AMLO Orders Ovidio's Release to 'Preserve Lives'

The Security Cabinet, with the support of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, ordered Mexican forces to stand down and withdraw from the compound. Ovidio Guzmán López was released. AMLO stated: 'The priority was to save lives.' He later explicitly acknowledged he personally gave the order. The decision became a defining symbol of cartel impunity and state weakness in Mexico's security debate.