Mexico Reverses Hurricane Harvey Aid Offer to Texas
Mexico isn't going to help Texas after all.
The country that initially promised to help victims of Hurricane Harvey north of the border now says "conditions of both countries have changed," referring to Hurricane Katia, which made landfall on Mexico's Gulf coast on Saturday, and a powerful earthquake that killed 95 people in southern Mexico last week.
Mexico asserted that it wasn't messing with Texas, but merely that the Lone Star State's relief needs have "fortunately" diminished, said Mexican Secretary of Foreign Relations Luis Videgaray Caso, in a statement Monday.
The country said it would focus solely on helping "families and communities affected" in Mexico, and has not requested international assistance to deal with the twin crises.
Mexico initially offered Texas personnel, technical equipment, supplies and cooperation after Harvey hit in late August. The offer came despite a tweet from President Trump, days earlier, that Mexico would reimburse America for his proposed border wall.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accepted the offer at the end of August without commenting on the border wall or negotiations. "It was very generous of Mexico to offer their help at a very, very challenging time for our citizens back in Texas," he said.
The State Department has not yet commented on Mexico rescinding that aid.
After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Mexican troops served 170,000 meals, distributed more than 184,000 tons of supplies and conducted more than 500 medical consultations, reported The Washington Post.
As of Monday, the United States had not offered aid to Mexico with its natural disaster recoveries, and the Trump administration expressed no clear plans to extend aid to Mexico.
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