It was a horrific attack, in which cartel gunmen opened fire on the three vehicles of the Americans, riddling them with bullets and causing one vehicle to explode.
President Trump tweeted on Tuesday morning:
This is the time for Mexico, with the help of the United States, to wage WAR on the drug cartels and wipe them off the face of the earth. We merely await a call from your great new president!
His offer was met with a quick dismissal by Mexican President Luis Obrador, who said, “It’s not in agreement with our convictions. The worst thing is war.”
The carnage in Mexico wrought by the drug cartels has reached previously-unseen levels. In 2018, a record number of 33,341 murder investigations were opened, 33% higher than the previous record set in 2017. Although former Mexican President Enrique Peńa Nieto promised to reduce cartel violence, it actually increased 40% during his tenure. President Obrador took office in December 2018 pledging to use the Mexican military to combat the cartels. But the violence continues. A significant reason why is that the corruption that permeates government throughout Mexico also infects the military. Indeed some cartel members brag about how easily they bribe members of the military.
It has become abundantly clear that Mexico cannot or will not defeat the cartels by itself. And now American citizens are being shot, in addition to the thousands of Americans already killed by the fentanyl, meth, and other drugs smuggled into the United States by the cartels. If U.S policy does not change, the cartel killings will continue, because Mexico has proven itself incapable of defeating the cartels. At some point, the United States has to act to protect the lives of its own citizens.
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See Also:
(1) As long as there are no consequences to perpetrators, the brutality will continue
(2) Attackers not confused; they knew they were killing women, children: LeBarón
(3) 9 killed, 16 vehicles torched in gang violence in Ciudad Juárez
(4) 13-year-old survivor in Mexico attack hid siblings in bushes and walked 14 miles for help
