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Mexican FM: Lopez Obrador, Trump to Target Flow of Arms to Mexico

Reuters

   MEXICO CITY - Mexico's foreign ministersaid Saturday that President
   Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador andhis U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, had
   agreed to take swiftaction to stem the flow of illegal weapons from the
   UnitedStates into Mexico.

   Lopez Obrador told Trump on a phone call, "I want to proposeto you that
   both our countries use technology to close theborder, to freeze the
   traffic of arms that is killing people inMexico," Foreign Minister
   MarceloEbrardtold reporters.

   "And Trump responded that he thought it was a good idea thatthis could
   be done usingtechnology,"Ebrardsaid, adding thatexisting technology
   could be used for this objective.

   Lopez Obrador told Trump "he was very concerned" that gangmembers were
   using .50 caliber armor-piercing rifles during thebreakout of violence
   in the northwestern city of Culiacan after
   Mexican authorities attempted to arrest Ovidio Guzman, one ofjailed
   drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's dozen or sochildren.

   There was no need to change laws in the United States inorder to stop
   the illegal flow of weapons into Mexico,Ebrardassured.

   The two leaders agreed that U.S. and Mexican officials wouldmeet in the
   next few days to discussoptions, andwould announceactions to "freeze"
   illegal imports of weapons intoMexicothrough U.S. border crossings.

   There was no immediate comment from U.S. authoritiesabout the
   discussion, which came in the wake of the bungled arrest attempt.

   Cartel gunmen surrounded about 35 police and national guardsmenThursday
   in the capital of Sinaloa state and made them freeOvidio Guzman. His
   brief detention had set off widespreadgunbattlesand a jailbreak that
   stunned the country.

   "If the order would have been given to continue with theoperation in
   Culiacan,we estimate that more than 200 people,mostly civilians, would
   have been killed," saidEbrard, adding
   that so-called collateral damage was unacceptable to the
   Mexicangovernment.

   The chaos in Culiacan, a bastion of the elder Guzman'sSinaloa cartel,
   has turned up pressure on Lopez Obrador, whotook office in December
   promising to pacify a country weary of
   more than a decade of gang violence.

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