Mexico president refuses to fight drug cartels on US orders
Category: News & Politics
Via: vic-eldred • one month ago • 19 commentsBy: Samantha Kamman, Christian Post Reporter (ChristianPost)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador agreed to help limit the flow of drugs into the United States but won't confront drug cartels on U.S. orders, declaring that Mexico would not "act as policemen for any foreign government."
Lopez Obrador's declaration comes amid ongoing concerns about the Biden administration's immigration policies and the flow of drugs, such as fentanyl, coming into the U.S. through the southern border.
During a news briefing last Friday, Lopez Obrador acknowledged reports about the increasing number of fentanyl-related deaths in the United States. While he offered to help limit the flow of drugs, the president refused to go after drug cartels.
"We are not going to act as policemen for any foreign government," Lopez Obrador said, according to The Associated Press. "Mexico First. Our home comes first."
Lopez Obrador has argued against confronting drug cartels in favor of a "hugs, not bullets" approach, saying violence can't be fought with violence. He came to office in 2018 pledging to overhaul Mexico's militarized response to drug cartels. Amid Mexico's war against drug cartels, tens of thousands of people were killed between 2007 and 2014.
He also believes the government should focus on underlying issues that result in drug cartels, such as poverty and a lack of opportunities.
"Of course, we are going to cooperate in fighting drugs, above all because it has become a very sensitive, very sad humanitarian issue because a lot of young people are dying in the United States because of fentanyl," Lopez Obrador said during the Friday briefing.
As the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this month, nearly 108,000 Americans died of drug overdose deaths in 2022. The CDC noted that between 2021 and 2022, the rate of overdose deaths for synthetic opioids other than methadone increased 4.1%.
"The age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone, which includes fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, and tramadol, was mostly stable from 2002 (0.4 deaths per 100,000 standard population) to 2013 (1.0) and then increased through 2022 (22.7), with different rates of change over time," the CDC reported.
Earlier this month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers at the San Ysidro Port of Entry discovered a total of 100 packages in the dashboard and front seats of a vehicle after the driver came to the port to apply for admission to the U.S.
CBP officers seized an estimated 561,000 fentanyl pills, according to the March 1 press release. The approximate street value of the pills was $11.2 million. The officers turned the vehicle driver over to the Department Homeland Security and seized the drugs.
In June 2022, Pastor Lorenzo Ortiz, who operated four shelters in northern Mexico to assist migrants, recounted how he and dozens of migrants were kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel.
During a 45-minute interview for Fellowship Southwest, Ortiz said that his captors demanded to know how much he charges migrants for staying at one of his shelters. The pastor's captors refused to believe him when he said that he did not charge migrants anything.
Due to Ortiz's humanitarian work, the Mexican National Guard and other authorities worked for the pastor's release. While his captors initially held him for a ransom of $40,000, Ortiz said his kidnappers eventually dropped the demand. Ortiz credited the miracle of his release to the power of prayer.
"The cartel was shaken ... the cartel never felt so vulnerable," Ortiz said.
Elket Rodriguez, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field representative to migrants and communities along the U.S.-Mexico border, told CP at the time that drug cartels typically don't target Christians in the field.
"The cartels overwhelmingly kidnap migrants and asylum seekers," he said. "Pastors, missionaries, and other church workers are kidnapped when cartels believe that they represent a threat to their trafficking enterprise."
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
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The problem for Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is that if he takes on the cartels, he and his family could be shot dead by morning. His entire government is corrupt and no match for the cartels. The only person he can get tough with is Joe Biden.
The world has found out Biden is a punching bag.
In January, Obrador issued a series of demands for what the U.S. must do to stop the flow of migrants to the border, ranging from sending Latin American countries $20 billion in aid a year to granting some level of amnesty to illegal immigrant workers in the U.S .
Mexican president says the 'flow of migrants will continue' unless the US meets his demands | Fox News
When I look at Mexico, I see 32 more states
and a natural choke point at the new southern border.
I wonder if we can just buy it or do we have to control it with our own military?
that probably would be cheaper in the long run, but it would really fuck mexico up ...
I think we already saw how to control Mexico.
Those seeking asylum in the US remain in Mexico OR No trade with the US.
Works like a charm.
Now that is a brilliant idea. I can see the headlines now, ''US stops trade with its number one trading partner, layoff hitting every industry''. In 2023 Mexico became our number one trading partner surpassing both Canada and China. US farmers would be just a bit upset if you took away their second biggest market.
Screw the consequences, let's go for it.
I wonder if everyone gets the joke
Well, a couple of us did. LOL
Yes, it was and it worked from 2017 - 2020.
During those years Mexico was still one of the top trading partners of the US.b
Oh, and the tariffs were paid for by the American importer who passed it on to the buyers and we paid the farmers billions byesecause China stopped buying much of the product from the US.
Oh, hell yes, it all worked great and we need more of it.
That is right because they quickly agreed to Trump's deal.
The US military would have no problems taking Mexico. Holding it is a completely different matter as Iraq and Afghanistan have proven.
Want to go through decades of US troops being attacked by people that simply blend back population that either willingly or due to fear protects them?
I would have to say, the US doesn't have a good track record with occupying military forces , least not recently. I would have to say that would be a no , simply because the rules of engagement would change daily, or at least everytime the wind changed direction.
I have seen Obrador interviewed several times and he comes across as a sensible leader with a grasp on reality and a vision for the future. He cannot be seen as, "Taking Orders", from the US, but he is a man we can work with. And of course he is right. The only way to stop the international migrant crisis is to address problems at their sources. In any case, Obrador is fighting the cartels regardless. Fair Enough!
Kamala supposedly did that early in the term in Central America. Guess it was a typical Biden administration bust.
“ I have seen Obrador interviewed several times and he comes across as a sensible leader with a grasp on reality”
Really? The two statements below concerning obrador show a complete lack of sensibility. But i’m sure the cartels appreciate him as much as they appreciate biden.
“ Lopez Obrador has argued against confronting drug cartels in favor of a "hugs, not bullets" approach, saying violence can't be fought with violence.”
“In January, Obrador issued a series of demands for what the U.S. must do to stop the flow of migrants to the border, ranging from sending Latin American countries $20 billion in aid a year to granting some level of amnesty to illegal immigrant workers in the U.S .”
If you believe the us is an evil oppressor to blame for every problem in Mexico and elsewhere in the world, and that cartels are fitting partners for governing, obrador seems sensible.
Maybe he just doesn't want to be killed by the cartels, eh?