A video obtained by Univision questions the actions of the Mexican military in an operation against alleged drug traffic
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Univision News had access to the video of an operation by the Mexican military against alleged drug traffickers that seriously questions the conduct of law enforcement officers.
A chilling security video that had Univision exclusive access raises serious questions about the behavior of a group of Mexican soldiers after the arrest of five suspected drug traffickers in Nuevo Laredo. The Prosecutor's Office is investigating the death of the suspects who appear alive at the beginning of the video.
The video has strong images that may be disturbing to some people.
La unidad de investigacion de Noticias Univision, Univision Investiga, obtained this exclusive video that raises serious questions about the behavior of the Mexican Armed Forces in their war against drug violence.
The footage, which aired Tuesday, May 6, during the evening edition of Univision News, shows 11 Mexican soldiers chasing and then arresting five suspected drug traffickers after their truck crashed into a wall in the border city of Nuevo Laredo.
Dazed criminals are taken from the truck, handcuffed, dragged and placed against the wall behind a supermarket. The soldiers proceeded to shoot in the direction where these men were lying, and then placed some of the high-caliber weapons found in the vehicle next to the drug traffickers. All five men were later reported dead.
An analysis of the video by former DEA agent Jim Shedd called the tactics “completely amateurish” and added that the footage reflects ”unprofessionalism on the part of the soldiers.”
Drugs were reportedly found inside the Ford pickup.
Univision Investiga had exclusive access to more than 80 minutes of the video that shows the fateful outcome of the operation on May 18.
The five occupants of the vehicle who are pushed down alive, beaten with punches and kicks, end up dead at the end of a confusing day in which the military fired left and right against a non-existent enemy, because the men who got out of the vehicle offered no resistance.
The video could become key evidence in an investigation by the Mexican prosecutor's office. A spokesperson for the agency confirmed to Univision that a file was opened for these events.
The operation was officially reported as an armed confrontation, according to what the Secretary of Security for the state of Tamaulipas, Sergio Hernando, told Milenio. Chavez Garcia: “[The Military] were attacked and then when repelling the aggression these events occurred”.
An invisible enemy
The video, reviewed minute by minute by Univision, does not show any aggression. On the contrary, it is the military who constantly beat those arrested despite the fact that they are handcuffed and some are stunned by the brutal crash of the vehicle against the wall.
Univision Investiga visited the scene of the events. On the wall there are traces of blood, bullet holes and three crosses in memory of Angel Moreno, born in 1995, José Rivera Vega, in 1999, and Jorge Antonio Collector. An official list added Edgar Chavarria, 38, and Clinton Alex, 25.
“It is incredible what happened. These soldiers are going to end up in jail. I don't see any other way out for them, they're going to prosecute them”, commented former DEA agent Jim Shedd who participated in joint operations with local authorities in Latin America. “It's something completely out of the ordinary or it's something they're used to doing, that's another danger.”