InSight Crime: Mexico's military is to introduce body cameras for soldiers as part of efforts to rebuild a human rights record tarnished by recent scandals, but experiences elsewhere suggest such measures alone will not be enough to end abuse and impunity.
Mexico's National Defense Secretary (Sedena) has announced a plan to install 2,245 video cameras on the helmets of military personnel, reported Milenio. The initiative stems from recommendations made by the National Human Rights Commission (CDNH) in response to the Tlatlaya massacre in 2014, in which 22 people were allegedly executed by military officers. Read more.
The MexicoBlog of the Americas Program, a fiscally sponsored program of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), is written by Laura Carlsen. I monitor and analyze international press on Mexico, with a focus on security, immigration, human rights and social movements for peace and justice, from a feminist perspective. And sometimes I simply muse.
Showing posts with label Mexican military. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mexican military. Show all posts
May 28, 2015
Mexico may buy 50 Airbus military helicopters -source
Reuters: Mexico is in talks to buy 50 more Caracal military helicopters from Airbus Helicopters a source familiar with the negotiations said, confirming a report on the La Tribune news website.
A deal for the H225M helicopters could be concluded as early as the Bastille Day military ceremonies in Paris on July 14 when Mexico has put negotiations on the agenda for a visit by its president, the source said, asking not to be named. Read more.
A deal for the H225M helicopters could be concluded as early as the Bastille Day military ceremonies in Paris on July 14 when Mexico has put negotiations on the agenda for a visit by its president, the source said, asking not to be named. Read more.
May 8, 2015
Mexico charges three with 'terrorism' after cartel violence
AFP: A Mexican judge has charged three people with terrorism over their roles in a day of violence launched by a drug cartel in Jalisco state last week, authorities said.
Three other people were released because they were "arbitrarily" detained, the council said.T he suspects were accused of organized crime "with the goal of committing ... terrorism" by burning vehicles and using them to block roads around Mexico's second biggest city, Guadalajara, the Federal Judicial Council said. Read more.
Three other people were released because they were "arbitrarily" detained, the council said.T he suspects were accused of organized crime "with the goal of committing ... terrorism" by burning vehicles and using them to block roads around Mexico's second biggest city, Guadalajara, the Federal Judicial Council said. Read more.
Violence haunts Mexico's election campaign
AFP: One murdered candidate, others threatened, bodyguards assigned to gubernatorial wannabes and calls for a boycott: The June election campaign in Mexico's Wild West is off to a rough start.
The June 7 mid-term vote for federal and state seats will be the first major ballot test for President Enrique Pena Nieto, almost half-way through his six-year term. Read more.
The June 7 mid-term vote for federal and state seats will be the first major ballot test for President Enrique Pena Nieto, almost half-way through his six-year term. Read more.
May 2, 2015
Gunmen hit army chopper in Mexico, three troops dead
AFP: Gunmen forced down a military helicopter in western Mexico, killing three troops as violence escalated across Jalisco state during a new operation against a powerful drug cartel.
Seven people were killed across Jalisco, including the three soldiers and a state police officer, while 19 people were wounded, officials said. Three gang suspects were killed in the fighting, authorities said. Read more.
Seven people were killed across Jalisco, including the three soldiers and a state police officer, while 19 people were wounded, officials said. Three gang suspects were killed in the fighting, authorities said. Read more.
Feb 10, 2015
Editorial: Mexico's Armed Forces Must Explain
La Jornada, February 10, 2015 8:29
Original in Spanish: http://www.jornada.unam.mx/ultimas/2015/02/10/editorial-sedena-precisiones-necesarias-1991.html
Translation: Americas Program
Yesterday, during the commemoration of the March of Loyalty--when Heroic Military College cadets escorted President Francisco I. Madero at the beginning of the 'tragic decade'--Secretary of Defense, General Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda endorsed the subordination of military authorities to civil institutions. Referring to the military, he stated, "There are those who want to distance us from the people."
This is a serious remark, not only because it comes from the head of the Department of Defense but because it is formulated at a time when members of the armed forces face charges for their alleged involvement in extrajudicial executions, including those perpetrated in Tlatlaya, State of Mexico in June last year, and when various sectors call for the alleged involvement of military personnel in the attack on normalistas in Iguala, Guerrero investigation, four months ago.
In such circumstances, an accusation like that made yesterday by General Cienfuegos does not contribute to clearing up society's expressions of distrust that affect institutionality as a whole and the armed forces in particular. If indeed the military commanders have identified a specific effort oriented to causing a rift between the armed forces and the civilian population, it would be appropriate to formulate a precise statement that clearly names whoever they are accusing of these acts.
In the absence of such specific information, what can be seen is a national situation of erosion of the image of the armed forces among various sectors of the population as a result of their involvement in tasks beyond their constitutional mandate. The main responsibility for this deterioration does not lie with the military, but with civil rulers who have abused both their authority and the loyalty extolled yesterday by the Secretary of Defense to address a public safety crisis that must be dealt with through statesmanship and not from a military logic.
Many voices from civil society have stated on numerous occasions that the central tasks of the Army, Navy and Air Force are to preserve security and national sovereignty, safeguard territorial integrity and help the population during disasters, not investigate or combat the various criminal groups that have increased in the country over the past few decades. Also, it has been stated many times that sending in the military to perform police duties not only puts them at risk of being infiltrated by criminal groups, but creates an environment for the commission of human rights violations and, eventually, foments precisely the distance between civilians and the military that Cienfuegos warned of.
The Mexican military's discipline and loyalty to the civilian power structure are valuable and unquestionable attributes, and it is paradoxical and regrettable that successive governments have appealed to them to detract from the core mission of the armed forces and that by doing so this has opened them up to public criticism.
But if there has been a deliberate effort to distance the army from the people, the military command should come right out and express it openly and accurately.
Dec 18, 2014
Soldiers killed in the war on drugs
News Week Español (Translated by Americas Program): Since former President Felipe Calderon launched the war against drug cartels, 209 soldiers have died in armed clashes, and 1,760--from privates to corporals, second and first sergeants, lieutenants and colonels-- have been wounded in shootings. In some cases, they have been discharged from the the Mexican Army due to the severity of injuries.
From January 11, 2007-just 41 days after Calderon of the PAN took control of the country from Vicente Fox--to October 2, 2014, there have been 3,520 clashes with members of criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking , extortion, kidnapping and exploitation for sexual and labor purposes.
In just the first 10 months of this year, according to information from the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena), 234 battles left 15 military elements dead. The latest was a death in San Martín Hidalgo, Jalisco, on September 24, when a convoy of armed men opened fire and in the exchange of fire also killed four of the attackers. Another occurred in Mier, Tamaulipas, where there is dispute over control of the plaza (trafficking route) between the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, Sept. 17. Two incidents took place in Tepehuanes, Durango, when an ambush and subsequent confrontation occurred between military and probable drug traffickers in the Guanaceví neighborhood.
From January 11, 2007-just 41 days after Calderon of the PAN took control of the country from Vicente Fox--to October 2, 2014, there have been 3,520 clashes with members of criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking , extortion, kidnapping and exploitation for sexual and labor purposes.
In just the first 10 months of this year, according to information from the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena), 234 battles left 15 military elements dead. The latest was a death in San Martín Hidalgo, Jalisco, on September 24, when a convoy of armed men opened fire and in the exchange of fire also killed four of the attackers. Another occurred in Mier, Tamaulipas, where there is dispute over control of the plaza (trafficking route) between the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, Sept. 17. Two incidents took place in Tepehuanes, Durango, when an ambush and subsequent confrontation occurred between military and probable drug traffickers in the Guanaceví neighborhood.
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