Mexico and the United States could agree on increased cooperation against armed gangs after the massacre of nine Americans belonging to the Mormon religious community in the north of the country. Mexico City has since confirmed the deaths of three women and six children.

This new outbreak of violence in Mexico raises the age-old question of the security management of visibly outdated authorities, particularly in the north of the country.

Security Minister Alfonso Durazo said on Tuesday that the attack on the LeBaron family in Rancho de la Mora, on the border of the northern states of Sonora and Chihuahua, could have been the result of a "confusion", the convoy of Mormons having been taken for another armed group. Chihuahua prosecutor Cesar Augusto Peniche said "criminal groups were fighting in this area".

The North American neighbor, anxious not only to curb the flow of migrants but also to maintain calm on its southern border, urged Mexico to "declare war" on drug cartels in the area.

"If Mexico needs or asks for help to get rid of these monsters, the United States is ready to do the job quickly and efficiently," tweeted US President Donald Trump.

.... monsters, the United States stands ready, willing and able to get involved and do the job quickly and effectively. The great new President of Mexico has made this a big issue, but the cartels have become so large and powerful that you sometimes need an army to defeat an army!

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 5, 2019

The latter and his Mexican counterpart Andrès Manuel Lopez Obrador, who will celebrate in less than a month the first anniversary of his arrival in power, spoke by telephone on Tuesday afternoon. They spoke of "the efforts to combat the increasingly violent behavior of cartels and criminal groups in the region," said White House spokesman Hogan Gidley. The two men also spoke of "continued cooperation along the border".

Nearly 26,000 violence-related deaths in Mexico in 2019

"All the cooperation that will be needed is what I am going to discuss with Trump now," Andrès Manuel Lopez Obrador reacted Tuesday morning at his daily press conference.

While thanking his American counterpart, the Mexican leader stressed the need to "consider ways in which it would be possible to help, while ensuring respect for our sovereignty, as (the United States) do and as other countries do it ".

Mexico already benefits from extensive US security assistance, including the Merida Initiative, which has provided $ 1.8 billion since 2008 to combat drug trafficking, crime and impunity. are rife in the country.

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But President Lopez Obrador, akin to the populist left, has already argued that he wants to end the plan and that funds should be used for "economic development" rather than "helicopter attacks".

However, with the situation on the northern border of Mexico, which continues to worsen, he may be forced to revise his position. With 25,890 deaths since the beginning of the year in Mexico, a new record of violence could be beaten in 2019.

He has already asked for US assistance to stem the flow of "made in the USA" arms that floods Mexico. This illegal market generates a profit of 127 million dollars a year in the coffers of the American armaments industry.

With AFP