Mexico president asks lawmakers to let US military trainers into Mexico

PHOTO CAPTION: A Mexican special operations team member prepares to start the building clearing event of Fuerzas Comando 23 at Sierra Prieta, Dominican Republic, June 17, 2023. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Felix Ortiz Rivera via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service)

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's president has requested permission from the Mexican Senate to allow a group of U.S. military personnel to enter the country to train Mexican special forces in early 2024, according to an announcement in the Senate's official gazette.

The presence of U.S. military personnel on Mexican soil has long been a sensitive issue in Mexico, which lost much of its territory to the United States due to war in the 1840s and also endured U.S. military incursions in the early 20th century.

The announcement published Tuesday said President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador sought permission for 11 U.S. military personnel to take part in a program called "Strengthening the Capacities of the Special Forces of the Defense Ministry."

Lopez Obrador has vigorously defended the principle of Mexican sovereignty, passing measures to restrict the ability of U.S. counter-narcotics agents to operate in Mexico.

The training program is due to take place at a military training center to the southeast of Mexico City between Jan. 23 and March 21, 2024, according to the Senate notice, which also included a copy of the letter sent by the leftist president.

Lopez Obrador's letter was dated Nov. 22, less than a week after he met with U.S. President Joe Biden at an Asia-Pacific summit in San Francisco, California.



(Writing by Dave Graham, Editing by Franklin Paul)