Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Monday that he would maintain a less conflictive approach to fighting drug gangs even after one of MexicoThe most powerful posters showed their firepower in a video that surprised Mexicans.
A video, allegedly shot by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, and showing dozens of gang members armed with bulletproof vests in front of armored vehicles painted in military-style camouflage, went viral on social media on Friday.
López Obrador said he would not repeat the mistakes of previous administrations that could not contain the cartel’s violence, which arose after former President Felipe Calderón launched a military-led offensive against the gangs in late 2006.
Hugs, no bullets.
👇 pic.twitter.com/UgvQwzAcj3– Héctor de Mauleón (@hdemauleon) July 18, 2020
“Violence cannot be faced with violence, fire cannot be extinguished with fire, evil cannot be faced with evil,” he said. “Evil must be confronted with good.”
López Obrador said his government would confront gangs with intelligence rather than force, focusing on poverty and other root causes of crime.
The President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said: “Evil must be confronted with good” [File: Henry Romero/Reuters]
“We are not going to declare war,” he said.
With homicides At record levels, the President has come under increasing scrutiny of his security policy, which López Obrador called one of “hugs, not bullets.”
Many analysts argue that his approach has emboldened criminal groups. Murders in Mexico In the first six months of the year it hit a record high, data showed on Monday.
SOURCE:
Reuters news agency
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