Mexico will not pay for Donald Trump’s border wall, the country’s president has said in a message to the nation, the BBC reports.
Enrique Pena Nieto said he “lamented” the plans for the barrier, adding that “Mexico doesn’t believe in walls”.
But he made no mention of cancelling or postponing a trip to Washington on 31 January to meet the new US president.
Mr Trump has signed an executive order for an “impassable physical barrier” and has insisted Mexico would reimburse the US for it.
Building a 2,000-mile barrier along the Mexican border was one of Mr Trump’s key pledges in the presidential election campaign.
He spoke of a “crisis” on the southern US border as he signed the directives during a ceremony at the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday.
The orders also called for hiring 10,000 immigration officials to help boost border patrol efforts.
“A nation without borders is not a nation,” he said. “Beginning today the United States gets back control of its borders.”
