Mexican president writes Biden to protest U.S. financing of opposition

MEXICO CITY, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Wednesday said he sent a letter to his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden to call his attention to U.S. financing of Mexican opposition groups, which he said was tantamount to "interventionism."

Reading from the letter during his daily press conference, the president said financing from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is "clearly an interventionist act, contrary to international law and the respect that should prevail between free and sovereign countries."

"I am sure that you are unaware of this matter and therefore I respectfully ask for your valuable assistance," he continued.

Lopez Obrador also cited a U.S. State Department publication noting that USAID plans to increase the budget assigned to Mexican opposition groups.

The letter, dated May 2, was made public a day after Lopez Obrador received Biden's envoy on immigration, Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, at the National Palace in Mexico City.