AMLO admits that he has sought agreements with criminal groups

MEXICO CITY (EFE).— President Andrés Manuel López Obrador acknowledged yesterday that his government “has sought agreements” with criminal groups on the southern borderwhich suffers a wave of violence due to drug cartel disputes.

“A way has been sought to reach agreements. We, in truth, what we urge is not to carry out illegal acts, that is what we do, and to take care of the civilian population and not allow ourselves to be intimidated by anyone, they must understand that violence cannot be confronted with violence. ”, he declared in his morning conference.

AMLO responded to questions from the press regarding whether the Ministry of the Interior (Segob) does something for dialogue with these groups in Chiapas, where indigenous peoples have denounced a “civil war” atmosphere by organized crime, which has displaced them from their communities.

In addition to the search for an end to crime, the President stated that he has deployed the National Guard, which protects the civilian population and that there is no “complicity” with any gang.

“No (the criminals pressure me), because I don’t let myself, I don’t let myself be pressured by anyone, I don’t establish relationships of complicity with anyone. What was happening before? Why did everything get complicated? Because some were protected and others were persecuted,” he said.

The controversy over organized crime in the south grew following, on Sunday, a group of hooded men intercepted the ruling party’s presidential candidate, Claudia Sheinbaum, while traveling on the roads of Chiapas, where they asked him “not to forget” the border.

They deny that it was a setup

The masked men, who belong to an alleged civil self-defense group, denied in a video on Wednesday that they were part of a “montage” by the opposition, as denounced by López Obrador, who was asked “to tell things as they are.” .

“They have every right to express themselves, nothing more than I believe that it is still propaganda and that we are not here to celebrate it, that if they are citizens and are worried regarding violence, regarding the lack of tranquility, of peace, can they “Why are they hooded?” he said.

And he added that “they should not be involved in criminal organizations. “You cannot confront violence with violence.”

Likewise, he rejected the accusations of the opposition candidate, Xóchitl Gálvez, that crime influences the elections. “I do not agree with her, with all due respect, the electoral authorities are doing their job. Whenever there is an election, violence or fear is used,” he said.

Read also: Hooded men stop Claudia Sheinbaum in Chiapas; AMLO accuses montage