López Obrador affirms that Mexico “is not a colony of Russia, or China, or the United States”

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at his press conference this Friday in Cuernavaca (Morelos). Presidency of Mexico (EFE / Presidency of Mexico)

Andrés Manuel López Obrador has responded this Friday to the controversial statements by the head of the US Northern Command who claimed that the largest number of Russian spies in the world is in Mexico.

“You have to send them telegrams, warning them that Mexico is not a colony of any foreign country, that Mexico is a free, independent, sovereign country.

That we are not a colony of Russia, China or the United States”, said the president in response to the words of the military Glen VanHerck.

However, the president has acknowledged that he does not know if there are Russian intelligence agents in the country: "We do not have that information."

The statements are part of a week in which Mexican deputies met in Congress with diplomats from the Kremlin.

The war in Ukraine began a month ago and although the official position of the López Obrador government was to openly condemn Moscow's aggression in the United Nations (UN) Security Council, the first cracks have begun to appear.

On Wednesday, deputies from Morena, the PT and the PRI installed a pro-Russian group in Congress in which the ambassador to the country, Víktor Koronelli, was invited to give a speech.

"This mechanism is for us a show of support, solidarity and friendship," Koronelli said about the creation of the so-called friendship group with Russia.

In that event, the ambassador was able to spread the propaganda messages about the conflict —“Russia did not start this war, it is ending it”— with the applause of deputies such as Alberto Anaya, leader of the PT, who said he was grateful for “such pertinent information.”

The claims of the US ambassador, Ken Salazar, to the Mexican Executive were immediate: "We have to be in solidarity with Ukraine and against Russia."

Just a few hours later, the head of the US Northern Command, Glen VanHerck, appeared in the US Senate.

“Currently, most of the GRU [Russia's military espionage agency] troops in the world are in Mexico.

These are Russian intelligence personnel," said the military man, who insisted that these agents are "on the lookout for any opportunity through which they can influence the United States."

Questioned today about the presence of these spies, López Obrador said he was unaware of this information because all foreigners who are going to carry out legal activities in Mexico are allowed to enter.

In December 2020, the Senate approved, at the initiative of the president, a reform to the National Security Law to limit the presence of foreign agents in Mexico.

This measure forced all foreign agents to request authorization to enter Mexico and report to the authorities.

Although the reform was focused on US DEA and CIA agents, the Mexican government assured that it applied to all countries.

López Obrador has insisted on his policy of non-intervention in the conflict in Ukraine: “We are not going to Moscow to spy on anyone, nor are we going to Beijing to spy on what they are doing in China, nor are we going to Washington, not even to Los Angeles.

We don't get into that."

Mexico has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine, but has made it clear that it will not impose sanctions of any kind on Russia or send weapons.

"We are not going to participate either for or against it, it is a position of neutrality of ours, which has to do with Mexico's foreign policy," he has pointed out on several occasions.

Meanwhile, at this time, the head of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, is on a work tour of Asia and the Middle East.

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