Mexican President AMLO on Cartels: ‘War Not an Option’

In the aftermath of a cartel massacre that killed nine Americans driving through the mountainous region south of the New Mexico border, Mexico’s president said that going to “war” with cartels is not an option.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) made the statement on Wednesday morning during his daily press conference. The comment comes at a time when pressure continues to mount over the perception that Mexico has gone soft on security issues.

“War is the most irrational thing there can be and that is not going to be an option,” Lopez Obrador said.
The follows soon after a group of cartel gunmen presumably with “La Linea” faction of the Juarez Cartel murdered three women and six children while injuring six others. One day after the massacre, President Donald Trump reached out to AMLO initially via Twitter to offer any needed resources for “war” against cartels.

This is the time for Mexico, with the help of the United States, to wage WAR on the drug cartels and wipe them off the face of the earth. We merely await a call from your great new president!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 5, 2019

“He offered help and he stated that he will be ready to any call for help from us in that matter,” Lopez Obrador said, “I thanked him for his interest in participating in this issue and I thanked him for being respectful of our sovereignty.”

A través del presidente Trump, envié mi más profundo pésame a los familiares y amigos de quienes fueron asesinados en los límites de Chihuahua y Sonora.

Le agradecí su disposición de apoyarnos y le informé que las instituciones del Gobierno de México actúan para hacer justicia. pic.twitter.com/nyls6gix86

— Andrés Manuel (@lopezobrador_) November 5, 2019

Going to war was tried in the past and it only brought more violence and death, Lopez Obrador argued. In regard to criticism from U.S. politicians and pundits, AMLO said he respects their vision, but he does not share it.

“We are taking a different approach. That approach was tried for 36 years and it failed,” Lopez Obrador said. “We are going to prove that our approach works.”

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. 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 Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.