LATAM between the hugs and not bullets of López Obrador in Mexico and the controversial unprecedented offensive of the government of El Salvador.

The passivity with which President López Obrador confronts Transnational Organized Crime already seems untenable to many analysts, politicians, and US citizens, and the demand by the House of Representatives and the Senate to declare them terrorist groups and even request the support of the armed forces of the United States, is growing every day and precisely when Mexico is already reaching the figure of 150,000 deaths so far in the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador and when the fentanyl epidemic seems to exceed the American Union's the US authorities themselves, in the midst of the crisis over the kidnapping of US citizens in Matamoros, two of whom were murdered; The President of Mexico does not know how to overcome internal and external pressures, he issues meaningless statements, denies the obvious (We all know that fentanyl is produced in Mexico and that Mexico is also presenting an alarming increase in the rate of drug use and deaths associated with addictions), last week the Mexican government had urgent visits from officials from security areas of the White House and the Department of Defense. On Wednesday she was in Mexico, meeting with prosecutor Gertz Manero, Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, who is President Biden's National Security Advisor, and thursday the Undersecretary for National Defense and Hemispheric Affairs, Melissa Dalton, was there to meet with General Luis Cresencio Sandoval. They did not come to talk only about Matamoros: the matter of that border city is perhaps the straw that broke the camel's back, but the real issue is fentanyl trafficking and the dismantling of drug gangs in Mexico. That's what they came to talk about, that's what they demand.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is managing to unify Mexico and the United States… but against him. It is no longer just Republican lawmakers or extremists who are clamoring for an end to the violence and fentanyl poisoning of tens of miles of their fellow citizens. The extreme situation begins to erase the differences between Democrats and Republicans.

The poor Lopezobradorista defense, invoking the sovereignty of Mexico is false, because the right of anyone ends where the right of third parties begins.

 And Mexico cannot invoke sovereignty when the consequences of its inaction are violating the sovereignty of the United States of America, claiming more than 100,000 lives a year in the United States.

The Americans, they want to help combat a problem that both nations share jointly and what better way than to do it interagency, but it seems that this is not accepted by López Obrador and he rejects any help. The question is, why that reaction from López Obrador? When at the cry of “Help us help” comes Dan Crenshaw, a Republican lawmaker from Texas who is actively promoting the US Authorization to Use Military Force (AUF) initiative to take on the Mexican cartels. Crenshaw said it is time for military force to be authorized against them and urged President López Obrador to be their partner in this crusade. "Help us help", the message from the Texan congressman to López Obrador.

The current Mexican reality, with the failed strategy of López Obrador, is that the authorities will only react to the advances of criminal groups and leave the initiative to them. That is the reason why, beyond a few beatings and arrests, criminal groups have become increasingly empowered, daring to carry out actions that they have never carried out before and even less so with such impunity. Be that as it may, Mexico, its government and its president once again become the epicenter of political debate in the upper echelons of the United States.

It was evident and it was seen coming; Since López Obrador took power and dismantled the entire Federal Police, removed the CISEN from the Ministry of the Interior and placed it in the Ministry of Security, the resounding failure of the "hugs, not bullets" has been seen, because they were being giving to criminals what the president promised during his campaign: a covert amnesty. There are no large arrests, there are no large seizures, eradication has been drastically restricted, certain elite groups that had been brewing for years have been dismantled, even with international support, we are not having intelligence dialogue with other countries (It only occurs specific information). exchanges with the United States and there are no validated interlocutors for strategic exchanges, and the same happens with other countries). Whether it is called war or not, drug trafficking and organized crime must be fought because with the current Mexican strategy, the only thing that is increasing and growing is the number of murders, drug trafficking, drug addicts, increasing robberies, kidnappings and extortions Never before President Andrés Manuel López Obrador had been as weak and cornered as he is now, the pressures that President López Obrador faces today have very few solutions today, but many consequences tomorrow.

On the other hand we see Nayib Bukeleel President of El Salvador who is the Central American political sensation, along with Andrés Manuel López Obrador, heads the list of the most popular leaders in the world. Both won their presidential elections with votes that exceeded 50 percent of the preferences.

The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, has shaken power in his country. Using an anti-crime discourse, Salvadoran activists and journalists accuse him of being in an authoritarian frenzy to guarantee his re-election in 2024.

Contrary to López Obrador's strategy of hugs not bullets; Bukele ended up suppressing human rights and deploying a media strategy to show all his muscle against the number one public problem in the country: gangs and the violence that characterizes them.

According to The Los Angeles Times, since 2019, Bukele and his allies in Congress have taken control of the Supreme Court, have replaced the attorney general with a Bukele ally, and have removed hundreds of prosecutors and lower court judges.

Human Rights Watch describes the process as "a purge" that has left "virtually no independent institutions capable of overseeing the executive branch."

In a nation where the population is more than fed up with the siege of gang members, the firm speech outlined by Bukele has had a positive reception.

Especially considering the progress that was made in the matter once Bukele took power.

Bukele faces various criticisms, especially from international organizations such as the Organization of American States or the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights— for his political decisions.

While in Mexico President López Obrador has stressed that the security strategy is no longer based on the use of force, in El Salvador the force and violence of the State, promoted through the powerful presidential speech, are the main strategy

Gangs in El Salvador are known and constitute a criminal organization with its own resources, hierarchies, and criminal objectives.

From 1994 to 2021, El Salvador occupied the first position in homicides per 100,000 inhabitants for 15 years, was making it the most dangerous country in the world, according to United Nations data.

In 2012, the United States included Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha 13 on its list of international criminal organizations. And just before Bukele took office, Operation Cuscatlán was launched, dealing a heavy blow to the finances of the MS-13 gang.

Bukele's rise to the presidency has unleashed a further crackdown on these criminal gang groups. During the pandemic, hundreds of gang members, from both gangs, were arrested and packed into the same cells. In addition, the president launched a strategy of persecution that leaves behind certain constitutional guarantees and that has been criticized for violating human rights.

In March 2022, Nayib declared an emergency regime that declared war on the gangs. This exceptional regime suspends some constitutional rights of Salvadorans such as capture without a warrant. Under this situation, thousands of soldiers and police have already arrested almost 35,000 presumed gang members without a warrant. These practices have been denounced by some non-governmental organizations such as Human Rights Watch.

Similarly; The Confinement Center for Terrorism was recently inaugurated in El Salvador, which is already known as the largest prison in the Americas. A maximum security penitentiary center in which around 2,000 gang members have already been interned, with a maximum capacity for 40,000 prisoners and in which 600 soldiers and 250 police officers work. What a challenge for the present ...!!!

I recently published an article in OFCS-Report titled Can Terrorism and Organized Crime be Fighted by Violating Human Rights? Reflecting on a topic that causes a lot of controversy.

The government of El Salvador assures that since these gang members were imprisoned, these actions have implied a considerable decrease in homicides, in which instead of 100 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants now only single-digit figures are presented.

To date, Bukele has dealt with national applause and some international criticism. In 2021, legislative elections were held in El Salvador in which Bukele's party swept 66% of the votes, making popular support and control of the entire Parliament unquestionable.

In fact, in 2021, there were the lowest number of homicides by gang members of all time: 1,140 for the entire year. Within the framework of the emergency regime, Bukele would have arrested 64,000 gang members, including some 1,600 minors.

These data make Bukele praised internally and continue to grow in popularity. In addition, in neighboring countries such as Honduras or Guatemala, citizens have organized marches in favor of the Bukele government.

However, not all of the international community looks favorably on the Salvadoran government. The European Union, Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch denounce several illegal episodes committed during the president's government: violations against human rights due to the lack of transparency in the emergency regime, the military takeover of the Legislative Assembly in 2020 or its abuse of power during the Covid-19 pandemic, among others.

The Government of El Salvador assures that in order to control organized crime and combat the Maras it is necessary to make extraordinary decisions to put an end to the violence and recover the human rights of Salvadorans who have been systematically violated.

Everything points to Bukele running again in the 2024 elections as a candidate for the presidency. In fact, the 2021 legislative elections and public opinion polls place the current president with an 86% advantage in El Salvador and in the Central American region.

In Mexico, his internal law prohibits re-election but Lopez Obrador will seek permanence in power with a successor to his MORENA political party.

The response of the international community to the results of the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the 2024 elections that will be very close, with suspicion of the intervention of organized crime in them, has yet to be seen, likewise, we will have to see to this international community and the reaction it will have before the eminent re-election of Bukele in the next general elections. There are already several organizations that denounce the repressive Salvadoran government, however, Bukele seems not to be concerned about the obvious ones. His success resides mainly in the political discourse that he promulgates and through which he insists that the only policies that are working against the gangs are those of his current government, while previous Administrations have only promoted failed peace proposals that endangered the population.

What legal consequences will both leaders have in the future for the decisions made? Time will tell.