Mexico does not need “foreign intervention” to deal with its security issues, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said, following an offer of “help” from Donald Trump after the ambush and murder of an American family.

Lopez Obrador’s comments came shortly after Trump tweeted that it was time for Mexico to wage war on drug cartels and “wipe them off the face of the earth” with “help” from the US.

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

In an earlier tweet, Trump said the cartels “have become so large and powerful that you sometimes need an army to defeat an army.”

Later, after speaking with Trump, Lopez Obrador said he thanked the US president for his offer and assured him that Mexico's government institutions would "ensure justice was done."

Nine family members with dual US-Mexican citizenship, mostly women and children, were gunned down when their three vehicles were ambushed and attacked by criminal gangs in the Sierra Madre Occidental region.

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Reports suggest the attack could have been a case of mistaken identity, with the group mistaking the family for their rivals. Lopez Obrador said Mexico was prepared to work with the FBI on the case “provided Mexico’s independence is upheld.”

Last month, heavily-armed cartel members terrorized the city of Culiacan riding through the streets with machine guns mounted on vehicles, as gun battles with police rage for hours. Days earlier, 13 Mexican police officers were ambushed and killed by cartel gunman in a separate attack.

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