Mexico City, February 2 (RHC)-- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is on a six-day Latin American tour and has arrived in Mexico City.  Political observers said it's expected that his diplomatic sojourn will include attempts to try to drum up support for sanctions and other measures against the Venezuelan government.

Observers note that the main target during Tillerson's travels will be Venezuela and the country's president, Nicolas Maduro, despite a pre-agreement reached between the government and political opposition in the Dominican Republic this week.  A senior U.S. State Department official said at a briefing that the United States will employ every last one of its "political, diplomatic and economic tools to address the situation in Venezuela." 

Tillerson's first stop in Mexico City will also reportedly involve talks focused on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, and the contentious promise made by U.S. President Donald Trump to build a wall on its border with Mexico. 

Francisco Gil Villegas, a professor of international relations at the College of Mexico, commented that “what has been a good relationship between the two countries right now is fragile and delicate.”  He added that “on the government level, they have avoided a crisis.  On the citizen level, there is a lot of anger.” 

After visiting Mexico, Tillerson will travel to Argentina, Peru and Colombia, as well as a final stopover in Jamaica on February 7th.