The U.S. State Department responded to a barrage of fury unleashed by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in the wake of its annual report on human rights around the world that highlights the high levels of impunity in Mexico, the participation of authorities in crimes and the president’s antagonism toward journalists and activists.
Branding the State Department’s report as “lies” and “pure politicking,” AMLO accused the United States of believing it is “the government of the world,” saying Mexico also has every right to evaluate its northern neighbor’s human rights record.
AMLO appeared especially angry at the report’s observation that he “publicly discredits (journalists) to present them as biased, partisan and corrupt.”
In response, López Obrador brought up the case of jailed journalist and activist Julian Assange, who faces extradition from the United Kingdom over his role in the publication of secret U.S. military documents. “They talk about journalism and freedom but why do they have Assange imprisoned? Why don’t they release (him)?”
In a rare response to AMLO’s outburst, the State Department vice spokesman, Vedant Patel, defended his agency and country: “We have never suggested that we don’t have our own internal challenges … (and) never said we are the government of the world or anything of this type.”
He added that the report reflects the challenges facing Mexico, with its high numbers of “arbitrary murders,” and where officials in many institutions, including the police and armed forces, engage in acts of corruption.
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