EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s approval rating has fallen sharply entering his second year in office as Mexicans remain concerned about public safety, a poll released this week by Grupo Reforma shows.
An impressive 78% of Mexicans approved Lopez Obrador’s handling of the country back in March 2019, but as February 2020 came to a close his approval had fallen to 59%, Reforma reported.
The poll shows that 70% of Mexicans see public safety as the most serious problem facing the country, and 63% say the president’s public safety staff isn’t efficient at fighting organized crime. Mexico recorded a record number of homicides in 2019, as drug cartels continued fighting each other.
Grupo Reforma polled 1,200 people between Feb. 25-29.
Authorities seize assault rifles, dead cop’s uniform from Jalisco cartel cell in Cancun
Ten alleged members of the Cartel Jalisco New Generation were taken into custody Sunday in Cancun in two separate busts in which police seized five assault rifles and stolen police uniforms, El Universal reported.
The detainees were members of a Jalisco cartel “cell” in the popular tourist resort charged with taking out members of rival drug trafficking organizations, Quintana Roo state Attorney General Oscar Montes de Oca said in a news conference.
Six cartel members were taken into custody as they carried weapons from the inside of a house to a car; four others were stopped in a car carrying drugs.
El Universal reported that items seized from the gang members include AR-15 .223-caliber rifles, three guns, cellphones, walkie-talkies and police uniforms and tactical helmets, including one belonging to state police Officer José Antonio Archi Yama, murdered last September.
