US shows off $1 billion Mexico City embassy after years of delays

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MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. government on Tuesday dedicated its more than $1 billion new embassy in Mexico, some two years after it was scheduled to be completed.

Outgoing U.S. Amb. Ken Salazar said that the largest embassy the U.S. has in the world “highlights the singular relationship between our nations and countries.”

The government broke ground on the new embassy in February 2018. The U.S. will leave its current building on the Mexican capital’s grand Paseo de la Reforma boulevard, which has been a regular site of marches and protests over the years.

The new embassy is on a former industrial site that required extensive toxic cleanup. The area known as New Polanco includes modern museums and other upscale projects developed by Carlos Slim, one of the world’s wealthiest men.

The new building is still not open to the public, however. That likely won’t come before late next year as work continues.

The dedication comes just before the return of President-elect Donald Trump to the White House next month. He has promised mass deportations and threatened Mexico with crippling tariffs if it doesn't do more to control immigration and drug trafficking.

Trump has proposed Amb. Ron Johnson as the next ambassador to Mexico. Johnson was U.S. ambassador to El Salvador during Trump's first term.

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