Current:Home > MarketsMexican president calls on civilians not to support drug cartels despite any pressure-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Mexican president calls on civilians not to support drug cartels despite any pressure
View Date:2024-12-24 11:24:16
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president called on citizens Friday not to support drug cartels, or oppose the installation of National Guard barracks, after a number of videos surfaced showing residents cheering convoys of cartel gunmen.
Several videos have been posted on social media in recent weeks of villages in southern Chiapas, showing farmers lining roadways near the border with Guatemala and cheering convoys of Sinaloa Cartel gunmen.
The Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels are fighting turf battles in the region to control the smuggling of drugs and migrants, and income from extortion.
“I want to call on people not to support the gangs,” President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Friday, noting that he understood that the gangs may be pressuring civilians to appear in such videos “out of fear” of reprisals.
López Obrador acknowledged the cartels have mounted a public relations effort.
“They are going to shoot videos and post them on social media, they also have propaganda operations,” the president said. “They tell people ‘line up on the highway,’ and if people don’t line up, they could be subject to reprisals.”
But López Obrador also accused anybody who opposes the building of National Guard barracks in their communities of aiding the cartels.
“If they don’t want the Guard to be there, they are protecting criminals,” he said.
In fact, residents of several municipalities across Mexico have opposed barracks construction for various reasons, including that they would be on environmentally sensitive or culturally significant land, or because they don’t feel the Guards’ presence helps.
López Obrador has made the quasi-military National Guard the centerpiece of law enforcement in Mexico, though critics say its expansion has come at the expense of civilian police, who in many cases are better suited to investigate and prevent crime.
There is no doubt there have been incidents — especially in the western state of Michoacan — in which drug cartels have forced local residents to demonstrate against the army and National Guard, and even attack or confront federal forces.
But inhabitants in many parts of Mexico have been left under the complete domination of the cartels for years, forcing them into a form of coexistence with the gangs.
veryGood! (7446)
Related
- Love Is Blind’s Chelsea Blackwell Reacts to Megan Fox’s Baby News
- Eminem's Daughter Hailie Jade Announces Fashionable Career Venture
- Blast off this August with 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' exclusively on Disney+
- Is a 1960 treaty between Pakistan and India killing the mighty Ravi River?
- Harriet Tubman posthumously honored as general in Veterans Day ceremony: 'Long overdue'
- Dr. Dre to receive inaugural Hip-Hop Icon Award from music licensing group ASCAP
- How a Contrarian Scientist Helped Trump’s EPA Defy Mainstream Science
- Court Rejects Pipeline Rubber-Stamp, Orders Climate Impact Review
- Congress heard more testimony about UFOs: Here are the biggest revelations
- Vanderpump Rules' Ariana Madix Ready to Dip Out of Her and Tom Sandoval's $2 Million Home
Ranking
- Beyoncé nominated for album of the year at Grammys — again. Will she finally win?
- Planning a trip? Here's how to avoid fake airline ticket scams
- Why Was the Government’s Top Alternative Energy Conference Canceled?
- How do you get equal health care for all? A huge new database holds clues
- Kevin Costner Shares His Honest Reaction to John Dutton's Controversial Fate on Yellowstone
- Minnesota to join at least 4 other states in protecting transgender care this year
- A robot answers questions about health. Its creators just won a $2.25 million prize
- In the Midst of the Coronavirus, California Weighs Diesel Regulations
Recommendation
-
Minnesota county to pay $3.4M to end lawsuit over detainee’s death
-
Montana GOP doubles down after blocking trans lawmaker from speaking, citing decorum
-
Sydney Sweeney Makes Euphoric Appearance With Fiancé Jonathan Davino in Cannes
-
Paris Hilton Mourns Death of “Little Angel” Dog Harajuku Bitch
-
Arkansas governor unveils $102 million plan to update state employee pay plan
-
Energy Forecast Sees Global Emissions Growing, Thwarting Paris Climate Accord
-
Fuzzy Math: How Do You Calculate Emissions From a Storage Tank When The Numbers Don’t Add Up?
-
Biden says his own age doesn't register with him as he seeks second term