President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is selecting former U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador Ronald Johnson to be the next U.S. ambassador to Mexico.
Johnson, a Green Beret who spent more than 20 years at the Central Intelligence Agency before a diplomatic posting in San Salvador, would bring significant foreign policy expertise to one of the most important bilateral diplomatic portfolios in the U.S. government.
Mexico is the United States’ largest trading partner, and thorny discussions around bilateral trade, drug trafficking, migration and border security are expected to dominate the agenda between Washington and Mexico City under the Trump administration.
In a post on Truth Social announcing Johnson as his pick, Trump said: “Together, we will put an end to migrant crime, stop the illegal flow of Fentanyl and other dangerous drugs into our Country and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!”
Johnson will face a Senate confirmation process but is unlikely to encounter resistance from senators as a former diplomat with extensive foreign policy credentials.
U.S. envoys to Mexico City have had mixed success in the past. Some, like current U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar, have been faulted for deferring too much to the Mexican government, while others like the Reagan administration’s envoy, John Gavin, have ruffled feathers by pressing too hard on issues of crime and drug trafficking.
Still, Johnson’s selection sends a signal to Latin America, in the wake of the selection of Marco Rubio to be secretary of State and former Ambassador to Mexico Christopher Landau as deputy secretary of State, that the Trump administration will pay attention to the Western Hemisphere and potentially turn the page on decades of perceived neglect towards the region on the part of successive U.S. administrations.
The pick is likely to prompt relief in Mexico City, after rumors circulated for weeks in Mexico that Trump would nominate former news anchor and Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake to the post.