HomeNewsBriefCalderon Refuses to Back Down from Use of Army to Fight Crime
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Calderon Refuses to Back Down from Use of Army to Fight Crime

DRUG POLICY / 15 AUG 2011 BY JEN SOKATCH EN

Mexico's President Felipe Calderon defended his use of the army to combat organized crime in the country, saying that any increase in violence would only encourage him to deploy more federal forces.

“We must end this scourge,” declared the president in a fiery speech on security, delivered at a public forum called “Citizen’s Dialogue.”

“I will send more army, more navy and more federal police,” vowed Calderon, “it is the only way they will understand.”

Calderon said that despite the dangers of the battle against drug traffickers, it would be worse “to falter and let Mexico one day be controlled and dominated by [criminals].”

The current government has faced criticism for its use of the army to fight organized crime, with claims that the army has been responsible for abuses in the areas where has been deployed.

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