Mexico puts ties with US, Canadian embassies ‘on hold’ amid criticism

Mexico will cut ties with the US and Canadian embassies, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said, after their ambassadors criticized a controversial plan to reform the country’s judiciary.

The Mexican leader said the rift did not mean a suspension of overall ties between the major trading partners. It came after the U.S. ambassador took the unusual step of publicly criticizing a Mexican domestic policy, saying the proposed legal overhaul posed a risk to democracy, while the Canadian ambassador raised investor concerns.

“Hopefully there will be a declaration from (the US) that they will respect the independence of Mexico,” AMLO said Tuesday.

Under the reform proposal, all judges, including those of the Supreme Court, would be dismissed and re-elected by popular vote. Experts fear that this could lead to the country’s powerful drug cartels imposing their agents on the courts.