As the search and capture of the militants who kidnapped four Americans and killed two of them in Matamoros, on the Mexican-American border, continues, Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador has spoken out against Republicans who favor the deployment of American military forces. in his own country and proposed for his part in Washington to focus on reducing the huge demand for drugs.

“Why don’t you take care of your youth? Why don’t you tackle the serious problems of social decay? Why don’t you stop the constant increase in drug use? Mr. Lopez Obrador asked, rhetorically addressing US politicians on Thursday during the morning press conference he gives almost every day, according to the Los Angeles Times, reported by a German agency.

The Mexican president spoke in an unusually blunt tone two days after Mexican authorities found four US citizens in a hideout outside Matamoros, a city notorious for its lawlessness where rival drug cartels vie for dominance.

Two of the abducted men, aged 33 and 28, were found dead, the other two, a woman and a man aged 33 and 38, were found alive and almost instantly transported to the other side of the border.

US authorities say they still cannot say why US citizens who traveled to Mexico last Friday to treat a woman were shot at and then abducted. According to some sources, it was a mistake of the bandits who decided that they were their rivals, other sources linked the kidnapping to the actions of gang members who acted without the approval of its leadership.

The Associated Press reported that the cartel “surrendered” five of its members to the authorities. Something that has not been confirmed by either the Mexican authorities or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which is helping with the investigation.

Whatever the reason for the kidnapping, it appears to be causing backlash on both sides of the border, rekindling debate about who is to blame for the wave of bloody violence that is sweeping through Mexico and how to deal with it.

Many Republicans believe the US should intervene militarily. Citing a spike in American deaths from fentanyl, they are pushing a bill that would theoretically allow military forces to be stationed in Mexico to fight crime. At the same time, the states are asking the federal authorities in Washington to designate drug cartels as terrorist organizations.

Republican rhetoric was not warmly received in Mexico.

Many Mexicans point out that their country, unfortunately, is next door to the United States, the country with the highest drug consumption and the highest availability of weapons on the planet. Despite the fact that Mexican gun laws are extremely strict, despite the fact that there is only one gun shop in the whole country, Mexico is now full of weapons being smuggled across the border.

Meanwhile, the “war on drugs” launched in 2006 with the support of the United States produced results that were rather opposite to those expected. The involvement of the Mexican military in law enforcement operations has sparked a wave of cartel violence, with some 340,000 murders since then, mostly attributed to gangs, and more than 110,000 people reported missing, according to official figures. As for the amount of substances smuggled into the US, it hasn’t gone down far.

Mr. López Obrador has repeatedly criticized the militarization of anti-drug efforts in the past, blaming his predecessors in power for turning Mexico into a “cemetery”. But he, in turn, decided to rely primarily on the military.

At a press conference on Thursday, Mexico’s president appeared to downplay Republican threats of US military intervention in his country, which he considers to be campaign “propaganda.” He decided that in order to deal with the fentanyl scourge, the American authorities had to look into domestic affairs.

“We are very saddened by what is happening in the US, but why are they not addressing the problem? Why aren’t the US fentanyl cartels fighting fentanyl trafficking in the US?”

“Here we do not produce or consume fentanyl,” he added.

For the latter, there is sufficient evidence to the contrary.

Fentanyl production in Mexico is on the rise: Just last month, the Mexican military raided the state of Sinaloa, where they found and confiscated 630,000 tablets containing fentanyl and 127 kilograms of the substance, a few grams of which can kill in powdered form.

The use of this substance in Mexico is on the rise, as is the consumption of the drug by the general population, even if it does not even approach US levels.

President López Obrador, who remains popular both at home and among the Mexican diaspora in the US, has threatened to turn Hispanic voters against the Republicans if they do not stop “irresponsibly” talking about military intervention in his country, which is an “insult” to the people of Mexico and shows disrespect to our independence and national sovereignty.”

“If they do not change their behavior, if they think that they will continue to use Mexico in their propaganda, for their election and political purposes, we will call on the people not to vote for this party,” he explained.

However, in Mexico itself, where Mr. López Obrador’s party, MORENA, also faces a decisive election in 2024, there are voices questioning the actions of the authorities, especially who sees justice being done and why.

Since most of the crimes committed in the country remain unsolved, how large and immediate the operation, which led to the identification and rescue of four Americans, was quite painful for many Mexicans.

Documenting the “quick and coordinated” government response to the kidnappings of Americans, Mexican journalist Ana Francisco Vega echoed many when she pointedly remarked earlier this week that “thousands of missing Mexicans don’t even think of that kind of luck.”

Source: RES-IPE