MEXICO CITY -- Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Tuesday there was no secret side deal with U.S. President Donald Trump that cleared the way for Mexico to reach an agreement to reduce oil production with other oil producing countries.
OPEC members had sought a 350,000 barrel per day cut by Mexico, but Lopez Obrador refused such a big reduction by Mexico's struggling oil industry. To help the deal come together, the U.S. government offered to reduce its production by 250,000 barrels per day to cover Mexico's deficit. The countries aimed to raise the plummeting price of oil.
"This week or next I'm going to make an announcement about the situation of solidarity toward Mexico and how our country is going to show its appreciation," Lopez Obrador said.
Lopez Obrador also thanked the leaders of Russia and China for their support during the pandemic, "but said President Trump had acted very respectfully and with a lot of affection," the result of a relationship between the two leaders he described as "respectful and constructive."
Lopez Obrador also said that while speaking with Trump about the oil negotiations, he had taken advantage of the opportunity to ask him for help getting ventilators for Mexican hospitals. Trump didn't respond in the moment, but later sent word that they were looking for ways to help Mexico get them.
Trump had previously implied that Mexico would repay the U.S. government's help by continuing crack down on immigration, something Mexico began doing in earnest last summer.
