Leaks Show US Concerns Over Mexico

[tekisui]

Source: Al-Jazeera

Washington does not believe Mexico is able to win the country's fight against drug cartels, WikiLeaks cables reveal.

The US does not believe that Mexico's military is capable of winning the country's violent drug war, classified memos released by WikiLeaks have revealed. US diplomats drew a highly critical picture of the country's armed forces, which were described as bureaucratic and unfit to take on "sophisticated" drug trafficking organisations (DTOs), in cables published on Thursday. The diplomatic memos paint a picture of an embattled Mexican government, nervous about losing whole areas of the country to the drug cartels.

The leaked material also shows Mexican officials petitioned the US government to assist in focusing the crackdown on the country's most violent cities.

"The military was not trained to patrol the streets or carry out law enforcement operations," said one memo referring to the failure of military-led operations to reduce violence in the country's most deadly city of Ciudad Juarez. It does not have the authority to collect and introduce evidence into the judicial system. The result: arrests skyrocketed, prosecutions remained flat, and both the military and public have become increasingly frustrated."

Federal police took over control in Juarez in January. The leaks showed the Mexican military was also perceived "to be seen slow and risk-averse even where it should succeed".

more: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/12/20101231120874202.html

[timo]

1. thats no leak

just common knowledge here along the border for years!!

[virgogal]

4. + 1

[GSLevel9]

2. that's right...

I guess someone in the gov't gets it.

[Bobbieo]

3. Money and bribery at work - winning combination!

[applegrove]

5. That is what happens in a country with a shitty distribution of wealth and no mobility.

1/3 of Mexico is rich. 2/3 Poor. Crime increases because there is no other path to wealth but to become a criminal.