Federal Police Officers Brawl, Accuse Commanders Of Corruption In Juarez

Meant to bring order to the violence-ridden border town, the Mexican federal police in Ciudad Juarez added to the chaos with corruption allegations and a brawl that is deeply dividing officers and their superiors.

The private tensions within the force erupted into a publish clash on Saturday that left several officers injured.

About 200 federal officers were involved in a protest that turned into an aggressive scuffle pitting officers against commanders. A group of officers accuse their superiors of being involved in rampant corruption stemming from the cartel drug wars.

The clash happened in front of Hotel La Playa where some federal police officials have their offices.

Four commanders are now suspended from their posts and under investigation by Mexican authorities.

Video of the confrontation captured by ABC-7’s Juarez newspartners, Channel 44, shows angry mobs of officers throwing punches against one another.

Jose Luis Mauricio, member of La Red – a group of Juarez business owners based in El Paso – told ABC-7 the video is difficult to watch.

“Seeing the images gives us a really bad feeling,” Mauricio said. “If we were insecure before, if we were afraid before, seeing those images tells us that things are really worse than we thought.”

“It’s a very difficult time for us, for the business community in Juarez, not being able to trust our own authorities,” he said. “There’s so many interests inside the police. Some policemen want to do things right but their chiefs don’t. And that’s where the problems begin.”

But it’s not where the problems end. Federal officers are under attack by the Ciudad Juarez drug cartels and on edge, especially due to recent assaults on officers.

On Aug. 8, federal police officers were sprayed with bullets and attacked with a grenade as they were tending to one of their own who had been killed on the job.

That attack was preceded by the July 15 car bomb that killed three, including a federal officer.

The Mexican federal police force took over public security duties in Ciudad Juarez just four months ago in April. There are currently about 5,000 federal officers deployed to the city.

Mauricio said Saturday’s flare-up is just the boiling point for a public security crisis that’s been simmering for some time.

“It has been in crisis but I think this is just the bottom of the crisis,” he said.

Ciudad Juarez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz told ABC-7 he is set to meet with federal police officials on Monday to discuss the incident.

Related Links:Link:Full Travel WarningVideo:Link:Los Angeles Times Mexico Drug War Special Project