New fear in Mexico: Army soldiers fleeing for cartels
Failure to track the thousands of deserters may lead to a pool of hit men, critics say
By MARION LLOYD
By MARION LLOYD
June 18, 2007, 11:54 AM
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
MEXICO CITY — The most ruthless gang of drug-cartel hit men in Mexico are deserters from the army's elite. But the Zetas, as the ex-soldiers are known, may not be the only troops who abandoned their posts to work for the cartels.
In the eight years since the Zetas were organized, more than 120,000 Mexican soldiers have deserted the army, according to the government's records. Yet the country's defense officials have made little effort to track their whereabouts, security experts said, creating a potential pool of military-trained killers for the drug-trafficking gangs wreaking havoc in the country.
"Even if just 5 percent of those join the cartels, that's an army of hit men," said Georgina Sanchez, an independent security analyst in Mexico City...
MEXICO CITY — The most ruthless gang of drug-cartel hit men in Mexico are deserters from the army's elite. But the Zetas, as the ex-soldiers are known, may not be the only troops who abandoned their posts to work for the cartels.
In the eight years since the Zetas were organized, more than 120,000 Mexican soldiers have deserted the army, according to the government's records. Yet the country's defense officials have made little effort to track their whereabouts, security experts said, creating a potential pool of military-trained killers for the drug-trafficking gangs wreaking havoc in the country.
"Even if just 5 percent of those join the cartels, that's an army of hit men," said Georgina Sanchez, an independent security analyst in Mexico City...
posted by jillosophy at 6/19/2007 02:41:00 PM
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