Mexico snubs Texas on rail due to trucks

MEXICO CITY — The Mexican government is snubbing Texas and moving a proposed border rail link to New Mexico after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott backed up border crossings with state inspections in April.

Mexican diplomats met Tuesday with U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and touted a rail line linking Mexican seaports on the Pacific with the San Jeronimo-Santa Teresa crossing in New Mexico, about 20 miles west of El Paso.

Mexico had considered a route through Texas, but in recent days officials have said they can no longer rely on that state. Abbott had required all commercial trucks from Mexico to undergo extra inspections, tying up traffic and causing millions in losses.

Roberto Velasco Alvarez, Mexico’s director for North American affairs, tweeted about the meeting in Washington.

“There is a regional vision and management of migration, legal pathways and more development options, as well as advances in infrastructure with New Mexico that will allow us to develop immediate alternatives to commercial traffic that currently passes through Texas,” Velasco Alvarez wrote.

Mexico’s Economy Secretary Tatiana Clouthier was more forceful last week .

“There is a very important project that will hopefully be finished soon that will connect Sinaloa and, we used to say Texas, but I don’t think we’re going to use Texas anymore because we cannot put all our eggs in one basket and be held hostage to those who want to use trade as a political issue,” Clouthier told a business conference.