Soldiers ask to return to barracks, they are tired of capturing criminals that are later set free

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Proceso article

Subject Matter: Impunity
Recommendation: No prior subject matter knowledge required

Reporter: Juan Alberto Cedillo
Soldiers deployed to Tamaulipas sent a letter that manifests their desire to return to barracks because “we are fed up of the fight against sicarios”.

In the last few days has emerged a scandal that involves the armed forces in the field of human rights, signalled a missive that circulated in social networks, and detailed that the military are tired of this narco war in which they capture criminals, who are short time later set free, ” because the authorities are not doing their job”.

“We are tired of seeing our colleagues ambushed in a cowardly way and that no authority, organization or government department or human rights do anything about it”.

Constantly, it said in the letter, we lose colleagues in this war, and although that should not be a cause for revenge, it always leaves us in pain, the pain of seeing brothers fall and that nobody does anything about it, because we are the ones who lose comrades to the hit men.

There are, he adds, those who are fighting against criminals to safeguard society, because the police are infiltrated by organized crime.

“We are the ones who fight, not the defenders of human rights, not the members of a government organization that accuses us of the worst things, and not you who complain about our work from the comfort of your own homes.”

“Infantrymen say they have lost comrades who were kidnapped on their days off and tortured to death. They have killed the families of our comrades in retaliation, do you not think that hurts us?”, he asked.

He alluded to the nine soldiers who were kidnapped in the metropolitan zone of the State capital and later appeared cut up.

The letter mentioned that a violation of human rights on the part of the military is well known and must not be covered up.

“However, this does not justify the actions of our brothers in arms, I will only say the following and it is at the discretion of society; We want the country to be better, and if to achieve this we must die or do something bad in life, we will accept the cost, but do not cheapen our sacrifice.”

“We have taken drastic measures to combat evil, but if it hurts so much that we violate the human rights of the “innocent hit men”, then do your job.”

In their text, the military also condemned the double morals of society; “Let us return to the barracks, so that they may have the confidence that no one will touch a hair on the hit men’s heads, if they love their criminals that much, stay with them and don’t come begging on your knees for something to be done”.

“We want to see how long the country lasts without a soldier leaving his mother in the mountains and containing this evil.”

“But if our actions are indignant, do not forget that when the operation was difficult and dangerous, we never said no and we never took a step backwards, because many of us believe in that, and we are here only to have a chance to change the country for the better”.

Original article in Spanish at Proceso