MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – A video showing a sprawling military-style convoy of one of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels circulated on social media on Friday just as President Andrés Manuel López Obrador visited the heart of the group.
FILE PHOTO: The President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, holds a press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, March 17, 2020. REUTERS / Henry Romero /
In the two-minute clip, members of the fearsome Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) dress in uniform alongside a seemingly endless procession of armored vehicles.
“Only the people of Mencho,” members of the cartel shout, raising their fists and showing their long weapons. The cry was a greeting to their leader, Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, one of the most wanted drug lords in the country.
The launch of the video coincided with López Obrador’s visit to the states of Guanajuato, Jalisco and Colima, some of the cartel’s strengths.
“They are sending a clear message … that they basically govern Mexico, not López Obrador,” said Mike Vigil, former chief of international operations for the US Drug Enforcement Administration.
A spokesperson for López Obrador’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It was unclear when the video was filmed, but it appeared to be authentic, Vigil said.
CJNG is considered the strongest gang in Mexico, along with the Sinaloa Cartel, previously led by imprisoned drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. He is often credited with infiltrating poorly paid and trained police departments across the country to protect his extensive criminal scams.
In late June, the cartel was quickly pinpointed as the likely culprit in a brazen attack on Mexico City’s chief of security, Omar García Harfuch, that took place in broad daylight in a chic neighborhood of the capital.
Unlike his predecessors, López Obrador has taken a less conflictive approach to security, preferring to attack what he describes as root causes such as poverty and youth unemployment, through social spending.
But the strategy, described by López Obrador as one of “hugs, not bullets,” has emboldened criminal groups, many security analysts say.
The president’s approach “has only led these cartels to operate with more impunity,” Vigil said.
Julia Love’s report; Editing by William Mallard
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