By MARK STEVENSON
Associated Press
MEXICO CITY — The Mexican government is vowing never to cut deals with drug traffickers after a man claiming to be the leader of a violent cartel called a television station to suggest a pact.
A man who identified himself as drug cartel leader Servando “La Tuta” Gomez called a local television program in the western state of Michoacan on Wednesday to say his gang’s wave of deadly attacks on police are only a response to police action against cartel members’ family and friends.
“What we want is peace and tranquility,” the man told the CB Television station in Michoacan. “We want to achieve a national pact.”
“We want the president, Mr. Felipe Calderon, to know that we are not his enemies, that we value him, that we are conscientious people,” the caller said.
Officials have named Gomez as the leader of the La Familia cartel who ordered a series of attacks on federal police this week in which 18 federal agents and two soldiers were killed.
Neither Michoacan nor federal officials would comment on whether the caller was indeed Gomez, the government quickly reacted, issuing a formal statement ruling out any such deals.
“The federal government does not ever dialogue, does not negotiate, does not reach deals with any criminal organization,” Gomez Mont said. “There is no other alternative for their members but to submit to the law.”
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