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In Tijuana, police halt patrols after soldiers arrive
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published January 6, 2007
TIJUANA, Mexico - Police in Tijuana suspended their patrols in the violent border city Friday after soldiers sent by President Felipe Calderon to crack down on drug gangs and corruption seized most of their guns. Tijuana Public Safety Secretary Luis Javier Algorri said that without arms, it was too dangerous for the force of 2,000 police to patrol the streets of the city where 13 officers were shot dead last year. On Tuesday, Calderon sent 3,300 soldiers and federal police to Tijuana to hunt down drug gangs. The soldiers swept police stations and took officers' guns for inspection on Thursday amid allegations by federal investigators that a corrupt network of officers supports smugglers who traffic drugs into the United States from Tijuana, which is across the border from San Diego. Dubbed "Operation Tijuana," the mobilization is the second major military offensive against drug gangs by Calderon, who took office on Dec. 1 promising to crack down on organized crime. Last month, Calderon sent 7,000 troops to the state of Michoacan in western Mexico, which is plagued by drug gangs.
[Last modified January 6, 2007, 00:37:49]
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