President-elect Trump on Tuesday announced his one-time ambassador to El Salvador, Ron Johnson, would serve as ambassador to Mexico in his upcoming administration.
Johnson, who shares a name with the GOP senator from Wisconsin, will take on one of the highest-profile diplomatic posts in the incoming Trump administration. Trump has already threatened Mexico with tariffs if it does not crack down on the flow of immigrants and drugs at the southern border, and he spent much of his first term sparring with Mexican leaders over the border.
“Ron will work closely with our great Secretary of State Nominee, Marco Rubio, to promote our Nation’s security and prosperity through strong America First Foreign Policies,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Prior to serving as ambassador to El Salvador, Johnson served for more than 20 years in the CIA. He is an Army veteran, having served as a Green Beret.
Johnson beat out Trump ally and Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake for the position.
In his first term, Trump appointed Christopher Landau, a lawyer with little diplomatic experience, as ambassador to Mexico.
Landau, whose father was a longtime U.S. diplomat with extensive Latin American experience, was well received in Mexico as a serious interlocutor, even amid tensions over Trump’s policies toward the country.
