Mexico’s Congress gives military new power

Measure solidifies role of federal troops in war on drug trade

MEXICO CITY — Thousands of protesters marched against it. Hundreds of human rights groups implored lawmakers to reject it. Even the United Nations warned of its dangers.

But Friday, Mexico’s Congress approved the Law of Internal Security, which gives the military broad new powers and solidifies its central role in the country’s drug war.

President Enrique Pena Nieto is expected to sign the legislation despite criticism that it could fuel more violence.

In many ways, the measure enshrines into law what has been happening in practice for more than a decade.

It was late 2006 when President Felipe Calderon launched Mexico’s war on drugs by sending thousands of troops to his home state of Michoacan, where powerful cartels were battling for turf. Military officers were regarded as less corrupt than poorly trained local and state police forces, some of whom collaborated with criminal groups, and in the subsequent years many thousands more soldiers and marines were deployed across the country.

The strategy has continued under the current president. Military officers patrol streets, operate checkpoints and detain suspects. But all this time, the military hasn’t had legal authority to carry out law enforcement inside Mexico’s borders.

The new law allows the president to deploy federal troops for military operations inside Mexico without the approval of Congress. The deployments are for up to one year but can be extended indefinitely. The law also defines domestic law enforcement as a national defense issue, meaning information about military operations could be classified as secret.

Critics of the new law question whether it will be effective at reducing violence.

Mexico is on track to record more homicides in 2017 than in any year since authorities began publishing statistics 20 years ago. Officials say 2,371 homicide investigations were opened in October, more than any other month.

The explosion in violence comes in part as a result of the military’s “kingpin strategy.” One by one, powerful drug lords, including Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, have been taken into custody or killed. Some security analysts say federal forces helped stop Mexico from being completely overtaken by drug cartels, but the strategy also unleashed a wave of violence as would-be kingpins fought for control of the cartels.

A statement issued Thursday by the United Nations high commissioner for human rights warned that the law gives too much power to the military, and without the necessary civilian checks and balances.