Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador said on Monday his country was “more secure” than the United States, days after gang members kidnapped four American citizens, two of whom were killed.

“Mexico is safer than the US and there is no problem to travel around the country in complete safety,” Mr. López Obrador assured during his daily morning press conference.

The head of state made this comparison when asked about Washington’s new instructions to Americans to avoid travel to Mexicoor take precautions when visiting 30 of the 32 Mexican states.

“Why such madness?” asked the President of Mexico, taking the opportunity to reinforce once again the position expressed by members of the US Congress that the US military should be stationed in Mexico as part of the fight against drug cartels.

“This is a campaign against Mexico led by conservative politicians in the US,” said Mr. Lopez Obrador, who last week called “deplorableAmerican politicians who supported the idea, accusing them of “propaganda” in the run-up to the US presidential and congressional elections in 2024.

“Unacceptable Attacks”

The Mexican President received members of the US Congress and US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar on Monday and spoke about his government’s efforts to combat trafficking in fentanyl, a synthetic drug 50 times more potent than heroin, and to resolve differences between the two commercial neighbors. questions. has the meaning.

The group of eight congressmen, led by Republican Congressman Jason Smith from Missouri, consisted of five other members of his party and two Democratic politicians, the president said in a statement.

“We are partners (…) forever. There are sometimes problems, disagreements, but we know that we are united,” Mr. Salazar emphasized to the press after the meeting.

Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard handed over the office of President López Obrador to the Mexican ambassador and 52 US consuls on Monday in Washington.

He urged diplomats to launch an awareness campaign to defend the country in the face of “unacceptable attacks from former and current Republican Party parliamentarians,” according to a press release from his service at the Foreign Office.

On March 3, four US citizens, three men and one woman, were shot dead and kidnapped by thugs in the city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas (northeast). Two were killed and two others were found later in the Matamoros area, one wounded, the other unharmed. Among the victims of the fire was a Mexican woman passing by.

Source: RES-IPE