Mexican military losing drug war support

The Associated Press

Published: 07.25.2008

OJINAGA, Mexico - This hardscrabble Mexican border town welcomed 400 soldiers when they arrived four months ago to stop a wave of drug violence that brought daytime gunbattles to its main street.

But then the soldiers themselves turned violent, townspeople say, ransacking homes and even torturing people.

The frustration boiled over this week. More than 1,000 people marched through the streets carrying signs begging President Felipe Calderon for protection from his own troops.

Ojinaga, across the Rio Grande from Presidio, Texas, is not alone. People in cities on the front lines of Mexico's battle against trafficking say they are increasingly frustrated with military tactics — a shift in opinion that threatens to undermine Calderon's nationwide crackdown.

Mexico's National Human Rights Commission says it has documented more than 600 cases of abuse since Calderon sent 20,000 soldiers across the nation to take back territory controlled by drug lords.

Mexico's attorney general argues the cases are isolated incidents. The army says it investigates all allegations and punishes those found to have to violated the law.

But many people say the soldiers have become part of the problem.

Mexican military to investigate abuse

Calderon pledges 'unrestricted support for human rights'

By JEREMY ROEBUCK/The Monitor

March 11, 2008 - 1:29AM

The Mexican military will investigate claims that its soldiers performed unwarranted searches, stole private property and otherwise abused their authority in cities along the country's northern border, according to one of its spokesmen.

In a written statement, Mexican President Felipe Calderon's defense ministry pledged "unrestricted support for human rights and the firm intention to make (its) operations transparent."

Allegations of abuse surfaced soon after Calderon dispatched hundreds of troops to the U.S.-Mexico border early this year with a mandate to weed out police corruption and combat the nation's entrenched drug cartels.

New effort in Mexico is targeting cop bribery

Bite on tourists spurs some not to visit again

By Anna Cearley

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

June 17, 2007

One November evening, California retiree Frank P. Smith and his wife were backing out of a parking spot near one of Puerto Nuevo's many lobster restaurants when a police officer stopped them.

Smith was being cited, he recalled, for several violations, including improper parking and an out-of-sight license plate. He suspected the charges, which the officer indicated would add up to a fine of $320, were trumped up.But the officer threatened to tow his car and camper, and refused to let Smith speak to his commander.

So Smith did what he figured was expected – though it wasn't solicited outright. He gave the officer $60 in cash.

Like many other tourists put on the spot, Smith never reported the incident south of Rosarito Beach. Instead, the travelers continued home to Morro Bay.

“I know it happens to others and they don't go back, and it's a shame,” said Smith, who said he's been traveling in Mexico for 20 years and will continue doing so despite the bad experience.

The police bribe – known as the mordida, or bite – remains a troubling problem throughout Mexico. It is difficult to address or document because few people pursue complaints against officers.

Mexican Soldiers Charged With Homicide

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Nineteen Mexican soldiers have been charged with homicide in the killings of two women and three children whose vehicle failed to stop at an army checkpoint.

The Defense Department said in a news release Monday that three officers and 16 enlisted personnel would be tried by a military court. The soldiers are being held at a prison in the Pacific Coast city of Mazatlan, in Sinaloa state where the shooting took place.

The family was traveling to a funeral on June 1 when they were ordered to stop at the checkpoint near the village of La Joya. When they did not, the soldiers reportedly opened fire on the van.

The shooting is the latest case of suspected abuse by soldiers deployed by President Felipe Calderon in a national offensive against powerful drug cartels.