The U.S. ambassador to Mexico had harsh words for the Mexican government recently — accusing it of "closing the doors" on security cooperation between the two countries.
U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar said in a press conference that the Mexican government’s “hugs not bullets” strategy for dealing with violence has failed, and that Mexico has “closed the doors” on security cooperation between the two governments.
This comes as the Mexican state of Sinaloa experiences a wave of intercartel violence. Other parts of the country have also seen spikes in violence recently — 10 people were killed in a bar in Querétaro in central Mexico this month.
Salazar said Mexico started to shut itself off from security cooperation between the two countries after the U.S. apprehended two cartel leaders earlier this year. He also accused Mexico’s government of minimizing the problem of violence in the country.
“The reality is right now, Mexico is not safe,” Salazar said.
Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, says Salazar has previously praised the cooperation between the two countries, and Mexico can make its own decisions about how it handles violence inside its borders.
“We coordinate, we work together, but there isn’t subordination,” Sheinbaum said.
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