Trump threatens Mexico 'invasion' to sort out 'bad hombres'
President Donald Trump threatened his Mexican counterpart to send US troops across the border to stop "bad hombres down there", according to The Associated Press.
AP reported Trump will issue US soldiers to enter Mexico unless the Mexican military does not do more to control them.
An excerpt of a transcript of the alleged conversation between the leaders was obtained by AP, who say the call took place Friday morning.
The phone call between the leaders was intended to patch things up between the new president and his ally.
The two have had a series of public spats over Trump's determination to have Mexico pay for the planned border wall, something Mexico steadfastly refuses to agree to.
"You have a bunch of bad hombres down there," Trump told Pena Nieto, according to the excerpt given to AP. "You aren't doing enough to stop them. I think your military is scared. Our military isn't, so I just might send them down to take care of it."
The Mexican website, Aristegui Noticias, on Tuesday published a similar account of phone call, based on the reporting of journalist Dolia Estevez. The report described Trump as humiliating Pena Nieto in a confrontational conversation.
However, Mexico's foreign relations department denies the account, saying AP's report is based on lies.
"The assertions that you make about said conversation do not correspond to the reality of it," the statement said.
"The tone was constructive and it was agreed by the presidents to continue working and that the teams will continue to meet frequently to construct an agreement that is positive for Mexico and for the United States."
It's not the first time Trump has used the term "bad hombres". Back in October during the presidential debate, he vowed to rid the US of "drug lords" and "bad people."
"We have some bad hombres here, and we're going to get them out," he said in October.
The US President also came under fire for placing a US travel ban on seven predominantly muslim middle-eastern and African countries.
Trump's order bars US entry for travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. It also suspends the arrival of all refugees for at least 120 days, and Syrian refugees indefinitely.
It has led to the detention of more than 100 people at US airports and mass protests in many cities, and raised howls of protests abroad.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer pushed back once more Tuesday against the tide of criticism.
"This is not a Muslim ban. It's not a travel ban," he told reporters. "It's a vetting system to keep America safe. That's it. Plain and simple."
Trump received a vote of support Tuesday from House of Representatives speaker Paul Ryan, who defended the restrictions as a legitimate way to keep out potential terrorists.
"There is nothing wrong with taking a pause and making sure we had the proper vetting standards in place so that we do not have a problem like France had with Paris," Ryan said, alluding to November 2015 suicide bombings and shootings that left 130 people dead in the French capital.
