Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum doubled down on her country’s rejection of the weekend’s raid that led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro. The Venezuelan dictator is currently facing drug charges in a U.S. federal court. She took the opportunity to blame the U.S. for her country’s cartel problems.
During her morning news conference, Sheinbaum read a prepared statement where she blasted the U.S. operation, claiming it had led to the apprehension of Nicolas Maduro and his wife, and the loss of lives in Venezuela.
“Mexico reaffirms a principle that is not new and historic, rejecting the intervention in other countries’ affairs,” Sheinbaum said.
The politician claimed that, contrary to the current rhetoric, intervention in Latin America has never brought democracy, nor generated well-being, nor brought lasting democracy.
“Unilateral actions and invasions can not be the basis for international relations in the 21st century; they don’t lead to peace nor prosperity,” she said.
Sheinbaum said that each nation has the right to choose its political, social, and economic model without pressure from other countries.
“Mexico does not belong to a doctrine or another country,” she said.
The comments by Sheinbaum come after U.S. President Donald J. Trump made statements claiming cartels are the true rulers in Mexico and not the government. Trump said that despite efforts to work together and have the U.S. take direct action on the cartels, Sheinbaum was too afraid of them, and that he would look into doing something about it.
Regarding fighting organized crime, Sheinbaum said that Mexico has worked with the U.S. and cited crime statistics, seizures, and extraditions as success stories. The politician claimed that Mexico’s goal was to reduce the violence and bring about lasting peace.
However, soon after, she claimed that the violence was primarily the fault of the U.S. government due to weapons that were smuggled into the country. Sheinbaum failed to mention that her country’s security forces have largely been inefficient or incompetent in stopping weapons that are legal in the United States but illegal in Mexico.
Sheinbaum also blamed the United States for the consumption problem, failing to mention that Mexico is the biggest smuggler and distributor of drugs as well as one of the largest producers, mainly due to widespread corruption and complicity of the Mexican government.
The Mexican president claimed that beyond fighting drug distribution syndicates in both countries, the true answer lies in addressing the root causes of the U.S. consumption and improving family values and education.
“In Mexico, the people lead”, Sheinbaum said. “Cooperation, yes; subordination and intervention, no.”
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected].
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