MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's president said Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump has promised Mexico will be able to buy 1,000 ventilators and other intensive-therapy equipment used in treating severe cases of COVID-19.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he spoke with Trump Friday about Mexico's request to purchase the machines, relatively few of which are available in Mexico.
Lopez Obrador wrote in his account that Trump 鈥済uaranteed me that by the end of this month we would 1,000, and we can acquire more.鈥
Mexico currently has 6,875 confirmed coronavirus cases and 546 deaths.
Lopez Obrador called it a 鈥渘ew gesture of solidarity with Mexico鈥 and said, 鈥淚 made the proposal that we could meet in June or July to personally express our appreciation.鈥
鈥淚 send my affection to our countrymen and the people of the United States,鈥 Lopez Obrador wrote, referring to the millions of Mexican migrants who live in the United States,
Such a visit would be unusual, especially if it implied the Mexican leader would travel to the United States. Lopez Obrador has eschewed trips abroad since he took office in December 2018.
The left-leaning Lopez Obrador has made good relations with the United States the cornerstone of his foreign policy, and the relationship between the two leaders has been surprisingly warm, considering their ideological differences.
Lopez Obrador has also gone to great lengths to help Trump on issues like migration, for example, by stopping migrant caravans and allowing migrants who apply for asylum in the United States to wait in Mexico.
