Presidents Biden and Lopez pledge 'solidarity' in Mexico migrant crisis and fentanyl

President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador pledged Friday to work side-by-side to confront illicit fentanyl trafficking into the U.S. and to manage the growing number of migrants traveling north to the border between their nation.

“Nothing is beyond our reach in my view if Mexico and the United States stand together and work together,” Biden said.

Biden’s relationship with López Obrador has at times been tense, in part because of Biden’s willingness to criticize Mexico on topics such as fentanyl production and the killing of journalists. And López Obrador isn’t afraid to snub the U.S. leader.

He skipped a Los Angeles summit last year where leaders tackled the issue of migration because the U.S. didn’t invite Cuba, Nicaragua or Venezuela. He also initially said he would skip this year’s APEC conference, but changed his mind.

READ MORE: President Joe Biden and Xi Jinping's meeting explained - from fentanyl to military

The two men were all smiles and compliments before the press on Friday, with Biden telling López Obrador: “I couldn’t have a better partner than you,” and the Mexican leader calling Biden a “good man” and an “extraordinary president.”

They were in San Francisco for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, where Biden has held a series of face-to-face meetings with other leaders, including China’s President Xi Jinping and the leaders of Japan and South Korea, as he seeks to reassure the region that the U.S. and China are competitors, not zero-sum rivals.

Biden and Lopez Obrador set to work talking migration as the U.S. strains to manage a rising number of southern border crossings.

They also discussed deadly fentanyl trafficking, particularly after Biden secured an agreement with Xi to curb the illicit opioid. Mexico and China are the primary sources for synthetic fentanyl trafficked into the U.S. Nearly all the chemicals needed to make it come from China, and the drugs are then mass-produced in Mexico and trafficked via cartels into the U.S.

“I want to tell you about my great conversation with Xi Jinping on that issue,” Biden told López Obrador.

The issues of fentanyl and immigration are related. Human smuggling over the border is a part of cartel operations that also include drug trafficking into the U.S.

“We’re working side-by-side to combat organized crime,” Biden said.