Mexico is not the second most violent country: SRE to Trump

The Mexican government told US President Donald Trump that one of the problems that promote the high levels of violence in Mexico is the drug traffic generated by the high demand in its North American neighbor.

In response to a message that the US president wrote on his Twitter account, Mexico called on Trump to stop blaming them and work in co-responsibility.

Today President Donald Trump again used Twitter to charge towards Mexico. He wrote that Mexico has been classified as the second most violent country in the world, only behind Syria , for which he insisted that the border wall will be built.

The Mexican government responded that despite the problems of violence that are being experienced, Mexico is not the second most violent country and this is shown in the latest international report, which shows figures from the United Nations .

"Only in Latin America , countries like Honduras, Venezuela, Belize, Colombia and Brazil have a homicide rate of 90.4, 53.7, 44.7, 30.8 and 25.2, respectively, for every 100 thousand inhabitants, while in Mexico the rate is 16.4, well below several countries in the region" said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) in a statement.

SRE also stated that the illicit drug market is the most important cause of violence in Mexico, and it is costing thousands of lives in both countries.

"However, as the United States government has repeatedly emphasized, drug trafficking is a shared problem that will only end if its root causes are addressed: high demand for drugs in the United States and supply from Mexico (and other countries)", the Ministry added.

To be effective, he pointed out, it is necessary to stop blaming each other.

"We look forward to continuing to work with the US government in combating illicit drugs, based on the principles of shared responsibility, teamwork and mutual trust", said the statement.

The statement was uploaded to the Twitter account of Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray.

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