Insight Crime: The commander of Mexico's armed forces has said it was a mistake to deploy the country's military to combat drug trafficking in comments heavily critical of the citizen security militarization policies that have become common in the region.
In an interview with Pulso, the head of Mexico's National Defense Secretariat (Sedena), General Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, said it had been wrong for the Mexican military to "enter fully into combat against drug traffickers," which, he said, left the military with "a problem that is not ours."
Cienfuegos said that sending "soldiers prepared for war" to confront criminals with no military training has caused "serious problems," and admitted that tactics such as day time raids have left the civilian population at risk.
The general added he believes the army should not be deployed in the streets for the purpose of combatting crime as they are not prepared for the role. Read full English article
See Spanish original