Will be sending armed soldiers to Mexico border: Trump

US president Donald Trump said today that he would be sending "armed soldiers to the border" with Mexico since the country wasn't doing enough in "apprehending and returning smugglers at the border".

"Mexico’s soldiers recently pulled guns on our National Guard soldiers, probably as a diversionary tactic for drug smugglers on the Border. Better not happen again!," the US president said, adding, "We are now sending armed soldiers to the border."

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Trump appeared to be referring to an April 13 incident in which Mexican troops reportedly questioned and pointed their weapons at two US troops conducting surveillance on the border.

US defence officials had said earlier that two US soldiers were in an unmarked vehicle conducting surveillance on the American side of the border when they were approached by five to six Mexican military personnel.

The officials said the Mexican soldiers pointed their weapons at the US troops, removed a soldier's sidearm and returned it to their unmarked vehicle. Although the area was on the US side of the border north of the Rio Grande in Texas, it was south of the border fence.

Mexico said on Saturday had expressed “deep concern” about armed groups that intimidate and extort migrants on the border. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico had condemned the United Constitutional Patriots, which patrols the southern US border in New Mexico, as a “fascist militia organization” operating outside the law.

The group has posted videos showing members dressed in camouflage and armed with semi-automatic rifles holding groups of migrants, many Central American families seeking asylumuntil US Border Patrol agents arrive.

The small volunteer group says it is helping the Border Patrol deal with a surge in undocumented migrants at the southern border.