MEXICO CITY - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday urged the United States and Venezuela to restore relations and pressed for Washington to allow more Venezuelans to enter the United States as migration reaches record levels.
The United States last week announced a plan to grant up to 24,000 Venezuelans humanitarian entry amid efforts to deter increasing border crossings by Venezuelans, who are fleeing economic hardship and political upheaval at home.
Under the plan crafted with Mexico, the United States can expel back to Mexico Venezuelans trying to cross illegally.
Mexican officials are concerned about the rising number of Venezuelans entering their territory and are eager for Washington and Caracas to improve ties to alleviate the economic situation in Venezuela and to facilitate migrant returns.
"Relations between the government of the United States and Venezuela need to be restored," Lopez Obrador told a regular news conference. "I know they're working towards an agreement."
U.S. officials did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Before the new plan was announced on Oct. 12, Venezuelans who crossed illegally into the United States, which broke diplomatic relations with Venezuela in 2019, were often allowed to stay because it was difficult to send them back.
Several thousand Venezuelans who entered the United States illegally have been returned to Mexico under the new plan.
Lopez Obrador urged the United States to expand the Venezuela humanitarian access permits beyond 24,000 people.
"They're not enough," he said, adding that he was sure Washington would expand the program if applications warranted it. "We're going to be asking that they give out more."
Earlier this week, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said he was confident Washington would increase the number.
Over 150,000 Venezuelans were apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border between October 2021 and August 2022, more than triple the number in the entire 2021 fiscal year, U.S. data show.