'You can't fight fire with fire' -Mexico's president defends decision to release El Chapo's son
Record ID:
1437377
'You can't fight fire with fire' -Mexico's president defends decision to release El Chapo's son
- Title: 'You can't fight fire with fire' -Mexico's president defends decision to release El Chapo's son
- Date: 18th October 2019
- Summary: OAXACA CITY, MEXICO (OCTOBER 18, 2019) (REUTERS) MEXICAN PRESIDENT, ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR, ARRIVES FOR NEWS CONFERENCE MEXICAN OFFICIALS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MEXICAN PRESIDENT, ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR, SAYING: "The situation became very difficult, and many citizens, many people, many human beings were at risk. And, it was decided to protect people's lives. I agreed with that, because we don't do massacres, that's over." JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MEXICAN PRESIDENT, ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR, SAYING: "The capture of a criminal cannot be worth more than people's lives. They (local authorities) took that decision and I supported it." JOURNALIST ASKING QUESTION (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MEXICAN PRESIDENT, ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR, SAYING: "No, on the contrary, this decision was made to protect citizens. You can't fight fire with fire. That's the difference with this strategy compared with what previous governments have done. We don't want deaths, we don't want war." NEWS CONFERENCE CULIACAN, MEXICO (OCTOBER 17, 2019) (REUTERS) GUNFIRE HEARD, TRUCK BURNING IN ROAD, SECURITY OFFICIALS SEEN RUNNING ACROSS STREET TRUCK BURNING IN STREET, GUNFIRE HEARD CAR BURNING IN STREET BULLET CASING
- Embargoed: 1st November 2019 14:59
- Keywords: Mexico violence shoot out arrest Guzman El Chapo son Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador
- Location: OAXACA CITY & SINALOA, MEXICO
- City: OAXACA CITY & SINALOA, MEXICO
- Country: Mexico
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001B1MH3YB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: GRAPHIC CONTENT OF DEAD BODIES IN SHOT 13
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador defended security forces on Friday (October 18) over their handling of a shocking outbreak of drug violence, saying they had saved lives by releasing a son of jailed kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman after his brief capture.
Cartel gunmen surrounded security forces in the northwestern city of Culiacan on Thursday (October 17) and made them free the drug lord's son Ovidio Guzman, after his detention triggered gunbattles and a prison break that stunned the city.
Lopez Obrador was asked at his regular morning news conference who had taken the decision to release Guzman's son, and he said that his top security officials had made the call, adding that he supported it because it saved lives.
The violent reaction in Culiacan, in Sinaloa state, to Guzman's capture was on a scale rarely seen during Mexico's long drug war, even after his more famous father's arrests.
Chaos in the city continued into the night.
A large group of inmates escaped from the city prison. Residents cowered in shopping centers and supermarkets as gunfire roared. Black plumes of smoke rose across the skyline.
Lopez Obrador, a veteran leftist who took office in December, rejected criticism that the government had acted weakly in releasing the younger Guzman.
The chaos in Culiacan, long a stronghold for the Guzmans' Sinaloa cartel, has turned up pressure on Lopez Obrador, who took office promising to pacify a country weary after more than a decade of gang violence, disappearances and shootouts.
However, murders this year are set to reach a record high.
(Production: Jose Cortes, Jesus Bustamante, Manuel Carrillo) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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