Pubdate: Tue, 14 Jun 2005
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2005 San Jose Mercury News
Contact:  http://www.mercurynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Author: Alfredo Corchado, Dallas Morning News
Note: Dallas Morning News staff writers Tracey Eaton in Reynosa, Dianne 
Solis in Laredo and Josh Brown in Washington contributed to this report.
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Troops take over violent Mexican city

FEDERAL FORCES REPLACE POLICE CORRUPTED BY DRUG SMUGGLERS

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico - Residents of this besieged city awoke Monday to find 
their police force gone, replaced by Mexican special forces troops who took 
over this border community stung by drug violence.

After a gradual buildup over the weekend, Mexican troops -- some of whom 
were trained by the U.S. military -- swept into the city before daybreak 
and took control of a number of strategic operations, including city hall, 
the communications tower and police installations.

They also detained hundreds of local police officers suspected of being in 
cahoots with drug traffickers.

Nationwide, officials said, 71 people have been arrested in Operation Safe 
Mexico, which the government says will target 14 cities that are being 
overwhelmed by drug traffickers and their paramilitary armies. At least 600 
people have been killed nationwide in drug-related violence this year, most 
of them in border states.

The attorney general's office in the border state of Tamaulipas made a 
point Monday of telling reporters they are making progress in their fight 
against traffickers and have seized more than 10 tons of marijuana and 
arrested 113 people this year.

In a country where police of all stripes -- federal, state and especially 
local -- often work for drug traffickers instead of citizens, the sight of 
dozens of federal agents and special-forces soldiers toting AR-15 assault 
rifles left many residents elated.

"What took so long? It was about time," said Eduardo Garcia, 37, surveying 
the scene outside city hall as a paratrooper stood in the back of a dark 
green Ram Charger with his finger on the trigger of a sniper rifle. "I love 
the sight of this."

Mayor Daniel Pena said he was given little information prior to the start 
of the operation.

Faced with intense criticism for his inability to stop a wave of violence 
that has claimed the lives of 61 people this year, including a newly 
appointed police chief last week, Pena appealed for calm.

The mayor insisted that everything was normal in the border community of 
500,000, whose economy relies heavily on Texas tourism, foreign-owned 
manufacturing plants and international trade.

Weed Out the Bad

Pena's comments drew chuckles from residents and reporters. In the absence 
of local police, state police officers were on hand to respond to calls 
from residents.

"We're trying to see who the real cops are and weed out the bad elements," 
Pena said. "This is for the good of Nuevo Laredo."

Most of the 1,200-member police force underwent drug tests and background 
checks, local officials here said on the condition of anonymity. More than 
700 officers were loaded onto trucks and detained for further questioning 
here and in Mexico City.

Some U.S. law enforcement officials praised Mexico for the action, but 
said, "We have sent them addresses, photographs of suspects. Let's see if 
they really mean business or if it's just a show."

In Mexico City, officials of President Vicente Fox's administration called 
on the U.S. government to assist in stopping the entry of illegal weapons 
into Mexico that have contributed to widespread bloodshed. Many of those 
weapons -- assault rifles, Uzis and AK-47s -- are purchased at gun shows 
throughout Texas, U.S. and Mexican intelligence officials say.

Presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar denied the government was militarizing 
the border and said the operation has been in the planning stages for weeks.

"There are very clear signs of a relationship between elements of the Nuevo 
Laredo police and drug smuggling, hence the decisive action," Aguilar said.

Nuevo Laredo represents the largest hub for land trade and a key 
transshipment point for South American cocaine and Mexican-produced 
marijuana and other narcotics heading for the United States.

Residents Show Humor

Despite the federal presence, locals took the latest drama in stride. A 
small Army convoy of four Hummers slowly cruised downtown Nuevo Laredo. 
Some parents joked that they felt like Iraqis in Baghdad, questioned by 
federal agents at outposts as they drove their children to school.

At city hall, employees pressed their noses to the windows, watching the 
bizarre scene unfold outside.

"I've lived all my life and I've grown used to watching federal agents 
parade in vehicles, but never have I seen them take over buildings," said 
62-year-old Guadalupe Gutierrez, who works for the city auditorium. "If it 
helps our city, if we can finally live in peace, then I'm all for it. If 
it's more show, then stop wasting our time, our money and stop playing with 
our hopes."

Lines for pedestrians trying to enter Laredo, Texas, were unusually long, 
covering almost the length of International Bridge One. Lines into Mexico 
were virtually non-existent.

"I'm here to look for bargains and to get away from the stress over there," 
said Macario Sanchez Cantu, pointing to the city of Nuevo Laredo as she 
joined other shoppers in downtown Laredo.

Meanwhile, to the south in Reynosa, Mexico, convoys of federal agents 
rumbled through the streets on Monday, drawing little attention in a town 
where many believe that the police -- and not drug traffickers -- are the 
worst criminals.

"People are apathetic," said Arturo Solis, a journalist and human rights 
activist in Reynosa. "They don't see these patrols as being very important. 
. . . All the things that have happened to the Mexican people for so many 
years has left them castrated."

To be sure, people in Reynosa weren't paying much attention to Monday's 
patrols.

"I don't know that they're really doing anything," said Elizabeth Garcia, 
26, a vendor who sells black T-shirts emblazoned with skulls and the 
letters AFI, the Spanish initials for Mexico's elite Agencia Federal de 
Investigacion or Agency for Federal Investigations. "It looks to me like 
they're just cruising around."
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake