Mexico's Leader Rejects US Demands to Tackle Cartels, Cites 'Mexico First'

Mexico City, Mar 22 AP - Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has reiterated his refusal to fight drug cartels on the orders of the United States. He has previously justified his "hugs, not bullets" policy by stating that "you cannot fight violence with violence" and that the government must address "the causes" of drug cartel violence, such as poverty or lack of opportunities. However, on Friday, he made it clear that he views his stance as part of a "Mexico First" policy. "We are not going to act as policemen for any foreign government," López Obrador said at his daily news briefing. "Mexico First. Our home comes first."López Obrador argued that drugs are a U.S. problem, not a Mexican one. He offered to help limit the flow of drugs into the United States but only on humanitarian grounds. "Of course we are going to cooperate in fighting drugs, above all because it has become a very sensitive, very sad humanitarian issue, because a lot of young people are dying in the United States because of fentanyl," the president said. Over 70,000 Americans die annually due to synthetic opioids like fentanyl, which are mainly made in Mexico from precursor chemicals smuggled in from China.The U.S. Embassy in Mexico did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Security analyst David Saucedo noted that Mexican domestic drug consumption is still at relatively low levels and that drug cartels provide jobs in regions where the Mexican government cannot provide economic development. They also encourage social mobility and generate revenue through drug sales to balance trade and investment deficits.López Obrador has previously argued against "demonizing" the drug cartels and encouraged Catholic church leaders to negotiate peace pacts between warring gangs. He has also sometimes appeared not to take the violence issue seriously. In June 2023, he said of one drug gang that had abducted 14 police officers: "I'm going to tell on you to your fathers and grandfathers," suggesting they should get a good spanking.The president has imposed strict limits on U.S. agents operating in Mexico and limited how much contact Mexican law enforcement can have with them. "The president said out loud what we had suspected for a long time, that his administration is not really fighting the drug cartels," said Saucedo. "He has only decided to administer the conflict, setting up what may have to be a crusade against the cartels in the future that he won't have to fight."While Mexico has detained a few high-profile gang members, the government's policy no longer matches what Mexican drug cartels have become: extortion machines that make much of their money not from trafficking drugs but extorting protection payments from businessmen, farmers, shop owners, and street vendors, killing anyone who doesn't pay.López Obrador claims the "Mexico First" policy is needed to reduce domestic violence. Last year, he claimed Mexico saw a drop of 17% in homicides under his administration. However, homicides had already fallen about 7% from their mid-2018 peak when López Obrador took office in December of that year. The most reliable annual count shows that homicides in Mexico declined by 9.7% in 2022 compared to 2021, with 32,223 killings recorded in 2022. The country's homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants dropped from about 28 in 2021 to 25 in 2022. By comparison, the U.S. homicide rate in 2021 was about 7.8 per 100,000 inhabitants.