Mexican troops detain the Cancun police chief

Mexican troops swoop on police HQ

Mexican troops have detained the police chief and 36 other officers in the resort of Cancun in connection with the murder last week of an ex-army general.

Soldiers swooped on the police HQ and took police chief Francisco Velasco to Mexico City for questioning.

Former general Mauro Enrique Tello, who had just taken command of an elite squad to tackle in Cancun, was tortured and shot by suspected traffickers.

Gen Tello, who retired from the army earlier this year, had been sent to Cancun to lead a new force intended to break up the influence of drugs cartels.

Another news story about the influence that the drugs cartels have over the police squads. It seems that the Mexican Govt are sending in elite teams to kind of take over from the police?

Is this like a stepping stone to martial law? Except that it backfired and unfortunately the squad leader was executed in this case.
Has this been happening in other parts of Mexico? The corrupt police being replaced by soldiers?

Source - BBC

It doesn't matter who you replace with, corruption runs deep in mexico. I was just in cancun yesterday, there are lots of soldiers and police too, but it like i always say.....soldiers and police can't fight crime. They are useless. Crimes have to happen and then investigators can catch the perps. Just having a bunch of these guys around with big guns doesn't do a whole lot.

The problem is the culture, the problem is the demand for drugs, having a bunch of cops or special forces isn't good for much.

reply to post by liquidsmoke206


You're right. I absolutely hate to see my country of birth in this situation. Its terrible that both Cops and Special Forces jump to the other side because the pay is better. The few people that are honest in the government are usually just killed.

The cartels are better equipped, better manned, and ultimately stronger than the agencies trying to take them down. The US should help sort this problem out... after all it is a problem for both countries. But they should do more than throw money at the problem, it usually ends up in the wrong hands.

I've had an idea of a joint operation where Special Forces, of both countries, could maybe investigate and capture the big bosses. After that they could be tried in Mexico and then the US, no matter nationality, and then they could be sent to a special prison were they would serve there punishment or be executed depending on their crime. The building of the new prison would create some jobs too.

Of course Mexican Spec-Ops should be selected carefully because at this point they cant be trusted.

this came up in another thread actually.

The Us does offer some more support than just cash, our special forces train theres, but even still it doesn't seem to deter many of them from jumping sides. I have a feeling the solution here is very long term, and I don't know where to start

All of this just illustrates that the war on drugs has failed. Drugs are still coming in from Columbia to Mexico into the US. One would have thought that if the war on drugs was a success, Columbia would have been out of the picture a long time ago. Time for someone to draw up a new plan.

its not just colombia.

Bolivia and other south american nations produce a lot of drugs. mexico produces quite a bit themselves....what about the gun trade coming INTO mexico? Guns are tough to get in mexico, so we send em down illegally from the states for big money.


so is the solution to legalize drugs? it's a little late for that, the cartels would have even more power. I think you have to reduce the demand....your guess is as good as mine for how to pull it off.