[steveoscaro]

Yes Spain was already out, but kicked out by the Spaniards and their dependents that controlled Mexico. My point was that both the US and Mexico at that point were colonies that broke free and were fighting over land that had originally belonged to neither of them, so it's a bit strange to act like the Mexican government had some clear moral, historical claim to the land vs the US. Both countries expanded when the could and decimated the native cultures.

The dominant native cultures did the same thing to get that land before the Europeans arrived. The Aztecs colonized and subjugated plenty of groups.