May 28, 6:00 PM EDT


Mexico's federal police ask for better weapons

By E. EDUARDO CASTILLO
Associated Press Writer





CULIACAN, Mexico (AP) -- Mexico's federal police need more-powerful weapons to battle heavily armed drug cartels, a senior police official said Wednesday

Gen. Rodolfo Cruz said seven federal officers killed Tuesday in a shootout in Culiacan were outgunned by members of the Sinaloa cartel.

Cruz told reporters in Culiacan, Sonora that the federal government was sending 200 more officers to state to join the 749 already stationed there. But he said agents really need high-caliber weapons to face traffickers armed with armor-piercing bullets and AK-47s.

Federal police currently carry pistols, Cruz said.

President Felipe Calderon has sent more than 20,000 federal troops across Mexico to stop the drug trade. Traffickers have responded with unprecedented violence.

Also Wednesday, Amnesty International criticized the army for human rights abuses in its fight against drug trafficking. The report said soldiers were responsible for "arbitrary detentions, torture and the wrongful killing of at least five people."

Mexican federal Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora said the report was a "rush to judgment."

"Because of the size of the effort to combat organized crime, we might come across some isolated incidents, but these are far from systemic," he told the Televisa network.



Associated Press Writer Istra Pacheco contributed to this report from Mexico City.


Copyright 2008 Associated Press







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