President López Obrador condemned the Republican-led push for U.S. military intervention following the deaths of Americans at the hands of drug cartels.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has rejected calls for the U.S. military to intervene to stop drug cartel violence in Mexico, saying such a move would violate the country’s sovereignty. Stated.
President López Obrador said at a press conference Thursday that his government “will not allow any foreign government to intervene in our territory, much less government forces.”
“It’s not only irresponsible, it’s an insult to the Mexican people,” he said, adding that Mexico “doesn’t take orders from anyone.”
On Wednesday, Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw released a message in Spanish asking why Rep. López Obrador opposes a proposal to authorize U.S. military strikes targeting drug cartels in Mexico in January. Ta.
“The cartels are at war with us, poisoning more than 80,000 Americans with fentanyl each year, creating a crisis at our border, and turning Mexico into a failed drug state,” Crenshaw said. statement Regarding the bill proposed on January 12th.
“The time has come to target them directly. My bill would put us at war with the cartels by authorizing the use of military force against them. Heavily armed and dangerous cartels. cannot be allowed to destabilize Mexico and import people and drugs into the United States.”
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham also said in a Fox News interview Monday that it was time to “warn Mexico.” He advocated introducing legislation that would classify some Mexican drug cartels as “foreign terrorist groups.”
Two of the four Americans kidnapped by cartels in Mexico have been killed, but we have not yet declared the cartels a military target. It’s time to recognize military power over them.
Are you listening, @Lopezobrador_?
We would be happy if you could become our partner. Please help us help you.— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) March 7, 2023
Violence by Mexican drug cartels has come under renewed scrutiny in the United States after four Americans were kidnapped by armed groups last Friday.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said in a statement over the weekend that the four Americans were taken away in a pickup truck after “unidentified gunmen opened fire on their vehicle.”
“All four Americans were loaded into a car and taken from the scene by armed men.”
Tamaulipas Governor Americo Villarreal said one Mexican national was killed in the attack, which occurred as a group of drug cartels attacked the streets.
The American national crossed the border from Brownsville, Texas, into the northeastern Mexican city of Matamoros for medical treatment. However, the city is plagued by violence related to drug trafficking and other organized crime.
The region’s governor said Mexican authorities frantically searched and even took the four Americans to a clinic as the cartel removed them.
The bodies and survivors were eventually found Tuesday in a wooden hut in the eastern countryside of Matamoros, guarded by the man who was arrested, said Irving Barrios, the state’s chief prosecutor.
Two of the abductees were found murdered, while the other two were found alive, one with a gunshot wound to the leg.
The survivors returned to the U.S. mainland on Tuesday in a convoy of ambulances and SUVs, escorted by Mexican military Humvees and National Guard trucks equipped with machine guns.
On Thursday, a person claiming to be affiliated with a Mexican drug cartel involved in the kidnappings condemned the violence and announced that the group had handed over the perpetrators to authorities.
In a letter obtained by The Associated Press through Tamaulipas state law enforcement officials, the Scorpions faction of the Gulf Cartel apologized to the residents of Matamoros, the Mexican woman killed in the shooting, the four Americans and their families.
Drug cartels are known to issue communiqués not only to intimidate rivals and authorities, but also sometimes to smooth over situations that may affect their business.
“We have decided to extradite those who were directly involved and responsible for the incident, and who at all times acted without their own decision-making and lack of discipline,” the letter said.
It added that those involved had violated the cartel’s rules, including “respect for the life and well-being of innocent people.”
Still, the deadly kidnapping and the backlash could complicate delicate efforts to foster closer cooperation between the United States and Mexico on issues such as immigration and drug trafficking.
President López Obrador announced on Thursday that he would begin a public relations campaign aimed at Mexicans living in the United States about the Republican-led proposal for US military intervention.
If Republicans try to use Mexico for “propaganda, electoral and political purposes, we call on them not to vote for that party,” the Mexican president said.
