Geronimo Gutierrez Fernandez, the head of the North American Development Bank, will be Mexico’s new ambassador in Washington.
Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry made the announcement Friday in a statement that also said Mexico’s current ambassador in the United States, Carlos Manuel Sada Solana, will become under-secretary for North America.
Sada will represent Mexico at the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump January 20.
Gutierrez, whose appointment requires ratification by the Mexican Senate, will face Trump’s promise to build a border wall and deport thousands of undocumented immigrants.
Before his post at the North American Development Bank, Gutierrez served as deputy foreign minister for North America and deputy foreign minister for Latin America and the Caribbean. He also served deputy interior minister.
Gutierrez has been the managing director of the bank in San Antonio, Texas, since 2010. The bank offers low-interest financing to projects aimed at improving environmental and living conditions in communities along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The bank was created under the North American Free Trade Agreement and began operations in November 1994 with capitalization from both countries. Trump has said he wants to renegotiate the agreement known as NAFTA.
