On the weekend, around 19 people killed in a gunfight in the northern part of Mexico. The recent development will increase the ongoing tension between the United States and Mexico. President Donald Trump previously supported the idea of declaring Mexican cartels as a terrorist organization.
Mexican authorities revealed that the Northeast cartel group started attacking various government offices in Villa Union town on Saturday. Villa Union is a small town located in the northern part of the country. The town is extremely close to the United States border. The law enforcing agency reacted immediately after the attack. There are multiple clashes among the security forces and drug cartels over the weekend have been reported. As a result, around 19 people lost their lives, including 13 cartel members. Four personnel from the security agency and two civilians also killed during the encounter, the Governor of Coahuila, Miguel Riquelme, confirmed. Previously, the spokespersons suspected as high as 23 deaths, but later the number decreased to 19.
President Trump’s Proposal
Last week, President Trump proposed to declare the cartel groups as terrorist groups, owing to the increasing instances of gunfights in the country. While offering an interview with Bill O’Reilly, a former host in Fox News, President Trump revealed his plan. However, Trump has not proposed the idea officially.
Response from Mexico
On the other hand, Mexican officials and the government expressed their concern over the proposed idea by President Trump. They fear the possibility of the arrival of the United States troops for combating with the drug cartels. If that happens, it will be a serious threat to the sovereignty of Mexico, one official added.
President Trump proposed the same idea before, as well. Last month, he suggested the same idea on the microblogging site Twitter. He offered military support to the Mexican government for the battle against drug cartels. But, the new government of Mexico denied the offerings.
