Firing on U.S. Embassy Vehicle Bodes Ill for Mexico Sovereignty (La Jornada, Mexico)

"This situation, which puts Mexico in a condition similar to that of a U.S. protectorate, is extremely dangerous for the viability of our nation and its institutions. One wonders to what degree diplomatic tensions and U.S. interventionism might escalate if the fired-upon diplomatic vehicle was less heavily armored, and in the event, resulted in fatalities. ... the federal government should recognize the unacceptability of allowing and even encouraging political, police, military and intelligence intervention of the U.S. in Mexico."

EDITORIAL

Translated By Halszka Czarnocka

August 29, 2012

Mexico  La Jornada  Original Article (Spanish)

The back of a U.S. Embassy SUV that was carrying two CIA agents and one U.S. Marine to a nearby naval base, and that was fired upon by Mexican Federal Police, both uniformed and plainclothes. No one was killed. Mexicans fear that if there were fatalities, additional U.S. intervention in their country would likely have been the result. STRATFOR VIDEO, U.S.: U.S. Embassy Vehicle attacked in Mexico, Aug. 27, 00:03:06

Yesterday, during a meeting on security, Mexico President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa expressed deep sorrow about the events of last Friday near the town of Tres Marías, where elements of the Federal Police and plainclothes officers opened fire on a U.S. Embassy vehicle in Mexico that carried two agents of the Central Intelligence Agency and a Marine. He said the incident was under the utmost scrutiny and investigation by the office of the Attorney General.

Within this context, two elements of Calderons statement are at odds: on the one hand, the presence at the meeting of U.S. Ambassador Anthony Wayne, and on the other, Wayne's declaration that the U.S. governments is collaborating with Mexican authorities on the pertinent investigations.

First of all, it is unacceptable that, five days after the attack, our nation's public has yet to receive any official, clear and precise information about the facts, and that all the federal government has to say is that it is investigating.

This omission is worrying, and not only because there are so many persistent holes in the versions of events divulged so far, like the yet-to-be-explained participation of presumed undercover police and private vehicles in the shoot-up. Also of concern are the implications one must derive regarding the lack of coordination among institutions charged with upholding the rule of law and the vulnerabilty of citizens under such circumstances. If it is true that the attack by the Federal Police occurred in the course of fighting crime - as the Departments of Public Security and Navy announced in a joint statement - we would by now have attended a press conference by whatever arm of the Federal Police feels it necessary to fire upon every suspicious vehicle.

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In any case, it can no longer be denied that this agency, once depicted as exemplary and modern, is confronted with a deep institutional crisis that has already been visible for months - as demonstrated in the assassination of Federal Police by their own colleagues last June at the Mexico City International Airport. This opinion was asserted yesterday by Raúl Plascencia, president of the National Commission of Human Rights, who pointed out that assaults by police elements are part of a pattern of unjustifiable conduct, and that on average there are 2,000 complaints per year against the Federal Police.

Under such circumstances, it is imperative that Secretary of Public Security Genaro García Luna's lack of accountability be explained. He has been implicated in a number of grave incidents of various kinds. At the very least, political responsibility for the events at Tres Marías last Friday rests on him, and yet nevertheless, he seems invested with inexplicable influence and de-facto immunity.

With regard to bilateral relations, Ambassador Waynes announcement of collaboration between Mexican and U.S. authorities, in a case that should be explained and clarified exclusively by our own government, together with unmistakable hints of interventionism revealed by the episode - beginning with the presence of two CIA agents and a U.S. Marine traveling toward a military training camp - reinforces the impression that the current federal administration has given over crucial aspects of public and national security to a foreign power. Furthermore, we are discussing a foreign power that has proven an unreliable ally in the governments effort to fight crime, and with its intrigues has exacerbated strife among the various security agencies of the Mexican State.

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This situation, which puts the country in a condition similar to that of a U.S. protectorate, is extremely dangerous for the viability of our nation and its institutions. One wonders to what degree diplomatic tensions and U.S. interventionism in Mexico might escalate if the fired-upon diplomatic vehicle was less heavily armored, and in the event, resulted in fatalities.

At the risk of committing political irresponsibility of a very high order, the federal government should recognize the unacceptability of allowing and even encouraging political, police, military and intelligence intervention of the U.S. in Mexico.

In any case, if the Mexican government has become aware of its own inability to ensure the safety of the population based on its current security strategy, the decent and necessary thing to do would be to modify it, rather than to invite a foreign presence that carries the risk of greater violence, a total loss of sovereignty and consequent institutional unraveling.

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