Proposal for Joint Exercises Irks Mexico

A U.S. proposal to hold joint military exercises with Mexico has caused an uproar south of the border, with the government declaring firmly Monday that it will not permit such an unprecedented step.

“Bilateral cooperation in no way includes joint exercises between the armed forces of the two nations,” the Foreign Ministry said in a communique.

In comments that grabbed headlines here, U.S. Defense Secretary William J. Perry told reporters Saturday that Washington had proposed joint exercises with the Mexican armed forces.

“They have that under consideration now, and I believe that there will be certainly joint naval exercises conducted in the next year or so,” Perry said as he visited an aircraft carrier about 60 miles northwest of San Diego.

In a nation still smarting from three U.S. invasions over the past 150 years, the comments struck a raw nerve.

Swiftly, Mexican officials assured the public that U.S. soldiers would not be arriving on Mexican soil for maneuvers. “We remain firmly tied to the fundamental argument of Mexico’s foreign policy, which is strict respect for the sovereignty of nations and the principle that only our armed forces can operate on our national territory,” Javier Trevino, a senior Foreign Ministry official, declared in a radio interview Monday.

Perry, in fact, had not suggested dispatching U.S. troops to Mexico. In the last few years, as the United States has strengthened its ties to Mexico with a free-trade agreement, the Mexican military has gingerly started to cooperate more with its U.S. counterpart. In October, Perry made the first official visit to Mexico by a U.S. defense secretary.

Juan Rebolledo, a senior Foreign Ministry official, said in a radio interview that Perry had first suggested the joint exercises during his October visit. The two sides agreed to form a working group to discuss the U.S. proposals. “It was very clear, from the very beginning, that there was no possibility of cooperation on this,” Rebolledo said.

Pentagon officials declined to comment on the Mexican statement, but it was clear that some considered it an overreaction.

Perry, they said, had simply listed joint exercises among a number of programs the two countries could undertake to help build goodwill. The proposals were to be discussed next month, when Mexico’s defense minister visits the United States.

But the idea of close military ties is anathema to many Mexicans, who still bristle at the U.S. invasion that forced them to give up half their territory in 1848. To this day, Mexicans visit the National Museum of Invasions in this capital city.

Even during the Cold War, when the U.S. military established close ties with much of the Latin American armed forces, Mexico kept its distance. Its arm’s-length relationship with U.S. forces was seen as a symbol of Mexico’s sovereignty.

Some analysts said Perry’s statements came at a poor time. On Friday, the White House announced it was creating a high-level task force to plan “coordinated and urgent” action with Mexico to curtail drug trafficking.

Times staff writer Art Pine in Washington contributed to this report.