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Special Report - The military as police: a balance sheet (ISSN 17414474)
Under Peña Nieto the military remain in the field
Since he took office in December 2012, President Enrique Peña Nieto has been trying to de-emphasise his predecessor’s war on the drug cartels and seeking a way to start withdrawing the military from its key role in that effort. For several reasons he has been unable to achieve these aims. The level of violence attributable to the inter-cartel turf wars has been falling, but the overall level of violence has not. To make matters worse, the reputation of the military in its policing role has been eroding rapidly.
- Executive summary
- Under Peña Nieto the military remain in the field
- Extensive use of the military on two fronts
- More troops deployed as violence rebounds after ‘truce’
- Level of violence declines but is still high
- New special units to bolster mass troop deployment
- President gets free hand to deploy military
- One state of emergency after another
- Relying on Carabineros to face two threats
- Military kept out of internal security
- Almost complete militarisation
- Allowing ‘preventive’ use of armed forces
- Trying to assess effects