Trump attack should prompt bipartisan deal on gun control

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Tuesday that it would be positive if the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, Last weekend, he urged a bipartisan agreement in the United States to control the huge amount of weapons that is in that country.

“We celebrate that it has not escalated to a serious issue, but it does merit reflection that must be resolved jointly,” said AMLO, as the Mexican president is known by his initials. “I believe that it would be an act welcomed by the Americans if the two candidates (Trump and the current president Joe Biden) signed a commitment to regulate the sale of weapons in the United States.”

López Obrador, who has boasted on several occasions of being a friend of the Republican and of being one of the first heads of state to condemn the attack against him that occurred on Saturday in Pennsylvania, took advantage of a question from the press at his morning conference to position an issue that worries Mexico a lot: the entry of weapons from its northern neighbor.

In this regard, he said that greater control could also benefit American society so that the differences that the country is currently experiencing can be resolved through democratic means.

“It would be very helpful to control the sale of weapons in the United States,” he added. “This is something that urgently needs to be done.”

The person who shot Trump on Saturday — and was shot dead by security forces — was a 20-year-old armed with an assault rifleaccording to research.

The Mexican president recalled that these types of weapons are also smuggled into Mexico. Of the 50,000 that, according to his data, have been seized during his administration, 75% came from the United States, he said, because there is no control over them. “You can buy them in a supermarket,” he lamented.

Mexico has been persistently demanding stronger action from Washington and has even filed two lawsuits. The first was aimed at manufacturers and was dismissed. The second was against five American stores and distributors that it blames for the flow of illegal weapons into Mexico and is still pending.

Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channels Youtube, WhatsApp and to newsletter. Turn on notifications and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.