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U.S. military works with Mexico to fight drug traffickers

By Jim Michaels - USA TODAY
Posted : Tuesday Apr 6, 2010 21:37:01 EDT

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is strengthening its ties with Mexico’s armed forces and using its experience in fighting insurgencies in Afghanistan and Iraq to assist in Mexico’s war on increasingly violent drug cartels.

“We’ve learned and grown a great deal as we’ve conducted operations against networks of terrorists and insurgent fighters,” said Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, commander of Northern Command.

“Many of the skills that you use to go after a network like those apply ... to drug-trafficking organizations,” Renuart said in an interview with USA TODAY.

U.S. military training and exchange programs with Mexico have concentrated on sharpening the capabilities of Mexico’s armed forces to quickly act on intelligence and integrate operations with law enforcement agencies.

“That’s really the area we think we can be of most value,” Renuart said.
The U.S. military has honed techniques aimed at dismantling insurgent networks in countless operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

U.S. forces are also training Mexico’s military in the rule of law and human rights, skills needed to help transform Mexico’s army from a conventional force designed to counter external threats to a military waging an irregular war in which the enemy lives among civilians.

The U.S. military underwent a similar transformation after Sept. 11, 2001.

“That’s really one of the reasons why the outreach with the U.S. military has gone so well,” Renuart said. “They see that we have some of this experience.”

Mexican President Felipe Calderon ordered the country’s armed forces into the war on drug traffickers after taking office in 2006, primarily out of concern that police were generally corrupt. About 45,000 Mexican servicemembers have been deployed to combat drug gangs.

Mexico’s military has played an increasingly dominant role in the government’s drug war as violence has escalated.

The army has been more successful than police in capturing drug lords, but over the past two years, the military’s role has led to a dramatic increase in allegations of human rights abuses, said Roderic Camp, a professor of the Pacific Rim at Claremont McKenna College.

“So there’s a serious trade-off,” Camp said.

Violence has continued to grow in places such as Ciudad Juarez, where the military has deployed thousands of troops.

More than 18,000 people have died in drug violence since Calderon took office. Last month, three people connected to the U.S. Consulate in the border city of Ciudad Juarez were killed.

Frank Mora, a deputy assistant defense secretary, said Mexico’s military is adapting to its new role. “They have an understanding of the threat and the challenge they face,” Mora said.

Ultimately, Mexico plans on turning the job of countering drug traffickers back to law enforcement agencies, once those institutions have been rebuilt.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other officials met with Mexican leaders last month and pledged continued support for Mexico’s war on drug cartels. They also acknowledged that much of the problem comes from the continued U.S. demand for illegal drugs.

In 2008, the United States approved $1.3 billion in aid to Mexico for its fight against traffickers.

In a statement, the Mexican ambassador to the United States, Arturo Sarukhan, praised the military cooperation between the two countries, calling the relationship “constructive and forward looking.”

Historically, Mexico has been wary of any U.S. military involvement in their country.

“The Mexican army doesn’t want to be seen in the press as cooperating too closely with the U.S. Army,” said Craig Deare, a professor at National Defense University. “One of the conditions of the cooperation is staying out of the visibility of the press.”

The military is one of the most trusted institutions in Mexico, Deare said.
U.S. forces in Mexico are limited to small numbers of trainers who do not participate in operations, the U.S. military says.

About 20 teams, ranging in size from one to five people, travel to Mexico each year for short visits to assist in training, Renuart said. Most are veterans of Afghanistan or Iraq. Northern Command started sending advisory teams there about two years ago.

Mexican officers have also traveled to the U.S. to observe operations or receive training.

“I think we probably have the best military-to-military relationship with the Mexicans that we’ve ever had,” Renuart said.