Thread: Mexican military on drug war's front lines

Mexican military on drug war's front lines

Civilian law enforcement woes give soldiers a different mission

By Sandra Dibble
STAFF WRITER
2:00 a.m. February 1, 2009

Soldiers returned to Morelos military base near downtown Tijuana after a recent patrol in the city. (Bruce K. Huff / Union-Tribune) -

At the Morelos military base near downtown Tijuana, soldiers displayed loads of narcotics and bundles of currency that they seized during a recent raid on criminal gangs. (Bruce K. Huff / Union-Tribune)

Gen. Alfonso Duarte Múgica is commander of the 2nd Military Zone, which covers most of Baja California. (Frontera)

As civilian law enforcement agencies in Mexico struggle to rebuild amid internal corruption and heavily armed criminal gangs, the military has stepped in as never before in northern drug-trafficking corridors from Chihuahua to Baja California.

Scarcely a week goes by without a major announcement: Soldiers rescue kidnap victims, detain suspect police officers, catch dangerous cartel members. Soldiers seize loads of narcotics and caches of automatic weapons, displaying them at the foot of the giant flagpole that rises from the Morelos military base near downtown Tijuana.

Crime-weary residents have welcomed the troops, but some experts worry that the longer the soldiers take on a civilian law enforcement role, the more susceptible they could become to the pressures of organized crime.

Gen. Alfonso Duarte Múgica, commander of the 2nd Military Zone, which covers most of Baja California, said he believes the coming months will be critical for gaining the upper hand over criminal gangs.

“I think this year will be decisive for the decrease of violence and kidnapping,â€

If Mexico needs troops in it's cities to help control the violence of these drug gangs

we need our troops on our border to stop the gangs and violence from coming here.

I wish them all the luck to rid these drug cartels in Mexico so possibly we do not have to deal with them.
[quote]Human rights advocates warn that soldiers are not trained for civilian law enforcement duties. Mexico's National Commission for Human Rights reports that the most common complaints against the military across Mexico in recent years have involved illegal searches and “cruel and or degrading treatment.â€