No war on narcos, Mexico’s new president vows as she outlines plan to reduce violence
According to the Los Angeles Times, on Tuesday, October 8th, rejecting a renewed “war” against drug traffickers, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum unveiled her strategy to battle organized crime in a nation where each day brings word of new assassinations, gang wars, massacres, and other bloodshed.
“The war against el narco will not return,” Sheinbaum, who took office last week, said in her daily news conference.
Instead, she outlined a four-point strategy that emphasized intelligence-gathering, troop deployment, improved federal-state coordination, and providing opportunities to dissuade impoverished young people from joining organized crime — which is among Mexico’s major employers.
A centerpiece of the plan is doubling down on the often-criticized “hugs not bullets” strategy of Sheinbaum’s predecessor and mentor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
During his six-year term, López Obrador de-emphasized direct conflict with cartels and instead bolstered scholarships, job training, economic aid, and other initiatives in a bid to provide alternative career paths for at-risk youth.
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