Mexico’s president said Thursday that the country’s violent criminal gangs and drug cartels are essentially “respectful people” who “respect the citizenry” and mostly just kill each other.
The claims by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador are clearly at odds with the reality of millions of Mexicans who live in areas dominated by drug cartels. The cartels routinely demand protection payments from local residents and kill or kidnap them if they refuse to pay.
A reporter asked López Obrador whether drug cartels behaved well when he visited the township of Badiraguato, Sinaloa — the hometown of imprisoned drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, which he has controversially visited as president about a half dozen times.
“Always!” López Obrador responded, adding that “Sometimes we come upon people who are strange, but respectful.”
Continuing on the subject of drug cartels at his morning news briefing, López Obrador said “There is something people should know.”
“Fortunately, the attacks that happen in this country generally occur between (criminal) groups,” the president said. “They respect the citizenry.” López Obrador has long refused to directly confront the cartels… Read full article here
