Mexican President Reacts to Statements by Lindsay Graham and John Kennedy

Today, in a morning news conference, Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador reacted to statements by certain Republican politicians like Lindsay Graham (R-SC) who, in the reaction to this week’s kidnap-murder incident of 4 Americans in Matamoros, implied that the US might intervene if Mexico didn’t “clean up its backyard.” 

Lopez Obrador criticized the statements and said that Mexico would not permit any foreign intervention by American armed forces to combat drug cartels in Mexico and that if Republicans continued to make such proposals, Mexico was prepared to advise American votes not to vote for the Republicans.

The below article from today’s Excelsior is translated by Fousesquawk.

 https://www.excelsior.com.mx/nacional/mexico-no-permitira-intervencion-de-fuerzas-armadas-de-eu-lopez-obrador-a-republicanos

Mexico would not permit intervention by US armed forces: Lopez Obrador to the Republicans

President Lopez Obrador said that the Republican plan is not only irresponsible but an offense against the Mexican people.

Fernando Davila

08:24

Caption: Lopez Obrador called this kind of initiative as a lack of respect for national sovereignty.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador rejected the proposal by US members of Congress in assuring that Mexico would not permit US armed forces to intervene in (Mexican) territory to combat drug traffic as they propose. This was declared by the president in his customary morning (press) conference, which today was held in the so-called bunker built by Genaro Garcia Luna when he was secretary of Security in the government of ex-president Felipe Calderon Hinojosa.

It is worth noting that this (statement) comes after yesterday, Republican senators Lindsey Graham and John Neely Kennedy announced they would present legislation that calls for the naming of drug trafficking cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

According to the US legislators, the objective of this proposal is to enable the activation of more mechanisms against them, such as authorizing the US Army to be able to intervene and fight the narco groups, including on Mexican territory.

“Once we fix our position, we are not going to permit a foreign government, nor much less, armed forces of a foreign government to intervene in our territory,” the president explained.

Lopez Obrador warned that this type of initiative, besides being irresponsible, is an offense against the people of Mexico, a lack of respect for (its) independence and sovereignty.

“And beginning today, we are going to initiate a campaign of information to the Mexicans living in the US to inform them of what we are doing in Mexico, and how this initiative of the Republicans, besides being irresponsible, is an offense to the Mexicans, a lack of respect for our independence and sovereignty,” the president commented.

In this context, the native of Tabasco also explained that his government is ready to call on people not to vote for the Republican party if its legislators continue to use Mexico for propagandistic proposals.

“If they do not change their attitude and think they are going to use Mexico for their propagandistic, electoral, and political proposals, we are going to call on people not to vote for this party because it is interventionist, inhumane, hypocritical, and corrupt, “warned Lopez Obrador.