Free Republic

Americans barely remember the Mexican-American War, but in Mexico memories of the war and other military quarrels with the United States remain deeply felt. Mexico lost half its territory, including California, in the war that broke out this week in 1846. President Claudia Sheinbaum, who often speaks of Mexico’s sovereignty, said, “We are neither a protectorate nor a colony of any foreign nation.” MEXICO CITY — At the entrance to Mexico City’s largest park lies a towering marble monument to six young military cadets killed in battle. The Niños Héroes — “boy heroes” — died while defending Mexico’s capital...

The sun was bright and the sky was blue on Saturday morning as I enjoyed breakfast with a friend at my wife’s restaurant in downtown Santa Ana. We were talking about how Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley will bounce all over the Kansas City Chiefs defense like a pinball during the Super Bowl, when the sound of faint yelling made us look outside. Street preachers, boisterous hipsters and people blasting corridos and oldies are part of the neighborhood’s soundtrack, so we went back to our chat. But the faraway noise kept getting louder and louder until it began to...

President-elect Donald Trump has made clear his intent to supercharge his “America First” approach to foreign policy in his second term — and Mexico looks set to be at the tip of the spear.While many of Trump’s predecessors have also followed a “realist” strategy — that is, one in which relative power is at the forefront of international relations and diplomatic success is viewed through how it benefits one’s own nation — the incoming president has displayed an apparent unwillingness to consider the pain that his plans would inflict on targeted countries or the responses this will engender.Trump’s proposed policies...