A family of Mormons who had lived in a community along the Mexican border for decades was apparently ambushed by members of a drug cartel who massacred nine women and children.
The LeBaron family had lived in the small Mormon community for decades. The family, who are American citizens, are an offshoot of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Some are speculating that the ambush, carried out in broad daylight was a case of mistaken identity. But the LeBaron’s have a history of opposing the drug trade — two family members were murdered a decade ago for opposing the cartels. It seems likely that the cartels wanted to drive the family out of Mexico by murdering their women and children.
The president responded strongly to the outrage.
A wonderful family and friends from Utah got caught between two vicious drug cartels, who were shooting at each other, with the result being many great American people killed, including young children, and some missing. If Mexico needs or requests help in cleaning out these…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 5, 2019
….monsters, the United States stands ready, willing & able to get involved and do the job quickly and effectively. The great new President of Mexico has made this a big issue, but the cartels have become so large and powerful that you sometimes need an army to defeat an army!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 5, 2019
And Trump offered to help the Mexican army do battle with the cartels, which have been gaining ground in recent months.
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 5, 2019
In fact, the previous Mexican administration of President Enrique Pena Nieto continued a “war” on the cartels that had been going on for almost a decade that only served to increase the bloodshed and which led to massive corruption of the army, the police, and the court system. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have died in the violence from both the cartels and the police.
The “great new president” of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, actually announced that the “war” on the cartels was over and made it clear to Trump that the door is shut.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador refused that approach, however, saying at a Tuesday news conference, “The worst thing you can have is war.”
“We declared war, and it didn’t work,” Lopez Obrador said, referring to the policies of previous administrations. “That is not an option.”
Obrador’s policy is described as “hugs, not bullets.” And the recent capture of one of the notorious El Chapo’s sons, who was promptly released by the army when threatened by the cartels, shows how idiotic that policy is.
The DEA captured the drug lord and gave him to the Mexican army. But after the Sinaloa cartel surrounded the town where he was being held and exchanged gunfire with authorities, the army meekly let him go.
Mexico’s president Friday defended the decision to release Guzmán López, saying it saved lives.
“The capture of one criminal cannot be worth more than the lives of people,” President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said, according to The Associated Press. “This decision was made to protect citizens. … You cannot fight fire with fire.”
López Obrador, a leftist who took office in December, has said the anti-crime approaches of previous governments turned Mexico into a “graveyard.”
Mexican Security Minister Alfonso Durazo, appearing next to the president, said: “We will pacify the country without using violence, without repression.”
“Hugs, not bullets.” Oh yeah.
Obrador, an avowed, far-left socialist, is rightly concerned about civilian lives. But at the rate he’s going, there won’t be much of a country left for him to govern. The idea that they can “pacify the country without using violence” is absurd. The notion that “war” didn’t work is loony.
The cartels have declared war on the government and decent society. Aren’t they worth defending with blood?
Trump has the right idea but short of invasion, there isn’t much the U.S. can do except make sure cartel violence is somehow contained. Parts of our border are already infected and Americans are dying in gun battles. But until that violence is seen as a bigger threat to the United States as a whole, not much is likely to be done.
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