NUEVO LAREDO - The people of the Mexican cities along the Texas border have not been left unprotected in the wake of the disarming of more than 1,000 municipal police officers earlier this week, officials said Thursday.All of the city police are reporting to their respective bases and some are assigned to patrols “on foot and on bicycles, since it’s impossible to use their patrol cars because of the inspections being carried out by the Army,” said Nuevo Laredo Police Chief Alfonso Olvera Ledezma.
Later, Olvera Ledezma said that six patrol cars had been reactivated and were in use in various parts of the city. Seized firearms that pass inspection could be returned as early as Monday, officials said.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Mexican Army was cautioning that its soldiers are not searching private homes as part of this latest anti-crime initiative. The statement came after reports that men dressed as soldiers had raided several homes, confiscating goods and cash.
Olvera Ledezma said anyone who is the victim of assault or other crime should report it to the authorities.
“If someone needs police help, they should call 066, the number for emergencies,” Olvera Ledezma said. “They will be channeled to C-4 (headquarters), and they, in turn, will notify the state and local police who are patrolling the city.”
Olvera Ledezma emphasized that state police, federal agents and the Army itself were involved in protecting the population. In some cases, city police officers are working side-by-side with state police officers.
On Tuesday, soldiers and federal agents swooped into the border towns of the state of Tamaulipas, relieving every single officer of his or her firearms, radios and other police equipment as he or she reported for duty. All officers were given a drug test, and their credentials are being intensely scrutinized as the federal government continues its major offensive against drug traffickers. Firearms are undergoing ballistics tests to determine whether they have been involved in any drug crimes, and to ensure they meet licensing requirements.
An estimated 500 officers are in the Nuevo Laredo city police force. As of Thursday, 367 officers had been tested, and only two had tested positive for drugs. The rest of the force is expected to take the drug test, approved by Nuevo Laredo Mayor Ramón Garza Barrios, by the end of the week.
Meanwhile, the Mexican Army spokesman told reporters that soldiers are patrolling the streets at this point, not serving search warrants. Some residents have reported that men dressed as soldiers have burst into homes, going through the premises and confiscating electronics, household goods, jewelry and even cash.
“We are not conducting any raids,” said the spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “We know we need an order from a federal judge.”
The Army is, however, continuing with its checkpoints in neighborhoods to the east, west and south of the city, inspecting vehicles and searching for suspects, he said.
On Thursday, soldiers were readily seen in various parts of the city; there was no sign of any city police officers.
Mayors of the border cities and Tamaulipas Gov. Eugenio Hernández Flores reached an agreement to ensure the safety of their people, a state official at the capitol said, resulting in more state police assigned to the border regions for the time the Army will need to review the city police officers’ credentials and firearms.
Arriving on board military transport at Nuevo Laredo International Airport, 250 members of Aeromóvil Special Forces Group (GAFES), Mexico’s equivalent of the US Army’s elite Ranger’s, boarded a convoy of 32 military vehicles to be dispersed at various points around the city. The troops will be garrisoned with the cities 1st Motorized Cavalry Regiment here in Nuevo Laredo.
The arrival occurred at the same time that the mayors of the border cities of Tamaulipas met privately in Ciudad Victoria with Governor Eugenio Hernandez Flores and authorities of the Federal Security Service.
The Federal Security Service is a division of the PFP.
Elements of GAFES were quickly dispersed to various locations around the city, from Blvd. Colon to the western colonias of the city.
The troopers were also stationed at both bridges in Nuevo Laredo to assist IFA or Mexican Customs in searching vehicles entering Mexico for prohibited items such as weapons and other contraband.
The seizure of weapons and ammunition smuggled in from the United States is a priority in President Calderons initiative against the cartels.
In addition to troops in Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa received 600 troops, Matamoros 400 with assistance of Naval Marines from their bases east of Matamoros on the coast.
All highways at this point have manned checkpoints to check vehicles going in both directions.
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