Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks at the National Palace in Mexico City, Jan 10, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)
MEXICO CITY – Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Friday his government will not accept US intervention to fight organized crime, noting his country is capable of combatting it by itself.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that his government seeks "cooperation and not subordination"
In a speech at the 109th anniversary of the defense of the Port of Veracruz against the US invasion in 1914, Lopez Obrador said, "From the port of Veracruz, we say, and let it be heard clearly and far away: we do not accept any intervention."
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The president's remarks came amid an initiative proposed by US lawmakers to allow the country's armed forces to fight drug cartels, which they consider "terrorists," on Mexican soil.
"We do not want intervention, we do not want 'help' from anyone, it has cost us a lot to assert our sovereignty … these are matters that only correspond to Mexicans," he stressed.
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Lopez Obrador added that his government seeks "cooperation and not subordination," especially with regard to combating the illegal trafficking of fentanyl, which is consumed at a high rate in the United States.