News (Media Awareness Project) - Mexico: Cartel Wooing Mexico's Military |
Title: | Mexico: Cartel Wooing Mexico's Military |
Published On: | 2005-12-27 |
Source: | San Jose Mercury News (CA) |
Fetched On: | 2008-01-14 20:03:59 |
CARTEL WOOING MEXICO'S MILITARY
Analysts Finding Signs Of Corruption
WASHINGTON - U.S. officials and analysts say there are new signs that
drug corruption is spreading within the Mexican military, an
institution long regarded as more professional and less prone to
criminality than the country's law enforcement agencies.
In interviews, four senior U.S. officials, a senior Mexican
intelligence official and three independent analysts all expressed
concern about the expanding role of the Mexican military in the drug
war. Some pointed to low pay among the middle and lower ranks as
making military personnel vulnerable to offers from cartel leaders
who may double or triple their pay.
"Corruption is more serious in the Mexican military than just about
any other Latin American military," said a U.S. official, speaking on
condition of anonymity. "The reason is not that the Mexicans are any
more venal; it's that we're talking about huge amounts of money . . .
and that makes them more vulnerable."
Questions Deflected
Spokesmen for the Mexican Embassy in Washington and for Los Pinos,
the presidential residence, declined to comment, referring questions
to the military. Military officials requested questions in writing
but said there would be no reply for now.
The concerns were underscored in a video sent to the Dallas Morning
News in October and made public earlier this month. The video shows
four men, bound and bloodied and prodded by an unseen interrogator,
talking about their work for a drug cartel. Two of the four
identified themselves as former military men and said that their job
was to recruit for the cartel from Mexico's special forces.
The emergence of two new paramilitary groups, Los Negros and Los
Numeros, which may seek to bolster their forces with military
personnel and federal agents, has added to the concern, U.S.
officials said. The groups are said to work for the Sinaloa cartel,
purportedly headed by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. They were recruited
to battle the rival Gulf cartel and its enforcement arm, the Zetas,
and to spread the Sinaloa cartel's dominance along the entire
U.S.-Mexico border, the officials said.
Military's Key Role
The Mexican government's central role in fighting drug trafficking is
a relatively recent development. In 1996, during the administration
of President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon, the U.S. government
encouraged the Mexican government to give the military a central role
in anti-narcotics efforts -- in part because the military was viewed
as uncorrupted, analysts said.
"We're the ones who pushed the Mexican military into fighting
narcotics," said Armand Peschard-Sverdrup, head of the Mexico Project
at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"We've pushed them into narco corruption."
In the past five years, President Vicente Fox has dramatically
increased the military's participation in anti-narcotics efforts by
including military personnel on the attorney general's payroll.
Since 1996, the U.S. government has spent at least $225 million in
training and other military assistance for anti-drug aid programs,
according to a report by the Washington Office of Latin America, a
non-governmental organization that monitors military cooperation
between Mexico and the United States.
Analysts Finding Signs Of Corruption
WASHINGTON - U.S. officials and analysts say there are new signs that
drug corruption is spreading within the Mexican military, an
institution long regarded as more professional and less prone to
criminality than the country's law enforcement agencies.
In interviews, four senior U.S. officials, a senior Mexican
intelligence official and three independent analysts all expressed
concern about the expanding role of the Mexican military in the drug
war. Some pointed to low pay among the middle and lower ranks as
making military personnel vulnerable to offers from cartel leaders
who may double or triple their pay.
"Corruption is more serious in the Mexican military than just about
any other Latin American military," said a U.S. official, speaking on
condition of anonymity. "The reason is not that the Mexicans are any
more venal; it's that we're talking about huge amounts of money . . .
and that makes them more vulnerable."
Questions Deflected
Spokesmen for the Mexican Embassy in Washington and for Los Pinos,
the presidential residence, declined to comment, referring questions
to the military. Military officials requested questions in writing
but said there would be no reply for now.
The concerns were underscored in a video sent to the Dallas Morning
News in October and made public earlier this month. The video shows
four men, bound and bloodied and prodded by an unseen interrogator,
talking about their work for a drug cartel. Two of the four
identified themselves as former military men and said that their job
was to recruit for the cartel from Mexico's special forces.
The emergence of two new paramilitary groups, Los Negros and Los
Numeros, which may seek to bolster their forces with military
personnel and federal agents, has added to the concern, U.S.
officials said. The groups are said to work for the Sinaloa cartel,
purportedly headed by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. They were recruited
to battle the rival Gulf cartel and its enforcement arm, the Zetas,
and to spread the Sinaloa cartel's dominance along the entire
U.S.-Mexico border, the officials said.
Military's Key Role
The Mexican government's central role in fighting drug trafficking is
a relatively recent development. In 1996, during the administration
of President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon, the U.S. government
encouraged the Mexican government to give the military a central role
in anti-narcotics efforts -- in part because the military was viewed
as uncorrupted, analysts said.
"We're the ones who pushed the Mexican military into fighting
narcotics," said Armand Peschard-Sverdrup, head of the Mexico Project
at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"We've pushed them into narco corruption."
In the past five years, President Vicente Fox has dramatically
increased the military's participation in anti-narcotics efforts by
including military personnel on the attorney general's payroll.
Since 1996, the U.S. government has spent at least $225 million in
training and other military assistance for anti-drug aid programs,
according to a report by the Washington Office of Latin America, a
non-governmental organization that monitors military cooperation
between Mexico and the United States.
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