A video is circulating on social media showing the current president of United States, Joe Biden, which criticizes the corruption in Mexico and is even said in favor of a fence in the border between his country in Mexico; the clip dates from 2006.
In the video, Biden criticized the illegal flow of drugs from Mexico to the United States. He also argued that as a senator he voted in favor of the construction of a border fence more than a thousand kilometers long along the border between the two countries.
In his speech, Biden added that the flow of drugs from Mexico to the United States stems from corruption in Mexico and that his support for the construction of the fence is not related to migration issues but to the fight against drug trafficking.
“Friends, let me tell you that there are people who enter across the border tons, tons, listen to me, tons of everything from methamphetamine tickets to cocaine and heroin and everything comes from the corrupt Mexico, “Biden said.
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The AP agency verified the video and its content:
THE STATEMENT: A video that has been played thousands of times on social media shows Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden criticizing corruption in Mexico under the administration of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
AP VERIFICATION: False. The video dates from 2006 and Biden referred to corruption in Mexico in general terms. López Obrador, who served as Head of Government of Mexico City from 2000 to 2005, was elected president in July 2018 and took office in December of that year.
THE FACTS: A video, which has been shared thousands of times on social media, shows Democrat Joe Biden referring in front of a group of businessmen to corruption in Mexico.
In the 19th century, when the Conservatives were defeated, they threw themselves into the arms of Maximilian of Habsburg.
Today, politicians who ousted the people seek to be rescued by the new US president.
And sovereignty and dignity? They don’t know her. pic.twitter.com/smYbnHBFWy
– Citlalli Hernández M (@CitlaHM) January 22, 2021
The video was spread on social media by users who presented it as a direct reference from Biden to corruption in Mexico during the government of López Obrador.
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The video has been circulating on YouTube since November 2006, when Biden was still running as a Democratic senator for the state of Delaware. In November 2006 Vicente Fox was about to conclude his tenure as President of Mexico.
Even questioned by the American network CNN in May 2019 about Biden’s sayings in the video, Andrew Bats, a spokesman for Biden, denied that Biden was pushing for an anti-migrant agenda as the then senator said in that moment that a fence would not solve the migration issue.
In its report, CNN argued that the speech was given by Biden at a Rotary Club in South Carolina in November 2006.
Other US media have also reported on the video, identifying it as a video recording of a Biden event at a Rotary Club in South Carolina in November 2006.
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