For years now the Mexican Drug cartels have been operating in Mexico, unchecked. They have grown in power and violence and the Mexican government has been too corrupt to do anything about it. On Tuesday, in response to s brutal and senseless murder of American women and children, President trump vowed to put an end to this reign of terror by helping the Mexican government wage war on the cartels.

President Trump’s call for the Mexican President to join him in combatting these evil drug cartels comes after at least 9 American woman and children were viciously murdered on Monday by drug cartel gunman.

At least 9 members of the LeBaron family, a Mormon group originally from Utah who had relocated to Mexico, were killed in this attack near the town of Sonora, Mexico. The victims were three women and 6 children, aged 3-12. Up to 6 other children may have been injured in the attack, some as young as 1 year old.

President Trump characterized the attacks as the Americans getting “caught between two vicious drug cartels” and Mexican officials are saying they believe the group was mistaken for members of a rival cartel. Family members tell a different story and they believe it was an attempted kidnapping that ended in children being shot running away, burned in a locked car, and the woman possibly being raped.

Even after the horrific nature of these crimes against American citizens, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said his government will not respond strongly to these murders. He is quoted as saying “War is the worst thing that can happen. We declared war, and it didn’t work. That is not an option.”