In bloody drug war, Mexico’s new leader may try negotiating
“More than through the use of force, we will tend to the causes that give rise to insecurity and violence,” the president-elect added. He said his team will immediately begin consulting with human rights groups, religious leaders and the United Nations to develop a “plan for reconciliation and peace.”
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador… who won on Sunday after two previous attempts at the presidency, wants to rewrite the rules of the drug war, aides said, suggesting negotiated peace and amnesties for some of the very people currently being targeted by security forces. “The failed strategy of combating insecurity and violence will change,” Lopez Obrador said in his victory speech Sunday night, repeating his call to address the socioeconomic ills that push people toward the drug trade and other crimes … For some residents, who have few options for income outside the drug trade, a truce is appealing. One local mother, whose 14-year-old son harvested opium as a young child and now is a gang lookout, said he is almost destined to become a hit man. “He never had any opportunities,” said the mother, who declined to be identified because she feared punishment by gang members. Now, she believes, settlement with the government could help him avoid a tragic end. “Amnesty is the only way,” she said.
Original Article (Reuters):
In Bloody Drug War Mexico Mexicos Leader May Try Negotiating
Artwork Fair Use: aldomouzinho
