Mexico to tighten security at 68 border crossings

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A local resident relaxes beside the Suchiate river in Frontera Hidalgo, Mexico, on the border with Guatemala, Thursday, June 13, 2019. Mexico announced recently that it’s sending National Guard agents to its southern region for immigration enforcement as part of a deal with Washington to avoid President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs on Mexican imports. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says that officials will tighten security at 68 border crossings where controls are lax.

He made the comment in a Friday morning presser, although there was no visible increase in the number of soldiers and personnel in the border city of Tapachula near Guatemala.

Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the National Guard will be deployed on Tuesday along with 825 immigration agents and 200 officials from the country's welfare department.

The plan is part of Mexico's recent agreement with the United States to limit the flow of migrants from its southern border.

Ebrard also called on the United Nations and the international community to help Mexico with immigration control and the fight against human trafficking.