WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump on Friday pulled back on his stated plans to designate Mexican drug cartels as terror groups, saying he was doing so at the request of his counterpart Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Last month, Trump had called for a “war” on the cartels after the killing of nine women and children from a US-Mexican Mormon community, but south of the common border, his plans were seen as unwanted meddling. ADVERTISEMENTMexican officials asked for clarification, and said they wanted to make progress on efforts to stem the flow of weapons and money from the United States to criminal gangs in Mexico. “We will temporarily hold off this designation and step up our joint efforts to deal decisively with these vicious and ever-growing organizations!” the Republican president tweeted. The victims, including twin eight-month-old babies, were killed as they drove on a remote road between the states of Sonora and Chihuahua, in northern Mexico, a lawless region disputed by warring drug cartels.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer December 07, 2019 00:22 UTC