Radical promises from Mexican president

Left-wing politician Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was yesterday sworn in as Mexico’s new president — and promised to bring radical change to his violence-plagued nation by eradicating corruption and ending drugs wars.

With the country’s soaring murder rate set to reach a new annual record of 29,000 in 2018, much attention has been focused on Obrador’s plans to pacify the violence inflicted by Mexico’s feared drug cartels.

During his campaign, the politician sharply criticised the military-led strategies practised since 2006 by both of his predecessors in the so-called “war on drugs”.

However, Obrador announced last month that he too would rely on the armed forces to fight crime, despite appeals from human rights groups to send the troops back to barracks and develop professional police forces.

He also faces challenges in dealing with the caravan of thousands of Central American migrants camped out on the US border — which Trump had threatened to close.