Mexico: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Denies Mexican Drug Cartels Control Parts of Country

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has rejected claims made by U.S. State Department Secretary Antony Blinken that Mexican drug cartels control some areas in the country.

The State Secretary claimed that the Mexican government had lost control of parts of the country to Mexican drug cartels that are widely responsible for the increasing violence in the region.

On Friday, Lopez Obrador angrily rejected it and said Blinken's claims that Mexican drug cartels controlling parts of Mexico are "false" and that there is "nowhere in the country's territory" where authorities are not present, ABC News Go reported.

However, the Mexican president acknowledged that Mexican drug cartels have managed to place people inside the country's drug regulatory agency to approve imports of fentanyl precursor chemicals from China.

Lopez Obrador was referring to the federal drug regulatory agency, known by its initials in Spanish as Cofepris. He noted that cartels had "representatives in Cofepris, people lobbying inside Cofepris," adding that some officials have already been charged in that case.

Lopez Obrador's remarks came after the State Secretary said in a Senate hearing earlier this week that it was "fair to say yes," when asked if Mexican drug cartels control some areas in Mexico.

Antony Blinken on Mexican Drug Cartels' Control

On Wednesday, Antony Blinken said in the Senate hearing that he thinks there are areas in Mexico that Mexican drug cartels are controlling.

Fox News reported that the State Secretary issued the comment after Senator Lindsey Graham asked him if there are drug cartels in control of parts of Mexico and not the government of Mexico.

Graham then followed up if Blinken agreed that fentanyl coming from Mexico is killing Americans, to which he answered yes and that it is also "killing Mexicans."

Blinken also said the agency would consider declaring Mexican drug cartels as "foreign terrorist organizations under U.S. law."

The Hill earlier reported that the White House noted that labeling Mexican drug cartels as terrorist groups would result in "minimal benefit."

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that declaring the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations would not give officials additional power the U.S. does not have at this time.

Jean-Pierre noted that the country has "powerful sanctions" designed specifically on the matter.

Mexican Drug Cartels

Mexican drug cartels have been smuggling illegal narcotics into the United States, causing more than 70,000 overdose deaths per year, prompting U.S. officials to think of stricter policies to impose on Mexican drug cartels.

Former Drug Enforcement Administration agent, Mike Chavarria, noted in a NewsNation Now report that drug cartels in Mexico are criminal and terrorist organizations. He added that Mexican drug cartels are criminal organizations that kill "indiscriminately."

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador argued that fentanyl overdose in the U.S. is a problem of the U.S., saying that Mexico does "not have a consumption of fentanyl."

He also slammed U.S. military action against Mexican drug cartels, describing it as "irresponsible."

Rep. Dan Crenshaw introduced a bill to authorize military force against the Mexican drug cartels earlier this year and wondered why Lopez Obrador rejected aid from the U.S. and why he "protects the cartels," Fox News reported.

In reaction, Lopez Obrador said they would not allow "any foreign government to intervene in our territory, much less than a government's armed forces intervene."

The key players of fentanyl trafficking are the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco cartel, with DEA noting that most drugs are "mass-produced at secret factories."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: US Republicans Call for Military Intervention Into Mexico's Drug War - From DW News