Mattis Heads to Mexico Amid Strain Over Disaster Condolences and Aid<br />Pentagon officials and experts say that the United States and Mexico have been doing more intelligence sharing, and<br />that Mexico, in particular, has been doing more to alert American authorities about people, including potential terrorism suspects, entering Mexico from other countries.<br />And though Mr. Trump has a propensity toward abrupt tweetstorms<br />that can upset allies, Armand Peschard-Sverdrup, an international business consultant and expert on Mexico, said that the relationship between the United States and Mexico will chug on because it is too important to fall apart.<br />13, 2017<br />WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will resume his role as the reassurer for American allies this week when he heads to Mexico, where he will try to mend relations after President Trump failed to quickly offer condolences for the earthquake on Friday<br />that killed at least 96 people and severely damaged thousands of homes.<br />After four days without word from Mr. Trump about the 8.2-magnitude earthquake in Oaxaca State, Mexico<br />on Monday rescinded its offer of aid to the United States for people affected by Hurricane Harvey.<br />During his first trip to Europe as defense secretary, in February, Mr. Mattis tried to convince allies<br />that contrary to what Mr. Trump had said, the United States had not soured on NATO.<br />The White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said on Tuesday<br />that Mr. Trump had scheduled a call with President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico and that details of it would be shared with reporters.
