Mexican President Felipe Calderon condemned US gun laws as “mistaken” and urged Washington to review them after a shooter killed 12 people and injured more than 50 others at a US movie theater on Friday.
In comments posted on his Twitter account on Saturday, Calderon offered his condolences to the US after a gunman went on the rampage with an assault rifle at a midnight premiere of the new Batman film in Aurora, Colorado. However, Mexico’s president, who has repeatedly called on Washington to tighten gun controls to stop weapons flowing from the US into the hands of Mexican drug cartels, said US weapons policy needed a rethink after the killings.
“Because of the Aurora, Colorado, tragedy, the American Congress must review its mistaken legislation on guns. It’s doing damage to us all,” Calderon said.
The presidency of Calderon, who leaves office at the end of November, has been overshadowed by his efforts to crack down on the drug gangs. Fighting among the cartels and their clashes with the state have killed more than 55,000 people since 2007.
In February, Calderon appealed to the US to halt the flow of arms by unveiling a massive sign on the Mexican-US border reading “No More Weapons!” The letters on the billboard in the city of Ciudad Juarez were made of recycled guns seized by security forces.
Calderon has also urged Washington to revive a ban on assault weapons in the US that expired in 2004.
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