Mexico´s FM Criticized for Cuban Expulsion
The expulsion February 3 of a 16-strong Cuban delegation from an American hotel in Mexico City has shown the lack of skill of the Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry (FAM) in handling domestic and international issues, political researcher Guillermo Zepeda said.

"Domestically, the incident showed again a cabinet in disarray while in the international arena is another issue in the progressive deterioration of Mexico-US relations," he stressed.

While analyzing the event, the Development Research Center A.C expert reminded the FAM initially tried to underplay the issue considering it a private matter.

"It could not be minimized because of the string of facts that have tensed Mexican-US relations," he wrote in column for Milenio newspaper.

Cuban officials and businesspeople had come to Mexico for a meeting with representatives from American oil companies interested in exploring the island´s energy market.

Their eviction from the Maria Isabel Sheraton Hotel -their money was also seized-, sparked a wave of protests in Mexico.

Lawmakers, presidential runners and political party leaders called the application of the US Helms-Burton extraterritorial law in Mexico, an offense to their sovereignty.

However, for Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez the government should not respond to Washington in a hasty fashion under the circumstances resulting from the incident.

For its part, the Mexican Movement of Solidarity with Cuba protested in front of the FAM headquarters for the incident and demanded a firm response from the Executive against the implementation of US intruding policy.