President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador asked cartels to “slow down” violence as Mexico experiences more than 3,000 murders a month despite the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“Not even because we have the situation of the Coronavirus they have lowered (murders),” Lopez Obrador said. “Don’t come here now saying that you are giving away food. It would be better if you slowed down [violence].”
The president’s statements come at a time when Mexico’s Executive Secretariat Office released the most recent crime report which recorded 3,000 murders for March 2020. The report also showed a slight increase in total crimes from February to March, when Mexico began to feel the effects of the pandemic.
Despite many residents staying indoors and most businesses closing, cartels continue to fight for drug production territories and trafficking routes to the U.S.
Criminal organizations including the Gulf Cartel, Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion, Los Zetas, and the daughters of jailed Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman tried to improve their images by delivering food packages to poor communities.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
Tony Aranda from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report.