U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar. Photo: Flickr

By KELIN DILLON

On Thursday, Nov. 14, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (CSP) responded to the criticisms U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar made against former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s (AMLO) policies – just one day after the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (SRE) issued its statement on the U.S. diplomat’s comments.

Salazar specifically highlighted issues with AMLO’s “hugs, not bullets” approach to Mexico’s ongoing violence crisis, which the ambassador said “did not work,” and other aspects of Mexico’s security policy. 

“Security is the hinge of a democracy, and the people of Mexico deserve to live without fear. The hope we have is in the success of President Claudia Sheinbaum,” Salazar said during a press conference held at the U.S. Embassy on Wednesday, Nov. 13. “The government tells the people there are no problems, but this is not based on reality.”

“If security is to be achieved, it must be done as partners, respecting sovereignty. This coordination has failed in large part because the previous president, López Obrador, did not want to accept the support of the United States, and he closed the doors to investments of 32 million dollars,” continued the ambassador, going to urge Sheinbaum’s acceptance of U.S. aid to combat the issue.

“Saying that there is no problem, blaming others, blaming the  United States as is very obviously done, that is not what is required to fix security in Mexico,” concluded the U.S. diplomat.

The SRE quickly issued a statement in response to Salazar’s vocalizations later on Wednesday, saying that “Mexico expresses its surprise at the messages issued by the current United States Ambassador to our country.”

For her part, Sheinbaum characterized Salazar’s words as having a “disparity” from his previous commentary.

“First, it is worth saying that there are differences between what the United States Ambassador says one day and what he says another day, such was the case, for example, with the reform of the judicial branch,” said the federal executive. “On one occasion, he said that it seemed fine to him for a week, but then he said it was going to be very bad for Mexico.”

“There has to be logic in the statements that one makes; one cannot first declare one thing and then declare another,” concluded Sheinbaum.