The White House offered an explanation Friday for a blunder that evolved into a minor international incident this week.
After several top officials took a trip to Mexico to address the ongoing border crisis, the White House released a joint statement with the country via email that named “democratic decline” as a root cause of migration. The version posted to the White House briefing room was identical except for one key difference: the note about “democratic decline” had been deleted. The statement released via email, including “democratic decline” being a root cause of the crisis, was not discussed with the Mexicans and a mistake, a national security spokesperson told the Daily Caller.
“Due to a version control issue, the initial version of the document that we posted online included an additional phrase that had not been discussed with the Mexicans,” the spokesperson told the Daily Caller. “Promoting democratic values in the region is a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration and we have worked with Mexico to promote these values, including most recently in Guatemala and Venezuela.”
Mexico’s government released the Spanish-language version of the joint statement Thursday which does not include the deleted phrase.
The deleted language was first reported by The Hill on Thursday. An official with knowledge of the talks told the outlet the phrase had been added by U.S. officials after the two countries met. At the time of publication of The Hill’s initial article, the White House had not clarified why the phrase had been deleted.
“The two countries reaffirmed their existing commitments on fostering an orderly, humane, and regular migration,” the original statement read. “This includes reinforcing our partnership to address the root causes of migration, such as poverty, inequality, democratic decline, and violence, and for the two countries’ initiative for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.”
Once individuals noticed the difference in the two statements, some in Mexico accused the Mexican government of cutting the phrase from the statement.
Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, a foreign policy adviser to an opposing Mexican presidential candidate, tweeted the Mexican government shaved the phrase from the agreed upon statement.
“It is strange that the Government of Mexico shaves at its convenience words that were agreed upon in a joint statement with the US Government. The word ‘democratic decline’ is omitted. Without a doubt, in Latin America and Mexico there is concern about the weakening of democracy.”
The Biden Administration is so afraid of AMLO’s wrath that it has opted to edit a White House press release in order to appease the Mexican President.
Not a joke.
via @Rafael_Bernal_ 👉https://t.co/iHKR2nru26 pic.twitter.com/TtjSiGWn5G
— José Díaz Briseño (@diazbriseno) December 29, 2023
Former Mexican Ambassador to the United States Arturo Sarukhan echoed Villarreal’s concerns in a tweet of his own.
“The government of #Mexico quietly & conveniently shaves the word ‘democracy’ from its Spanish version of joint communiqué negotiated & released by [Mexican and American] govs after their meeting in Mexico City yesterday,” Sarukhan wrote.
The government of #Mexico quietly & conveniently shaves the word “democracy” from its Spanish version of joint communiqué negotiated & released by 🇲🇽🇺🇸govs after their meeting in Mexico City yesterday. Diplomatic malpractice for starters; seeking to mask🇨🇺,🇻🇪,🇳🇮s authoritarianism pic.twitter.com/CxLkyZk56y
— Amb. Arturo Sarukhan (@Arturo_Sarukhan) December 28, 2023
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and White House Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall took a trip to Mexico on Wednesday to meet with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in an effort to move the country to give the U.S. additional assistance with the border crisis. While a nearly 8,000 migrant caravan is moving towards the Mexico-U.S. border, the joint statement made no mention of the situation.
The U.S. is facing a migration crisis stemming from its southern border. In November, U.S. authorities encountered a record number of migrants, compared to the month in previous years. As of Dec. 22, encounters by Border Patrol at the southern border hit more than 547,000.
Aside from the error, the joint statement reaffirmed the United States and Mexico’s partnership to tackle the migration crisis and made no mention of new initiatives. The two countries agreed to meet again in January 2024 about the crisis.
“Ongoing cooperation also includes enhanced efforts to disrupt human smuggling, trafficking, and criminal networks, and continuing the work to promote legal instead of irregular migration pathways,” the statement read. “Also, both delegations agreed on the importance of maintaining and facilitating the vital bilateral trade at our shared border.”