Drag trafficking

Mexico's defense chief: 'We have committed errors' in the war on drugs

The head of Mexico’s National Defense Secretariat said in an interview that Mexico had made a mistake in deploying the militaryas part of the country’s war against drug cartels and organized crime.

“Of course we have committed errors,” said Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, in an interview with Mexican news outlet Pulso in mid-March.

“One of those was when we entered fully combat against drugs,” he continued.

This deployment, which ramped up under former President Felipe Calderon, left Mexico’s armed forces to deal with "a problem that is not ours," Cienfuegos said. 

"The military is not intended for the work it does today," Cienfuegos said. “No one with responsibility for this institution is prepared to do the functions of the police.”