Mexican federal army troops killed 19 suspected drug cartel members in a shootout Monday in the northern state of Sinaloa. Mexico’s Defense Department said the soldiers, none of whom suffered any casualties, acted in self-defense after being attacked by gunmen on the outskirts of Culiacan, the state capital. (AP)
Our Take
The shootout Monday marks the first major security incident under new Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Her predecessor and mentor, former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, known as AMLO, notably took an increasingly militarized approach to security throughout his six-year term, and before leaving office he took steps to cement his policies in place.
As a result, there was much speculation before Sheinbaum assumed the presidency about the extent to which she would shift the country’s security policies, potentially to match the data-driven approach she took as mayor of Mexico City. Although she has only been in office a few weeks, the shootout earlier this week in Sinaloa and the context around it appear to point to a continuation of AMLO’s militarized strategy.