The infamous drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman had, at one time, as much power and influence as the president of Mexico, said Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador during his New Year message.

On New Year’s Eve, President Lopez Obrador (AMLO) shared a message from the Mayan ruins of Palenque where he said that 2019 was not a bad year since it “began the transformation” for public life and officials.

“I can assure you that we ended corruption–especially at the top–we are cleaning from the top down,” AMLO said. “There is no impunity.”

He said the country faces several challenges such as “insecurity and violence” but he believes Mexico would turn around and become peaceful in the near future.

“To keep from happening what happened during previous governments, there was a time when Guzman Loera (El Chapo) had the same power or influence that the president at the time did,” AMLO said. “…[B]ecause there was corruption–that is history–and it will not happen again. We are going to moralize public life in Mexico.”

The president was referring to the infamous leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera, who is currently serving a life-term in a U.S. prison. El Chapo’s organization was linked to top officials at all levels, including the recently arrested Public Security Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna. In late October, the Sinaloa Cartel embarrassed the Mexican government when it forced federal authorities to release Ovideo “El Raton” Guzman, one of El Chapo’s sons who they captured. A large-scale paramilitary response by the cartel forced the government to spring the “Chapito” to avoid further violence.

During his short statement, AMLO said 2019 demonstrated a strong economy and he committed to addressing the root causes of violence such as lacking job opportunities and infrastructure development.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.