Mexico's president unveils plan to combat cartel violence, but it seems like a repeat of the same thing

The Mexican president unveils plan to combat cartel violence, but it seems like a repeat of the same thing.

2024-10-09 01:34 Last updated: 01:40

MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexico's new president unveiled a plan to combat drug cartel violence on Tuesday, but analysts say it seems mostly a continuation of previous policies.

President Claudia Sheinbaum plans to step up intelligence and investigative efforts, but appears to be primarily focused on the "hugs, not bullets" approach used by her predecessor.

Sheinbaum took over last week from her mentor, former President AndrГ©s Manuel LГіpez Obrador, who refused to confront the cartels and instead relied on appeals to militants and gangs to keep the peace.

"There is a continuity in the militarization of security," says Mexican security analyst David Saucedo. "Social programs that try to prevent young people from being recruited into organized crime will also continue."

Omar Garcia Harfuch, Sheinbaum's top security official, said, "We will continue the strategy that began under President AndrГ©s Manuel LГіpez Obrador's administration, giving priority attention to the poorest families."

Mike Vigil, a former head of overseas operations at the DEA, said the new plan looks like "more of the same."

In 2023, Mexico's murder rate is about 24 per 100, 000 people, more than four times that of the United States. But officials said they were also worried about extortion, a crime that cartels have increasingly turned to to supplement their income, along with migrant smuggling.

Sheinbaum blamed the murders in Guanajuato, Mexico's state with the highest murder rate, on low wages.

"Clearly, the development model has failed in Guanajuato," she said.

But Saucedo says poverty doesn't explain it. Guanajuato is an industrial and agricultural center with a relatively high rate of drug use, but it also has railroads and highways that are contested by cartels.

"If you follow that logic, the whole country has the same problem.

In the final weeks of Lopez Obrador's presidency, Mexico's Congress formally transferred the National Guard to the control of the Ministry of Defense. The 120, 000-strong force was meant to be under civilian command, but was already largely trained and recruited by the military.

The shortcomings of that militaristic approach are most evident in rural cities and towns. The National Guard, like soldiers, make routine patrols and set up security lines, but do little street-based investigation like the police, making relatively few arrests and even fewer filing criminal cases.

Local residents say National Guard officers often refuse to leave their bases until they receive orders from headquarters, even if a crime is happening outside. And a significant portion of National Guard forces are now assigned not to fighting crime, but to rounding up migrants before they reach the U. S. border.

Garcia Harfuch on Tuesday promised to make the National Guard function more like a police force.

He promised to create a sort of national security academy to train law enforcement and set up an office to consolidate intelligence on gangs collected by the Army, Navy and federal agents.

"What's needed is to turn the intelligence the state has into an investigation," says Garcia Harfuch, a former Mexico City police chief.

Sheinbaum faces ongoing problems, as exemplified by the murder last week of the mayor of Chilpancingo, the capital of the southern state of Guerrero, whose head was apparently decapitated and left on the roof of a pickup truck in the gang-controlled town.

In the northern state of Sinaloa, violence has intensified after two Sinaloa cartel leaders flew to the United States and were captured in July. The two leaders belonged to different factions of the cartel, and infighting has been fueled by the belief that one leader forced the other onto a plane.

Homicides from January to August this year are down 10. 7% from the peak during the same period in 2018, but that year was an outlier due to cartel turf wars. Homicides in the first eight months of 2024 were 8. 6% higher than in 2017, under Lopez Obrador's predecessor, Enrique PeГ±a Nieto.

Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum greets troops at Campo Marte in Mexico City, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Fil e-The morning after taking office, Mexico's President Claudia Shinebaum (photographed October 2, 2024) performing media briefing at the National Palace of Mexico City. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)

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Residents who clean up after the Hurricane "Milton"

2024-10-11 18:40 Last update: 18: 50

St. Petersburg, Florida Storical Petersburg (AP) -Siders in Florida repair the damage caused by the hurricane Milton, the hurricane "Milton" destroys the regional community along the coast, shattered the houses. After flooding and generating a fatal tornado, we are trying to think about what to do next on Friday.

At least eight people have died, but many people have a relief that Milton did not get any further. Hurricane escaped directly on tumplings with high population density, and the deadly storm surge of scientists was afraid.

Just two weeks after the catastrophic Huren, which caused the catastrophic damage, the Hurricane flooded the barrier island, broke the roof of the Tampa Bay Raise baseball stadium, and collapsed the construction cranes.

As the cleaning work continues, more than 2. 5 million customers in Florida remain power outages on Friday morning. However, the important tourism industry in Florida has begun to return to normal, and some theme parks are preparing to resume.

In the evening of Thursday, a flood of cars south of the Metropolitan Expressway 75, a major trunk road running in the central part of the state, occurred. Sometimes some cars ran on the left shoulder of the road. Bucket trucks and fuel tank trolley passed along with the trailer of a simple toilet and an emergency vehicle.

The residents rushed back to see if their house collapsed or helped, but it was still difficult to find gasoline. On Wednesday night, the gas station was still closed in Okara, which took more than two and a half hours north of the category 3 near the Sarasota County Siesta Key landed.

Natasha Ducre and her husband Terry felt good to be alive. Milton removed the tin roof of a cobblestone house near the Northern Northern block of the Manate River for about 45 minutes by car from the tampa. While the storms were rampant on Wednesday, Milton decided to leave the house because he grew up, and the couple was reluctant to evacuate from the 3LDK house where they lived with three children and two grandchildren. did. She believes that this decision saved their lives.

When they returned, their home's roof lay in sheets on the street, wooden beams where the ceiling had been exposed to the sky. Inside, fiberglass insulation hung in shreds, their belongings were soaked by rain, and shattered chunks of drywall were scattered everywhere.

"It wasn't much, but it was ours. But it was ours," they said. "And it's gone."

With no shelters available and hotel rooms out of reach, they're cramming into Terry Ducre's mother's house for now. What will happen next is unclear.

"Natasha DucrГ© said, 'What do I do next? What do I do?'

Meanwhile, Florida theme parks, including Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld, are scheduled to reopen on Friday after assessing the impact of the storm.

Orlando International Airport said it would resume domestic and international departures on Friday after resuming domestic arrivals on Thursday night. The airport suffered minor damage, including leaks and downed trees.

Simon Forster, his wife and two children enjoyed two extra days of their two-week vacation on busy International Drive in Orlando's tourist district on Thursday after Milton prevented them from returning to Scotland as planned on Wednesday evening. Hurricanes seem to be haunting them for the first time since 2022's Hurricane Ian.

"There are worse places to spend two extra days here," he said.

This article has been updated to correct the surname of the couple whose home was severely damaged. It's DucrГ©, not Shannon.

Payne and Daly reported from Palmetto, Fla. Associated Press writers Holly Reimer and Cathy McCormack in New Hampshire, Terry Spencer in Matlacha, Fla., Stephanie Matatto in Fort Pierce, Fla., Frida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale, Michael Goldberg in Minneapolis and Jeff Martin in Atlanta contributed.

A tree downed by Hurricane Milton lies on a mansion in Siesta Key, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A truck drives through a flooded road in Siesta Key, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, after Hurricane Milton passed through. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A broken sign and other debris lie next to the Gilligan's Island Bar & Grill after Hurricane Milton passed through, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Siesta Key, Florida. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Sarasota, Fla., people visit a familiar beach in Siesta Key, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, that was already devastated by Hurricane Helene and lost several more feet of sand from Hurricane Milton. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A car backs up after encountering deeper water on a flooded road in Siesta Key, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, after Hurricane Milton passed through. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Natasha DucrГ© surveys the kitchen of her devastated home, which lost most of its roof during Hurricane Milton, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Palmetto, Fla. DucrГ© and her husband, three children and two grandchildren, weathered the storm in a government shelter and returned to find their home uninhabitable and much of their furniture and belongings destroyed by rainwater. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Debris wraps around a tree in Siesta Key, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, after Hurricane Milton. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A tree lies on top of a mansion in Siesta Key, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, after Hurricane Milton. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A pickup passes through a flooded guard gate in Siesta Key, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, after Hurricane Milton. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Floodwaters recede on a street where piles of debris from Hurricane Helene's floodwaters remain outside many homes, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, after Hurricane Milton. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)