Mexican Politicians Call for ‘Terrorism’ Term when Referring to Cartel Attacks

Pressure is mounting in Mexico for the government to begin using the term “terrorism” when referring to the hyper-violent attacks carried out by drug cartels in that country. The move goes against the wishes of the country’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, who has repeatedly claimed that cartel violence is not terrorism.

The most recent call for the use of the term took place this weekend in the state of Guanajuato, when a group of cartel gunmen stormed a soccer field, killing 11 victims and injuring 12 others in an attack where they fired indiscriminately into the crowd.

Soon after the attack, Carlos Bautista, a state congressman from Michoacan, made several public comments and posted on social media that the attack was the definition of terrorism.

“If it’s not terrorism when 11 people are murdered while playing soccer today in Salamanca, THEN WHAT THE HELL IS IT?!” Bautista said in a prepared statement on social media. “If it’s not terrorism when young suicide bombers are used as kamikazes, willing to lose their lives to attack someone, THEN WHAT DO YOU CALL THAT?

“If car bombs and bombs planted on dirt roads aren’t terrorism, then what do you call that?” he continued. “TERRORISM! WE HAVE TO CALL IT BY ITS NAME!”

Bautista is an independent politician who is a member of the Hat Movement, a political group that claims to represent farm workers, and has been calling for stronger government action to protect them from criminal organizations. He is described as a close friend of the late Carlos Manzo, the mayor of Uruapan. As Breitbart Texas reported, Manzo became the target of a cartel assassination after taking a hard line against them and repeatedly criticizing the federal government for protecting cartels.

Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum, has a long history of trying to downplay cartel violence in her country, going as far as denouncing the war on drugs and claiming that fighting cartels head-on was not an option because it would violate the human rights of cartel members, Breitbart Texas reported. Sheinbaum’s approach has put her under immense pressure from the U.S. government, which has designated some cartels as terrorist organizations and has called for their eradication.

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