We've all heard about the four Americans who ran into a cartel at the U.S.-Mexico border. It was two dead in Matamoros.  Shortly after, Senator Graham said we should "designate Mexican drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and authorize the use of military force against them."

Then came a speech by President López-Obrador.  The first part was nationalism and totally expected:

"We are not going to allow any foreign government to intervene, much less a foreign government's armed forces," López Obrador told reporters during a press conference.

"We are not a protectorate of the United States, nor a colony of the United States," he added. "Mexico is a free, independent, sovereign state."

Honestly, that's exactly what you'd expect a president to say.  It's "putting America first à la mexicana."  What else is he supposed to say?

Then AMLO stepped in it big time.  He decided to jump into the U.S. political arena.  See for yourself:

"Starting today we are going to start an information campaign for Mexicans who live and work in the United States and for all Hispanics to inform them of what we are doing in Mexico and how this initiative by the Republicans, in addition to being irresponsible, is an offense against the people of Mexico, a lack of respect for our independence, our sovereignty," he said.

"And if they do not change their attitude and think that they are going to use Mexico for their propaganda, electoral, and political purposes, we are going to call for them not to vote for that party, because it is interventionist, inhumane, hypocritical, and corrupt," Lopez Obrador said, later adding that Mexico would be insisting that "not one vote" goes to Republicans from Mexicans and Hispanics.

That's beyond stupid. It is "estúpido," and other Spanish words that I can't post in a family-friendly website.  It would have been more productive if President López-Obrador had called on the Biden administration to take the border seriously and not make it easier for these criminal organizations to operate on both sides.

Hopefully, both sides can sit down and talk about the border crisis.  First, we consume.  Yes, we do.  We are the ones going into our pockets and buying the stuff.  Second, Mexico has a bigger problem, because these well financed and armed cartels represent a direct threat to the Mexican state.

Finally, I agree with designating these groups as terrorists.  They are terrorists.  Just check the Mexican news — every day, there is a story in Mexico about murders.

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Image: Andrés Manuel López Obrador.  Credit: Wikimedia Commons, public domain.