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US-MEXICO-CRIME-DIPLOMACY-DRUGS
Trump pulls back on designating Mexico cartels as ‘terror’ groups
WASHINGTON, Dec 7, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – US President Donald Trump on Friday
pulled back on his stated plans to designate Mexican drug cartels as terror
groups, saying he was doing so at the request of his counterpart Andres
Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Last month, Trump called for a “war” on the cartels after the killings of
nine women and children from a US-Mexican Mormon community, but south of the
common border, his plans were seen as unwanted meddling.
Mexican officials asked for clarification, and said they wanted to make
progress on efforts to stem the flow of weapons and money from the United
States to criminal gangs in Mexico.
Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard had reacted more forcefully, saying:
“Mexico will never allow any action that means a violation of its national
sovereignty.”
While Trump said in a tweet Friday evening that “all necessary work has
been completed to declare Mexican Cartels terrorist organizations,” he said
he was putting a hold on the move out of respect for Lopez Obrador.
“We will temporarily hold off this designation and step up our joint
efforts to deal decisively with these vicious and ever-growing
organizations!” the Republican president tweeted.
Trump noted that the leftist Lopez Obrador was a “man who I like and
respect, and has worked so well with us.”
Ebrard hailed Trump’s decision in a tweet, writing that “cooperation has
won and there will be good results.”
The case of the slain Mormons has cast a spotlight on drug cartel-fueled
violence in Mexico — and Lopez Obrador’s struggles to rein it in.
The victims, including twin eight-month-old babies, were killed as they
drove on a remote road between the states of Sonora and Chihuahua, in
northern Mexico, a lawless region disputed by warring drug cartels.
BSS/AFP/SSS/0850 hrs