Cartel gunmen had taken to the streets in response to Mr. Guzmán’s arrest. But the Sinaloa cartel won, the government capitulated to its terror, and gangsters continue to have a level of control in swaths of the country. On Friday, President López Obrador defended the decision to give in to the cartel’s demand to release Mr. Guzmán, saying it avoided a massacre. “With justice, we will guarantee peace and tranquillity in the country.” The problem is that his government is absolutely not guaranteeing peace and tranquillity, and violence rages daily. The call to set Mr. Guzmán free in the midst of the fighting was a tough decision.

Source: New York Times October 21, 2019 19:07 UTC