mexico News Daily reported.

"It's extortion. Closing the border and forcing you to sign whatever I say. That's not an agreement, an agreement is when you and I agree on something," Ebrard said in the interview.

Several Governors from Mexico, including those from Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, and Chihuahua, negotiated with Abbott to lift the restrictions affecting the trucks.

Ebrard said that he respects the decisions of the governor to do what they can, citing that they have no other alternatives. However, Mexico's foreign minister underscored that they are not going to allow a governor to extort their country.

"I will never allow that," Ebrard added.

Criticism on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's Truck Inspections

It was not the first time that Greg Abbott received a backlash over his truck inspections. Several entities blasted Abbott for his mandate, including Democratic Gubernatorial hopeful Beto O'Rourke, calling the mandate "unnecessary inspections."

The American Trucking Association also noted that Abbott's truck inspection was flawed and redundant. The group also furthered that the inspections added considerable weight to the strained supply chain in the country.

The truck inspection caused several problems, including hundreds of millions of lost dollars from spoiled produce and shipping, Insider reported, citing CNN.

President Lance Jungmeyer of Fresh Produce Association of the Americas shared in an interview in April that fruit and vegetable losses added up to over $240 million. Jungmeyer also said that consumers across the country should expect rising prices as producers try to regain some of the losses.

Texas Truck Inspections

Texas Governor Greg Abbott in March instructed his state police to increase inspections following a surge of border crossings of undocumented migrants.

Abbott then ended the truck inspection on April 15, after a week of backlash and fears of deepening economic losses. The move was also made after Mexican states also promised to do more security checks in Mexico.

Despite the inspections, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said that troopers were not able to find drug or human trafficking activities.

However, Abbott pointed out that the DPS manages to remove about 25 percent of the vehicles inspected for safety violations that made them unsafe to operate based on state laws.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written By: Joshua Summers

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