Mexican murders rising

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador acknowledged in a state of the nation address Tuesday that murders and extortion by organized crime gangs had increased since he came to power.

The left-wing populist, who took office in December 2018, is struggling to rein in violent crime widely blamed on the country's drug cartels and other criminal gangs.

Obrador said in a speech at the presidential palace that intentional homicides had risen by 7.9 percent and extortion by 12.7 percent which is "fundamentally linked to so-called organized crime."

He said that his administration's strategy was focused on "providing work, education and welfare for people who are at risk of being recruited by criminal groups, especially the young."

Mexico registered 20,494 murders in the first seven months of 2020, compared with 19,357 in the same period of 2018, according to official figures.

AFP