Video Shows Extrajudicial Execution By Mexican Military, Amnesty Confirms
Source: Huffington Post
05/25/2017 01:35 pm ET
Mexico is debating a bill that would grant policing powers to its armed forces.
By Jesselyn Cook
Video footage that appears to document a Mexican soldier killing a suspected gas thief in cold blood raises another major red flag about the countrys efforts to expand the policing powers of its armed forces, activists are warning.
Mexican military sources have claimed that unknown assailants launched an attack against an army unit in the central city of Palmarito Tochapan earlier this month. An hourslong gun battle ensued, in which at least five people including civilians and soldiers were killed.
But the surveillance camera video, obtained and independently verified by Amnesty International, contradicts parts of their story and offers graphic evidence of the armed forces oft-unreported atrocities, rights groups allege.
It purports to show uniformed troops dragging an injured, unarmed man along the ground on the night of May 3. Minutes later, one of the soldiers appears to shoot him in the back of the head. Blood pools around his body as the troops continue their operation unfazed.
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mexican-military-killings_us_5925e01be4b062f96a337596?n8w&ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009§ion=us_theworldpost
SergeStorms
(19,201 posts)until you see what they're up against throughout the country. The drug cartels often outnumber and are better equipped than the military. Not to mention, many in the military are employed BY the drug cartels. Mexico has a far different problem than anyone else. The "suspected gas thief" is not someone who pulled up to the pump and then took off without paying. These gas thieves tap right into the sate owned pipelines, siphoning off thousands of gallons at a time. And this is rampant across the country. Mexico faces a unique set of problems, and I think they're trying methods that rival the methods of the cartels. As long as people in the United States want to use illegal drugs, and some of them are VERY harmful (Meth, Heroin, etc.) Mexico is going to have these problems. The tactics they've used in the past aren't working. They're searching for something that WILL work.
I certainly don't condone the use of deadly force and the haphazard way they use it, but we can't really judge them, because no other place in the world is faced with the problems they face. I don't know what the answer is. I'm just trying to play devil's advocate here. It's a mess in Mexico, and sometimes it spills over into our country. The drug cartels are a problem no one should have to face, but they DO have to face them. The answer of HOW to face them is a gigantic problem, and a problem that perhaps doesn't have a clear-cut answer.
Voltaire2
(13,061 posts)Sure we can. In fact we must. It is our responsibility, each of us, as members of the global community, to speak out against the rising tide of fascism that is sweeping the world.
SergeStorms
(19,201 posts)or an honest attempt to stop the most sadistic, inhuman cartels on the planet? How attuned are you to the daily carnage brought about by these cartels on the citizens of Mexico? I believe the Mexican Army takes great pains to minimize their effects on civilians, but that certainly can't be said for the cartels. They don't care WHO is in the way of the lead they're throwing. Are there abuses by the Mexican Army? I'm sure of it, but when human beings are involved there will always be that factor. The other alternative is for them to give up, and have the cartels operate with impunity wherever, and whenever they like. The Mexican people are tired of that. They want change.
I'm not a heartless, cruel person. But I think that if a few bad guy's rights are violated to achieve a greater peace and security for a country full of innocent people..........
I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this subject.