Thursday, November 14

Ambassador Ken Salazar attacks AMLO and accuses him of closing himself to US cooperation in security

Avatar of Armando Hernandez

By Armando Hernandez

Nov 13, 2024, 18:56 PM EST

The United States ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, broke with diplomacy and accused the government of former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador of denying the reality regarding insecurity that prevails in Mexico and, incidentally, refused to receive help from the North American government to fight organized crime.

Salazar, who at the end of AMLO’s six-year term was involved in a disagreement with the president, pointed out that under that government binational coordination was disrupted, especially in the last year. “The previous President did not want to receive support from the United States, he closed the door to investments of over $32 million dollars because he did not want that investment to reach Mexico to help the security of the Mexican people.”

The diplomat was forceful in pointing out that “The ‘Hugs, not bullets’ strategy did not work,” referring to the slogan that the former president popularized by pointing out that there would be no direct armed confrontation against organized crime.

“For many years it has been said that everything is fine in Mexico, that there is security, but we see Sinaloa, we see Culiacán. Saying there is no problem is denying reality. Problems are seen in other parts of Mexico, the murder of Father Marcelo in Chiapas; The truth is that there is a very big problem in Mexico,” he insisted.

Besides, The ambassador criticized López Obrador’s rhetoric regarding the relationship with the United States, “blaming others, the United States, as is done very clearly, is not what is required.”

However, once López Obrador left the presidency, the relationship with Claudia Sheinbaum does not look better, as she made reference to the current explosion of violence in Sinaloa.

Weeks ago, the ambassador also unleashed reactions from the Mexican government, referring to the capture of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, “what happened in Sinaloa should be celebrated.”

“I am so surprised that one cannot say victory for the people of Mexico, victory for the United States, the result of the work we have carried out in the last three years,” he declared after the allegations of Zambada’s kidnapping and a violation of the laws, as Claudia Sheinbaum’s government has stated.

Despite this controversy, Salazar said he has “hope” in the success of the Sheinbaum government in terms of security and insisted that achieving it involves investing resources in this area and implementing “deep” cooperation with the United States.

Keep reading:
–Mexico affirms that the capture of “El Mayo” was a kidnapping
–Ken Salazar reacts to accusations from a Mexican prosecutor