Mexico foreign minister calls Trump’s border wall a ‘hostile act’

MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s top diplomat called President Donald Trump’s proposal to build a border wall “an unfriendly, hostile act” that will further aggravate increasingly tense relations between the longtime allies.

While Trump has repeatedly vowed to build a wall and make Mexico pay for its construction, Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray told a meeting of Mexican legislators Tuesday that there is absolutely no way that will happen.

“It is not part of a bilateral discussion, and we will not collaborate in the construction,” Videgaray said. “It’s a waste of resources.”

Trump’s repeated criticisms of Latino immigrants and trade deals with Mexico while a candidate and now as president have offended many south of the border, where a surge in nationalism can be felt in the increasingly heated rhetoric of politicians as well as in advertisements and the proliferation of Mexican flags.

But Trump’s vow to make Mexico pay for a border wall is viewed here not only as an insult, but also as a direct challenge to Mexico’s sovereignty.

On Tuesday, Videgaray repeated earlier threats that the Mexican government will consider reducing cooperation with the U.S. on security issues if bilateral talks on immigration and trade go badly.

Trump has indicated that he will soon trigger the process to get congressional approval to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Trump had requested that Congress provide U.S. funds to begin the wall, but he signaled Monday that he would not insist on it, saying he might be willing to wait until September for the funding.