In my government, crime was fought head-on to protect Mexican families. Security and the rule of law were priorities. We strive to take back every town and every street that was in the hands of crime. No, we are not the same. Blessed be God.
– Felipe Calderón ?? (@FelipeCalderon)
June 8, 2022
The message from the former Mexican president was given hours after the current president of Mexico challenged United States senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio to present evidence if they have them, that he has some link with organized crime and he clarified that he is not Felipe Calderón, whose head of the Secretary of Security, Genaro García Luna, is detained in that country accused of protecting a criminal group organized.
“I tell Mr. Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, but also the other one, to present evidence because I do have evidence that Mr. Ted Cruz, a senator from Texas, of Hispanic origin, has been given money by those who are in favor of the manufacture of weapons in the United States and that there is no prohibition on their sale, I have the proof,” said López Obrador.
Through his social networks, the Republican senator of Cuban origin, Marco Rubio, assured that López Obrador “has handed over sections of Mexico to the drug cartels.”
For his part, the president said he has evidence that US senators have received money from the National Rifle Association.
“Last year, I think they gave him about 120,000 dollars, the foundation is called rifle, the National Rifle Association, but these two are Republicans, also a Democrat, Mr. (Bob) Menéndez, who was the one who practically threatened that I was not going to vote in favor of President Biden’s initiatives if all the countries of the Americas were invited to the so-called Summit of the Americas,” he stated.
Although neither Cruz nor Menéndez have made any claim that President López Obrador has links with organized crime, they have criticized his government.
Senator Ted Cruz has expressed concern about civil unrest in Mexico and the breakdown of civil society. “The breakdown of the rule of law on the other side of our southern border poses a challenge to national security and dangers for the United States, in matters ranging from drug trafficking to illegal immigration,” he said last February during his participation in the Committee on Foreign Relations of the United States Senate.
He has also criticized the situation of insecurity faced by journalists in Mexico. “The current climate for politicians and journalists in Mexico is the deadliest it has ever been. In 2020, more journalists were murdered in Mexico than in any other country in the world,” he commented.
