Abuses threaten military fight against drugs in Mexico

The residents of this border town, who felt relieved four months ago when some 400 soldiers arrived to stop a wave of violence linked to drug trafficking, are now asking for help, before the alleged abuses by the military.

Many residents accuse the military of looting houses and torturing people, and caused discontent this week that more than 1,000 people marched through the streets of Ojinaga, with posters in calling for the president of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, protect their own soldiers.

Ojinaga, which borders the population of Presidio, Texas, is not the only city where similar complaints have arisen. People in several towns where the Mexican government has waged the battle against drug trafficking says that feels increasingly frustrated with military tactics, an opinion that threatens to undermine the operation of national Calderon.

The National Human Rights Commission said that the country has documented more than 600 cases of abuse since Calderon sent 20,000 soldiers in several towns in the country to regain territories controlled by the ringleaders of drug trafficking.

The Attorney General of the Republic ensures that cases are isolated events. The army said that investigates all complaints and punishes those who violate the law. But many Mexicans believe that the soldiers have become part of the problem.

A survey published on June 30 by El Diario de Ciudad Juarez found that only 18% of the people who live there totally approves the army’s presence. Two months earlier, the approval rate was 65% full.