MONTERREY, Nuevo Leon — Local malaise after more than 240 cartel executions this year alone intensified when members of the elite police force “Fuerza Civil” were linked to multiple crimes on and off duty.
Murders, abuse of power, and rape are just some of the charges that state cops face since Governor Jaime “El Bronco” Rodriguez Calderon took office in 2017 after becoming the first independent candidate to obtain the governorship. He is expected to become an independent candidate for Mexico’s 2018 presidential elections.
The allegations of police abuse resurfaced this month when Felipe de Jesus Cariaga Lucio was filmed pulling a gun and pointing it at a man during a house party in Monterrey, causing panic among the attendees.
State authorities determined that Cariaga was off duty at the time and the firearm was not his issued weapon, but fired him. The cop is now facing charges for the unlawful possession of a handgun.
Authorities also targeted Laureano Hernandez Aguilar, a cop who has been charged for shooting a suspected thief in the head. The victim was identified as Ricardo Alfonso “El Yeye” Sanchez. State cops claimed the incident occurred during a resisted arrest. A state judge later ruled that the shooting was in fact done with the intent to harm the victim.
At the end of May, three officers with Fuerza Civil became the subjects of an investigation after Guillermo Rene “El Memito” Escamilla Cabriales escaped. The man was identified as one of the leaders of the Cyclones faction of the Gulf Cartel, Breitbart Texas reported. The escape took place after a judge issued house arrest orders as he deliberated on his punishment. Authorities previously arrested Escamilla with a handgun, two-assault rifles, 86 cocaine bags, and 20 bags of marijuana.
Also in May, state cops arrested fellow officer Sergio Antonio Martinez Mendoza for allegedly sexually abusing an underage girl with psychiatric issues in the suburb of Santiago. Martinez was turned in by the victim’s sister.
In March, state cop Jehovany Duran Vanegas was sent to the Topo Chico Prison for his role in the murder of 16-year-old Edgar Alejandro Martinez Perez. The former cop grabbed the solvent the teen had been getting high on and sprayed it on his face before using a stun gun on him. The electrical discharge along with the chemical left second and third-degree burns. The victim died months later at a hospital in Galveston, Texas. The cop was arrested after details of the injuries and how he caused them were leaked.
The scrutiny by the press and NGOs over police abuses led to the resignation of Fuerza Civil’s top chief Tomas Reyes Rodriguez. Days after his resignation, another scandal broke over the death of 13-year-old Jovanni Yair; shot by officer Diego Alejandro Castillo who was investigating a fight at a local dance in Monterrey.
At the start of 2017, Officer Jaime Astudillo Gonzalez traded his police uniform for a prison one after his arrest and conviction for the rape of a young woman inside his patrol car.
In September 2016, Breitbart Texas reported on the case of Sergio De la Rosa Pulido, a Fuerza Civil officer who killed a fellow officer during a night of drinking. Information from the case revealed that De la Rosa Pulido shot 26-year-old Marco Fragoso Caro after he refused to help rob and rape a woman before buying more beers. The woman managed to escape and call authorities. The suspect remains at large.
During that time another officer, Julio Adrian “El Lobo” Gonzalez Hernandez, was arrested by state cops after being connected to a robbery where he used a knife at a store in Monterrey’s south side.
The past infiltration by cartels into the ranks of local and state cops in Nuevo León led to the creation of Fuerza Civil, which received support from top local businessmen and federal authorities to take on kidnappers, drug cartels, and teams of gunmen. The new police force hit the streets in September 2011.
After almost six years, the community that lives through daily waves of violence continues to erode trust in Fuerza Civil, according to a research study done by Monterrey Tech (Pulsometro de Seguridad). The study revealed that only 14.5 percent of citizens fully trust the police force. The research also finds that the police force is staffed at 50 percent, with a need for 4,500 officers.
Security experts consulted by Breitbart Texas claimed that the military background of Cuauhtemoc Antunez, the former public safety director, and Arturo Gonzalez Garcia, the current director, arrived at the post with a military outlook very different to the realities faced by Nuevo León.
“The large majority of our officers are from out-of-state and take awhile to get accustomed to Nuevo León. They miss their families and do not feel the urge to fight against all of the dangers facing them in our streets,” a former human resources chief in Nuevo Leon revealed to Breitbart Texas. “While the government claims to pay police officers a monthly salary of $17,000 pesos ($1,000 USD), after taxes and benefits, it is not enough for them to feel proud of the uniform they wear.”
Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by Tony Aranda from Nuevo León.
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