Washington DC

U.S. President Donald Trump offered Mexico assistance Tuesday after nine Americans were killed in a deadly ambush by suspected drug cartel gunmen on a Mexican highway. 

In a statement, White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said Trump spoke with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador by phone on efforts to combat cartels and criminal groups in the country.

"President Trump made clear that the United States condemns these senseless acts of violence that took the lives of nine American citizens and offered Mexico assistance to ensure the perpetrators face justice," said Gidley.

Three women and six children were killed Monday in the ambush in Chihuahua in northern Mexico. Three other family members were injured and one girl is missing after the attack.

Earlier in the day, Trump tweeted that the family was caught between “two vicious drug cartels.”

“If Mexico needs or requests help in cleaning out these monsters, the United States stands ready, willing & able to get involved and do the job quickly and effectively,” Trump tweeted. “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.”

Obrador took an opposite approach, reinforcing his commitment to not “fight fire with fire.”