Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador started a new international controversy by attempting to free a former Guatemalan guerrilla leader who is serving 175 years in prison for murder. The Guatemalan man killed three soldiers who were looking for drug-trafficking landing strips.
This week, Lopez Obrador (AMLO) announced that he and his government were negotiating with Guatemala for the release of 83-year-old Cesar Montes — a former guerilla leader who is seen as a hero in leftist circles.
“He is a person, a leader that is accused of some crimes, he is jailed,” AMLO said. “He is older and we are looking with Guatemala the possibility of a pardon and him coming to Mexico, that we give him asylum in our country. We are looking at that.”
According to El Pais, Montes’ real name is Julio Cesar Macias Lopez. He was a leader in the guerrilla movement during the Guatemalan civil war. In 2022, Montes received a 175-year sentence for having ordered the murder of three soldiers. The soldiers were searching for clandestine landing strips used by drug traffickers in the rural parts of Guatemala. The murder took place in 2019 and Montes fled the country and became Guatemala’s most wanted criminal, Euro24 reported.
In response to AMLO’s statement, Guatemalan Presidential candidate and former congressional leader Zury Rios shared on social media a strong-worded response claiming that in her country they don’t hug criminals. The statement makes light of Lopez Obrador’s famed comment over his failed strategy of using a soft approach against cartels commonly called “hugs and not bullets” as a way to end violence.
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.
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