Mexican President AMLO: ‘No More War’ on Drugs

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) sent shockwaves after publicly claiming an end to his country’s drug war. The politician said his administration will focus on reducing violent crimes instead of capturing regularly violent drug lords.

“There is no more war, officially there is no war because what we want is peace,” AMLO said during a press conference in Mexico City. The politician said his government would focus on decreasing violent crimes rather than fighting a war on drugs like his predecessors. Since AMLO took office in December, Mexican authorities have not captured any major cartel figures despite the escalating drug violence.

Obrador said earlier this week there were 54 murders in one day, improving upon the previous 80 homicides-in-day record–a demonstration that his strategy was working. AMLO’s statement comes at a time when U.S. President Donald J. Trump publicly called out the country’s high murder rate, claiming it rose by 33 percent and was worse than Afghanistan.

Very sadly, Murder cases in Mexico in 2018 rose 33% from 2017, to 33,341. This is a big contributor to the Humanitarian Crises taking place on our Southern Border and then spreading throughout our Country. Worse even than Afghanistan. Much caused by DRUGS. Wall is being built!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 31, 2019

Breitbart News recently reported that court documents from the ongoing trial of Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman revealed AMLO’s failed presidential campaign in 2006 received money from cartels. Details from the trial have also noted that other Mexican presidents and top officials allegedly received bribes from organized crime.

In his talks about peace, the current Mexican president did not acknowledge the fact that a convicted terrorist responsible for the 2008 grenade attack against the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey recently assumed control of Los Zetas. Breitbart News recently exposed Hector Raul “El Tory” Luna Luna as the new operational leader of the “Cartel Del Noreste” faction of Los Zetas and the man who authorities blame for most of the murders in the northern border state of Nuevo Leon.

Recently, El Tory threatened to blow up the headquarters of a state police agency in Nuevo Leon. Law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart News that top security officials from that state reached out to the federal government for help–only to be ignored.

AMLO’s talking points about not going after cartel bosses also overlook the escalation of violence in many parts of Mexico including Cancun, Acapulco, greater Baja California, Tijuana, and others is tied to the push by Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes and Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) to take over areas once controlled by the Sinaloa Cartel.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with the Breitbart Border and Cartel Chronicles projects. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Stephen K. Bannon.  You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of the Breitbart Border and Cartel Chronicles projects. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Stephen K. Bannon. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.