MEXICO CITY -- The United States must modify its foreign policy to respect the sovereignty of nations, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday.

At his daily press conference, the Mexican president noted that the US government has applied an "arrogant" and "interventionist" foreign policy for at least two centuries since the adoption of the Monroe Doctrine.

"They have always acted like this. We have insisted a lot and will continue to do so, that they must change their foreign policy," Lopez Obrador told reporters.

A US State Department report issued earlier this week on the state of human rights around the globe alleges that human rights violations prevail in Mexico.

"How are they going to talk about human rights if they allocate billions of dollars to war for the death of innocent people in countries all around the world where there is conflict?" he questioned.