– Advertisement –
The U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, said on Wednesday that Mexico is currently unsafe and blamed the former president for a failed security policy and rejecting American help.
“The reality is that at the moment Mexico is not safe,” Salazar said during a press conference at his residence in Mexico City.
He did not offer any specifics as to whether the country is dangerous for tourists, residents, or both, or if certain parts of the country were more dangerous than others.
As of 2022, the U.S. Department of State has estimated that approximately 1.6 million U.S. citizens reside in Mexico. This number will include, retirees, digital nomads, and dual citizens of both countries.
The ambassador directly criticized former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, stating that security cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico declined during his term.
“Unfortunately this coordination has failed in the last year, in great part because the previous president did not want to receive help from the United States,” he said.
Lopez Obrador’s strategy to tackle violence, known as “hugs not bullets,” did “not work,” according to Salazar.
He expressed hope that President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office last month, would improve efforts to combat crime and violence by increasing investments in security.
Sheinbaum, a member of the same party as Lopez Obrador, has emphasized that her security strategy will closely align with that of her predecessor.
These remarks come amid growing tensions between Lopez Obrador and Salazar in recent months, particularly after the ambassador criticized a judicial reform pushed by the former president.
This marks a shift from the early years of Lopez Obrador’s presidency when he and Salazar were seen as having a strong working relationship, though some U.S. diplomats privately disapproved of this closeness.
Mexico has recently faced a surge in violence, including hundreds of deaths in cartel conflicts in Sinaloa and massacres in states like Queretaro, where 10 people were killed in a bar over the weekend.
Source: El Pais.
– Advertisement –
