Mexico president refutes Blinken’s claims, says drug cartels don’t run the country
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador
Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday (March 24) responded to comments from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and denied that parts of Mexico were controlled by drug cartels.
Blinken said in a congressional hearing on Wednesday (March 22) that it was "fair to say" that parts of Mexico were controlled by cartels instead of the government.
"It’s false," Lopez Obrador said in a regular news conference. "There is no place in the country that does not have the presence of authorities."
Obrador's comments came after a US State Department report said that credible evidence of human rights abuses, government-led disappearances and torture existed in Mexico.
He appeared to take a softer tone against the United States on Friday, saying that Blinken, whom he called a good guy, was ‘just doing his job’.
Lopez Obrador has pointed to fentanyl being trafficked across the border by U.S. citizens, rather than undocumented migrants, and blamed the crisis in part on the deterioration of family values and lack of government support for families.
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(With inputs from agencies)
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