Mexican President Vicente Fox ( news - web sites)
on Wednesday canceled a trip to Texas scheduled for later this month in
protest at the U.S. state's execution of a Mexican national.

"The president of the republic has made the decision
to cancel his business trip that would have taken him
through four cities of the state of Texas," Rodolfo
Elizondo, the president's spokesman, told a late
evening news conference.

"This decision is an unequivocal sign of our rejection
of the execution of the co-national Javier Suarez
Medina."

Texas executed Suarez, 33, a Mexican citizen,
earlier on Wednesday for the 1988 murder of an undercover Dallas police officer
despite pleas for his life from 12 Latin American nations and two in Europe --
Spain and Poland.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson joined the clemency
appeals on Tuesday, urging in a letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell ( news
- web sites) that the matter be reviewed.

"All of these pleas were rejected by Texas state authorities," said Elizondo.

He expressed Fox's regrets to the Mexican community in Texas for the
cancellation of the trip but said it would have been "inappropriate under the
circumstances" for the visit to have gone ahead.

"Mexico is confident the cancellation of this important presidential visit will
contribute to strengthen the respect of all states for international rights norms
and the conventions that regulate relations between nations," Fox's office said
in a written statement.

Fox had been due to visit Texas from Aug. 26 through Aug. 28.
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