Foreign minister says Mexico will redouble efforts to speak out against hate crimes

Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard says he still remembers “very vividly” visiting victims of the El Paso mass shooting and remains “very moved by what I heard and saw.’’

Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard has called for more cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico while saying his government will focus on fighting hate crime against Mexicans abroad while maintaining strategies to fight organized crime at home,

Ebrard, in an interview with The Dallas Morning News, vowed that Mexico will redouble its commitment to speak out against hate crimes anywhere in the world, particularly in the U.S. He said the Mexican government plans to reinforce its message about hate crimes during an upcoming annual meeting with Mexican consulates in the U.S. and other countries “in an effort to protect the rights of Mexicans abroad.”

“This crime in El Paso will not be forgotten, not by the Mexican government,” he said “We’re not going to let it go. We will be there whenever there is a hate crime anywhere, to speak up.”

Eight of those killed in the 22 victims in the Aug. 3 Walmart shooting in El Paso were Mexican nationals. Although he has since plead innocent, the man who confessed to police shortly after the shootings is believed to have been motivated by a hatred of Mexicans.

Ebrard, in an interview with The News on Friday, said he still remembers “very vividly” visiting victims of the mass shooting, some in El Paso hospitals, two days after the attack, and remains “very moved by what I heard and saw.’’

When asked what the difference is between the El Paso massacre and the murder of tens of thousands of Mexicans in a record year for homicides in Mexico, Ebrard declined to elaborate, but pointed to previous comments by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and his administration. Ebrard previously referred to the El Paso shooting as having been largely motivated by “hate, ideology,” while Mexico’s organized crime spree is “driven by money, pure and simple.”

In the interview, Ebrard pushed back against the growing number of voices who complain that the Mexican government has no strategy to attack rising violent crime in the country. Ebrard said Mexico is fighting back via two fronts – detecting money laundering and seizing weapons – and said both countries need to do more if Mexico is to succeed.

“If we continue doing the same things we will have the same results,” said Ebrard. “If we don’t attack distribution routes, money laundering and weapons headed south, things will remain unchanged.”

Last week, U.S. Attorney General William Barr, at the request of Mexico, visited with Lopez Obrador and Ebrard here in Mexico City. The meeting came after President Donald Trump declared that he planned to designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations, owing to what he said was the high number of Americans killed by their activities. Some victims of Mexico’s drug wars are dual citizens of the U.S. and Mexico.

Trump then said he would temporarily hold off on his threat at the request of López Obrador, “a man who I like and respect and has worked so well with us,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

El Paso shootings

The Mexican government has condemned the El Paso massacre, also describing it as an act of “terrorism” against Mexicans.

Ebrard’s recent comments followed a two-day conference last week that focused on the El Paso shootings and raising awareness on how to fight extremism, hatred and what he called “an attack against our culture, civilization.”

Former Uruguayan President Jose Mujica opened the event, speaking passionately about the virtues of Latin American culture. Famed Nicaraguan writer and poet Ernesto Cardenal, 95, closed the conference after actors read some of his poems and said, “I hate hate. I love love.”

Last month, Mexico pushed through a resolution at UNESCO in Paris condemning hate crimes like the El Paso mass shooting, noting that “hate crimes constitute a threat to all communities, humanity in the world.”

The alleged shooter, Patrick Crusius, 21, of Allen, drove 10 hours to El Paso to “kill Mexicans” and “stop the Hispanic invasion of Texas,” according to police who took him into custody August 3. A racist manifesto Crusius posted online minutes before the attack was also linked to Crusius. His trial is expected to take place in the spring.

Mexico’s government is assisting Mexican citizens in a lawsuit against Walmart alleging security lapses at the store.

Crime back home

While condemning hate crime in strong terms, Ebrard and other Mexican officials said they also recognize that organized crime back home remains one of Mexico’s biggest challenges.

A recent poll by Reforma newspaper co-sponsored by The Dallas Morning News and The Mission Foods Texas-Mexico Center at Southern Methodist University found that Lopez Obrador remains highly popular, with a 68 percent approval rating. But an overwhelming number of people polled,

68%, say López Obrador is failing on one of his two signature campaign promises: Reducing organized crime and violence.

Ebrard said he told Barr in very concrete terms last week that Mexico “is going after money and weapons. We’re using intelligence to track down the finances. That is the only way we can weaken these organizations.”

He added that other efforts, like extraditing top cartel leaders, will continue. But, citing recent history, he cautioned that those efforts, such as the extradition of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, have resulted in little change.

“El Chapo is in jail, but the organization, the distribution routes remain active in business. The organization remains strong,” he said.