In a phone interview broadcast by conservative reporter Bill O'Reilly on Tuesday, November 27, Donald Trump was asked if he intended to "designate cartels as terrorist groups."
"I'm going to designate them yes, absolutely, I've been working on it for 90 days, the designations are not that easy, there's a whole process and we're in the middle of this process," he told Bill O 'Reilly, former anchor of Fox News and close to the president.
The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs has simply stated in a statement that it has contacted the US authorities "to understand the content and scope" of this message. Mexico said it wants "a high-level meeting as soon as possible" to confront its point of view to that of the United States, added the Mexican diplomacy.
Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard has been more virulent. "Mexico will never admit any action that means the violation of its sovereignty, we will act with firmness," he wrote on Twitter. "I have already conveyed this position to the United States as well as our determination to deal with cross-border organized crime".
26,000 dead since the beginning of the year in Mexico
Earlier this month, three women and six children from a US-based Mormon community in northern Mexico were massacred in an attack attributed to the highly influential cartels in the border region.
Washington had urged Mexico to "declare war" on these cartels, and Donald Trump had explained that the United States was ready to help its southern neighbor.
"If Mexico needs or asks for help to get rid of these monsters, the United States is ready, willing and able to commit to getting the job done quickly and efficiently," the head of state had tweeted. American.
Mexican authorities are regularly accused of being overwhelmed by the spread of cartel violence in the country. With about 26,000 deaths since the beginning of the year in Mexico, a new record of violence could be broken in 2019.
With AFP