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On March 29, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador shook hands with the mother of infamous drug trafficker Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán , during a visit to Badiraguato , their hometown.
In a 30-second video posted on Twitter, López Obrador can be seen approaching María Consuelo Loera ’s car, parked on a dirt road on the outskirts of Badiraguato , a mountainous municipality located in the state of Sinaloa .
Surrounded by dozens of onlookers, López Obrador told Loera that she need not get out of the car, they shook hands, and after a brief exchange, he told the mother of the jailed drug lord that he had “received her letter.”
Months ago, the mother of “El Chapo” Guzmán sent a letter to the Mexican President, hoping he could help her visit her son, who is imprisoned in the U.S.
The video also showed López Obrador talking to one of El Chapo’s lawyers , José Luis González Meza .
A witness said Loera was waiting for López Obrador near La Tuna , the birthplace of “El Chapo.” The President was on an official visit with the Sinaloa Governor .
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After the video went viral, many criticized López Obrador for greeting El Chapo’s mother and for shaking hands with the woman, who is in her 90s, especially at a time when Mexico is promoting social distancing measures to slow the spread of COVID-19.
On March 30, during his daily news conference, the President confirmed he did shake hands with María Consuelo Loera Pérez and accused the conservatives of making a scandal out of it.
He also said his opposers are hypocrites for criticizing him for shaking hands with his mother when the Felipe Calderón administration negotiated him the drug lord ; he perhaps refers to Genaro García Luna , the Security Minister appointed by Felipe Calderón, who is accused of receiving bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel and is currently arrested in the U.S.
The President emphasized he respects the 92-year-old woman , despite who her son is.
He said the woman is requesting help to obtain a visa in order to visit her son, currently jailed in a U.S. prison.
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