AMLO to investigate US-Mexico border crossings by innocent people | Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Story

The president of Mexico has vowed to investigate the border clashes that killed 19 people over the weekend, despite the recent spate of assassinations.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said evidence showed that 15 of the victims were innocent. The other four victims were thought to have been gunmen from a group pointing to the northern city of Reynosa and firing indiscriminately.

“Everything shows that it was not an argument, but a commando that shot the people who did not take part in the conflict,” said López Obrador.

Reynosa is across the border from McAllen, Texas, and has been battling between Gulf cartel groups. But these conflicts often lead to bandits or terrorists. His victims on Saturday were taxi drivers, staff and student nurse.

Authorities continue to investigate why, even in the past, drug traffickers have sometimes used illicit killings to provoke gangs or intimidate the authorities.

López Obrador called on the prosecution to take the case and promised to “investigate further”.

María Elena Morera, head of the Common Cause Crime Corps, said many people have adopted such violence.

“The people of Mexico are accustomed to all this violence, without any action,” Morera said. “When there’s a lot of violence, people don’t like to let go of the hurt, and quit.”

Saturday’s killings in Reynosa, as well as the number of homicides in the country, show that López Obrador’s “embrace, not bullet” approach does not really help the killing.

There were 2,963 executions in May, the most recent month of which numbers are available, more than May 2020 and more than the winning numbers when López Obrador took office in December 2018.

The government says homicides have dropped by 2.9% in the first five months of 2021 compared to 2020, but this may be because January and February this year were marked by the worst hurricane in Mexico, when public works were reduced.

“This is nothing,” Morera said of the drop. It is as if the patient were fainting and then saying good-bye. ”

Tamaulipas Governor Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca described the victims in Reynosa as “innocent citizens”, saying, “Terrorist organizations must receive a clear, convincing and strong signal from the judiciary that there will be no place for impunity, or tolerance for their crimes.”

García Cabeza de Vaca is a member of the National Action Party and is being investigated by the attorney general’s office on charges of embezzlement and money laundering – which he says are part of López Obrador’s plan to attack him.

Local businessman Misael Chavarria Garza said many businesses closed early on Saturday after the protests and people panicked as helicopters flew overhead.

On the Sabbath, he said, “People were silent as if nothing had happened, but they are angry because now crime has been committed against innocent people.”

The attack led to the deployment of troops, the National Guard and the city police.

Violent activity in the region has been under Gulf control and there have been explosions in the area. Experts say there has been a struggle within the group since 2017 over control of key areas that sell drugs and trafficking people. Evidently, a single cell from a nearby town must have entered Reynosa in order to carry out the attack.

Olga Ruiz, whose 19-year-old brother Fernando Ruiz was killed by the robbers, said his brother was working as a money maker and bricklayer at a company where his adoptive father paid for his education.

“He killed her with cold blood, she and her two friends,” said Olga Ruiz, adding that the men with the guns arrived while her brother was repairing a canal.

“He heard gunshots in the distance and my stepfather told him: ‘Son, you have to hide.’ “So he asked for permission to enter the house but my brother and those with him were just about to enter when the cars arrived,” said Ruiz. “He stood in front of them and fired.”

López Obrador tried to avoid conflicts with drug trafficking groups, sometimes releasing a major drug dealer to avoid bloodshed. They tend to focus more on tackling social problems such as youth unemployment.

Earlier this month, López Obrador praised drug dealers for not disrupting the June 6 voting vote, despite thirteen people being killed at the rallies.

“The people in the criminal group did well, in particular, there were fewer acts of violence committed by these groups,” the President said. “I think the evil criminals did worse than this.”