Small Wars Journal

Mexico, Under U.S. Pressure, Adds Muscle to Fight Against Drug Cartels

Sat, 02/08/2020 - 8:09am

Mexico, Under U.S. Pressure, Adds Muscle to Fight Against Drug Cartels by José de Córdoba and Sadie Gurman - Wall Street Journal

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, under pressure from the Trump administration, has beefed up his strategy to fight drug cartels, including bringing the marines, Mexico’s elite security force, back to the front lines of the drug war.

The moves mark a shift by Mexico from a counternarcotics strategy that largely ended the pursuit of high-profile arrests and focused almost exclusively on poverty alleviation.

“We are operating again,” said a senior Mexican navy officer. “The targets we need to go after have been defined.”

The change in strategy comes amid growing alarm in Washington at Mexico’s failure to crack down on drug gangs, particularly after the November massacre of nine U.S. citizens by suspected cartel hit men. Preliminary Mexican government figures indicate an increase in the number of murders in Mexico last year, after a record 36,685 in 2018…

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