Foreign Ministry response to President Trump's Tweet about Violence in Mexico

Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs

1. While Mexico does have a significant problem of violence, Mexico is NOT the second most violent nation in the world. According to UN figures for 2014 (the most recent international report), Mexico is far from being one of the most violent countries. In Latin America alone, countries such as Honduras, Venezuela, Belize, Colombia and Brazil had homicide rates of 90.4, 53.7, 44.7, 30.8 and 25.2, respectively, per 100,000 inhabitants, while Mexico had a rate of 16.4, well below many of the countries in the region.

2. Illicit drug trade is indeed the most important cause of violence in Mexico, and drug trafficking is costing thousands of lives both in Mexico and the US. However, as has been repeatedly stated by the U.S. government itself, drug trafficking is a shared problem that will end only by addressing its root causes: high demand for drugs in the U.S. and supply from Mexico (and other countries). 

3. To be effective, we must be able to move beyond finger-pointing. We look forward to continuing to work with the US government against drug trafficking based on the principles of shared responsibility, teamwork, and trust.

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Press release, Jun. 23, 2017, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), Mexico, DF; translation SRE