Saturday, September 21, 2024

Bullets rather than hugs south of the border

 


 


Mexican President Andrés Lopez-Obrador will leave the presidency on October 1st. He will be replaced by Claudia Sheinbaum, the first woman to hold the job and someone who may regret that she got the job in the first place.

Down south, violence is exploding. To be fair, AMLO's policy of "hugs rather than bullets" was a nice talking point, but the people with bullets did not get the memo. Let's check out what Allan Wall is writing about the war underway in Sinaloa:

Elements of the military and National Guard, comprising 2,200 troops, have been sent to Sinaloa. Two of the dead were military personnel.  President AMLO said their mission is to protect the population and stop clashes between the factions. As they say, “good luck with that”.

The regional army commander on the other hand said the situation won’t calm down unless the cartel factions stop fighting each other.

So why not send in many more troops with a mission to end the fighting? Well, according to President-Elect Claudia Sheinbaum, “In the moment of confrontation, to enter with firepower would start a war…”

Excuse me, but isn’t there a war in Sinaloa already?


Correct. There is a war going on and people are getting shot. The conflict is between two cartels that are fighting over territory.

What makes this conflict different from others? Well, I hear more and more from Mexican friends that AMLO's policy of denying the crisis will soon explode into a big "problema."

What do they mean? The war will expand to neighboring states and border cities and that means the U.S.-Mexico border cities. They fear that there is so much money in the "trade" that violence is inevitable.

Let's hope for the best. As a Mexican friend told me, two of their last ex-presidents do not live in Mexico because they fear reprisals. Wonder when AMLO moves to Cuba to get away from the mess he is leaving behind?

P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

Post Link --->