Pubdate: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 Source: Arizona Daily Sun (AZ) Copyright: 2003 Arizona Daily Sun Contact: http://www.azdailysun.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1906 MEXICAN ARMY, COPS RAID POLICE DRUG OFFICES MEXICO CITY - Mexican army troops and police inspectors raided offices of the federal anti-drug police in 11 of Mexico's 31 states Thursday, and investigators said hundreds of police agents are under investigation for corruption. The massive anti-corruption raid came after seven drug agents were arrested over the weekend for holding unregistered drugs and drug suspects, one of many documented cases in recent years of police protecting drug traffickers in Mexico. Hundreds of federal police agents or employees are under investigation for possible offenses ranging from bribery to abuse of authority, Angel Buendia, a top Justice Department inspector, told a news conference, noting that 1,180 such cases have been investigated since 2000. "This is an operation aimed at combating impunity and corruption wherever they may be within the Justice Department," Buendia, told a news conference. The dozens of anti-drug agents under investigation were not arrested in the raids on offices of the Federal Special Prosecutor's Office for Drug Crimes, or FEADS in 11 states. FEADS offices were raided in Sonora, Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, Nayarit, Chiapas, Guerrero, Baja California, Oaxaca, Tabasco, Yucatan and Jalisco. "No mention was made of any agent having been detained" in the raids, said Elizabeth Juarez, a Justice Department spokesman. "Nor did the army 'take over' the offices, the soldiers were simply helping police (inspectors)." Local media reported that the raids may have also been aimed at seizing possibly incriminating documents from the offices. Thursday's raids marked the most massive strike against police corruption in recent years in Mexico. Heavily-armed soldiers and FEADS investigators took control of the offices and posted guards around them. Television footage showed soldiers with full battle gear and assault rifles posted outside the FEADS office in Tapachula, a city near the Guatemalan border. The raids followed a shocking discover made over the weekend, when 7 FEADS agents in Tijuana were charged with illegally detaining two drug smugglers, then offering to free them and return their drugs in exchange for a bribe of US$2 million. On Thursday, a judge in northern Baja California state ordered the seven to stand trial on the drug charges. The agents were arrested earlier by Mexican soldiers for holding more than four tons of marijuana that had not been registered with the government. The packages of marijuana were found today at offices used by the FEADS in the border city of Tijuana. But Attorney General Rafael Macedo de la Concha said Thursday's raids weren't just a reaction to the Tijuana case, but rather part of a strategy to take corruption head-on and restructure federal police agencies. "This isn't a reaction to the problem in Tijuana, but rather part of a planned strategy," Macedo said. "This allows us to start the work of restructuring ... with a new special prosecutors' office whose personnel will be subject to previous review and screening." Federal agents have long been tied to Mexico's drug trade, and President Vicente Fox's government has spent the last two years trying to purge corruption from its ranks. Several high-ranking government officials have been arrested for protecting smugglers or participating directly in the drug trade, including former Quintana Roo state Gov. Mario Villanueva. While officials previously preferred a piecemeal approach when corruption came to light in one office or another, they now appear to have launched a frontal, nationwide assault on the problem. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart