Mexico鈥檚 president appealed to the country鈥檚 citizens Tuesday not to accept holiday handouts and gifts from drug gangs, after videos posted online showed garish pickup trucks handing out loads of gifts while bystanders described the drivers as members of the Jalisco drug cartel.
President Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador confirmed that some drug gangs were looking to resume such giveaways 鈥 often seen years ago 鈥 to gain the support of the local population.
L贸pez Obrador said in his morning press briefing that local residents in some communities have tried to protect traffickers, stop drug seizures or oppose the installation of National Guard bases intended to fight drug trafficking.
Authorities have not confirmed the source of the gifts 鈥 mostly toys 鈥 in the Dec. 21 handout in a low-income neighborhood in the city of Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco state.
A convoy of trucks carrying inflatable Santa decorations and Christmas lights drove through the neighborhood, blaring 鈥渘arco corrido鈥 songs praising the Jalisco cartel and a local leader of the gang, known by the alias 鈥淩R.鈥
A bystander in one video clip is heard saying, 鈥淎ll RR鈥檚 people. Who says they don鈥檛 give you anything? Why doesn鈥檛 the government do the same?鈥
Asked about the videos Tuesday, L贸pez Obrador conceded the practice was re-emerging; in the 2010s, such cartel Christmas gift rounds were common in the northern border state of Tamaulipas. L贸pez Obrador said it was part of a strategy by criminal gangs to win popular support.
鈥淪ince the start of this administration, we knew, it was obvious, it was public record, that criminal gangs were relying a lot on social bases, on people in the communities,鈥 the president said. 鈥漈hey use the people as (human) shields.鈥
鈥淟ately, some groups are trying to revive this (gift-giving) method by getting people to support them,鈥 L贸pez Obrador said. 鈥淲hen there is a cocaine seizure, communities come out and defend the traffickers, and even try to abduct members of the army and (National) Guard, to prevent the seizure of the cocaine.鈥
Local residents in three states have also held demonstrations against the construction of barracks for the National Guard. L贸pez Obrador attributed what he described as 鈥渢hree or four cases鈥 of local opposition to cartel influence. However, in the case of demonstrations in Mexico City, residents have said they view the barracks as unnecessary, environmentally damaging or likely to increase violence in the neighborhood.
Mexico鈥檚 most massive show of local support for criminal gangs has come for fuel-theft gangs that drill into government pipelines to steal gasoline and diesel. Because the fuel thieves let local people also collect gas from the illegal taps, many communities fought raids by police and the army.
But L贸pez Obrador said his campaign against fuel theft has weakened that type of collaboration with criminals.
鈥淭here was this type of support, all of that has been disappearing because people know it is illegal and they shouldn鈥檛 protect criminals,鈥 the president said. 鈥淲hat I tell people is that they shouldn't let themselves be manipulated, they shouldn't protect these gangs.鈥
