Defense Chief Says 'We Committed Errors' in Mexico's War on Drugs Christopher Woody - Business Insider
go to original March 31, 2016

Riot police walk through a cloud of smoke from a fire extinguisher during a protest over the 43 missing Ayotzinapa students, near the Benito Juarez International airport in Mexico City. (Carlos Jasso/Reuters)

The head of Mexico’s National Defense Secretariat said in an interview that Mexico had made a mistake in deploying the military as part of the country’s war against drug cartels and organized crime.

“Of course we have committed errors,” said Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, in an interview with Mexican news outlet Pulso in mid-March.

“One of those was when we entered fully combat against drugs,” he continued.

This deployment, which ramped up under former President Felipe Calderon, left Mexico’s armed forces to deal with "a problem that is not ours," Cienfuegos said.

"The military is not intended for the work it does today," Cienfuegos said. “No one with responsibility for this institution is prepared to do the functions of the police.”

Read the rest at Business Insider

Related: State Police Take Over Security Tasks in Mexican Town Where 3 Disappeared (Latin American Herald Tribune)

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!