The exchange came after the Texas Republican claimed earlier this week there was “deepening civil unrest in Mexico and the breakdown there of civil society, the breakdown of the rule of law.” Cruz was referring to recent killings of journalists and politicians in Mexico.

In a terse open letter to Cruz late Thursday, Mexico’s ambassador to the United States wrote that Mexico’s government likewise condemns violence and is taking steps to address it, but the reality is “very different” than Cruz depicts.

And, wrote Ambassador Esteban Moctezuma Barragán, “I invite you to look at what happened in our federal elections last June. All parties, with no exception, accepted the results and kept moving forward to strengthen our democracy and freedom of expression.”