Police replaced by military in half the Mexican state of Tamaulipas
Mexican troops fanned out across the border state of Tamaulipas this weekend, taking over security operations in half the state’s cities and towns.
About 2,800 soldiers were deployed to 22 of 43 cities in the state, which borders Texas and is among the most violent in the country. The show of force came as President Felipe Calderon defended his drug war strategy in the face of mounting criticism from activists.
The soldiers took over policing duties in the state’s largest cities, including the capital, Ciudad Victoria, and the border cities of Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa and Matamoros…
However, a municipal official in Nuevo Laredo told CNN that local police have been taken off the streets in the 22 cities while they are investigated for corruption. Crooked cops are among the biggest obstacles to combating the country’s drug cartels. The official spoke anonymously due to the sensitivity of the subject. “Sensitivity”? He could be killed.
In Nuevo Laredo, the military influx was so large that the soldiers couldn’t find room in the city’s barracks and had to lodge in two hotels, the official said…
Other towns taken over by the military include San Fernando, where authorities found mass graves containing more than 200 bodies this year. They began finding the graves while investigating the kidnapping of passengers from a bus in late March.
San Fernando is also where last year, the bodies of 72 migrants from Central and South America were discovered at a ranch.
The Zetas drug cartel have been blamed for the mass graves and for the deaths of the migrants…
Ciudad Mier, San Fernando and the city of El Mante will also be the locations for soon-to-be-built military installations.
There aren’t a bunch of reasons left for anyone to cross the border into Mexico. I wouldn’t go to a Farmacia to buy medications at prices below the highway robbery authorized by Congress here in the States – except in daylight with a full tank of gas. That’s about it.
