President Trump offered U.S. military support to Mexico after a Mormon family with U.S. citizenship was massacred.
At least six American children and three women were killed when they were ambushed in northern Mexico on Monday, members of the LeBarón family said.
Trump tweeted Tuesday that the family “got caught between two vicious drug cartels, who were shooting at each other.”
“If Mexico needs or requests help in cleaning out these monsters, the United States stands ready, willing & able to get involved and do the job quickly and effectively,” Trump tweeted.
“This is the time for Mexico, with the help of the United States, to wage WAR on the drug cartels and wipe them off the face of the earth. We merely await a call from your great new president!” he said.
….monsters, the United States stands ready, willing & able to get involved and do the job quickly and effectively. The great new President of Mexico has made this a big issue, but the cartels have become so large and powerful that you sometimes need an army to defeat an army!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 5, 2019
This is the time for Mexico, with the help of the United States, to wage WAR on the drug cartels and wipe them off the face of the earth. We merely await a call from your great new president!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 5, 2019
Julian LeBarón, a cousin of the three women who were driving the vehicles, told the New York Times that one of the women, Rhonita, was on her way to Phoenix to pick up her husband, who works in North Dakota and was returning home to celebrate their wedding anniversary when her car broke down.
The gunmen “opened fire on Rhonita and torched her car,” he said. The woman, a 9-year-old girl, an 11-year-old boy, and twins less than a year old were killed, he said.
When the rest of the group returned to the first car, they were also ambushed.
“Six little kids were killed, and seven made it out alive,” LeBarón said.
The LeBarón family settled in Mexico decades ago after disagreeing with the central church over polygamy.
Kenny LeBarón, another cousin of the women, said much of his family now lives in North Dakota, but they regularly travel to Mexico for holidays and vacations.
