Mexico defends soft stance against drug gangs

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is defending himself against criticism that authorities are not tough enough on the country’s drug cartels.

In a play, the president explains why he believes in “hugs, not bullets” as a method of attack against the violent and powerful drug gangs.

Left-wing leader López Obrador of the Morena party expanded his reasoning by saying that Mexico should not be pushed to act violently by pressure from other countries – primarily the United States.

– We must not act as police for foreign governments. Mexico first, our home comes first, he said Friday at his daily news conference.

Unlike representatives in the presidency, López Obrador has chosen to reduce the armed efforts of the federal military against drug cartels, which in turn are armed and use brutal methods.

But the president claims that “violence cannot be fought with violence” and says that drug cartels often engage in social activities in places where Mexican authorities cannot reach.

In addition, he notes that the new wave of chemically manufactured drugs, often produced in China, has become a bigger problem than drugs from Latin America.

The US embassy in Mexico has not commented on the president’s actions.

Residents of areas where drug cartels exercise unofficial power, often through violence, said the president’s analysis did not match reality.

– He makes fun of us, said a restaurant owner in the state of Michoacan who claimed that he had to pay fees to drug cartels for a long time and under threat.