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US ambassador to Mexico stepping down

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The US ambassador to Mexico has announced that she is stepping down in May.

Roberta Jacobson made the announcement in a tweet in Spanish on Thursday, "I will be departing at the beginning of May, in search of other opportunities."

The resignation comes at a time when US relations with Mexico have been strained over issues related to trade and migration and, Jacobson ended her tweet stating, "We are Stronger Together!"

"I do it knowing the US-Mexico relationship is strong and vital and that this amazing Mission Mexico team will continue to ensure it remains so," she adds. "At this time, I have no news to share on my successor."

Jacobson is an experienced US diplomat who was nominated to the position in 2015 by then-President Barack Obama and confirmed the following spring.

She was closely involved with the Obama administrations' efforts to reopen diplomatic relations with Cuba in her previous role at the helm of the agency's western hemisphere bureau.

John Kerry, who served as secretary of state under Obama, paid tribute to Jacobson on Twitter: 'Whether it was Mexico, Colombia, Cuba and more - Roberta demonstrated the difference diplomacy can make to advance American interests and build peace.'

Last weekend, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto called off an official trip to Washington to meet with President Donald Trump after a tense phone call.

CNN previously reported Peña Nieto was tentatively planning the trip for March, a White House official said, but the official confirmed that the trip was put on hold following the phone call, which took place on February 20.

The-CNN-Wire
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