Federal Police (Mexico) Explained

Agencyname:Federal Police
Nativename:Spanish; Castilian: Policía Federal
Abbreviation:PF
Formed:May 30, 2009 (from Federal Preventative Police)
Dissolved:October 1, 2019
Superseding:National Guard
Preceding1:3rd Military Police Brigade, Mexican Army
Preceding2:Mexican Federal Highway Patrol
Preceding3:Mexican Federal Attorney Police
Preceding4:CISEN Counter-Intelligence Unit
Employees:+ 40.000 (at disbandment)
Budget:US$34.6 billion (2010)
Country:Mexico
Federal:Yes
Governingbody:Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection
Police:Yes
Anniversary1:Federal Police Day, June 2[1]

The Federal Police (Spanish; Castilian: Policía Federal, '''PF'''), formerly known as the Spanish; Castilian: Policía Federal Preventiva (Federal Preventive Police) and sometimes referred to in the U.S. as "Federales",[2] was a Mexican national police force formed in 1999. In 2019 it was incorporated into the National Guard and operated under the authority of the Department of Security and Civil Protection.

The Federal Police was formed through the merger of four previously independent federal police agencies — the Federal Highway Police, the Fiscal Police, the Investigation and National Security Center, and the Mexican Army's 3rd Military Police Brigade — and was initially referred to as the Federal Preventive Police.

Throughout its 20-year existence, the Federal Police was dogged by allegations of widespread corruption and abuse — allegations which President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said influenced his administration's decision to disband the force.[3] Since its disbandment, two high-ranking commanders have been arrested for offences they committed while leading the Federal Police.[4]

The police force was 1,870,406,000 pesos in debt to creditors, members of the public, and former employees when it was disbanded.[5]

History

On May 29, 2009, the Federal Preventive Police name was changed to Federal Police, and some duties were added to it. The Federal Police was created as the main Federal Preventive Police in 1999 by the initiative of President Ernesto Zedillo (1994–2000) to prevent, combat and to enforce the law that drugs will not run around on Mexico's streets. The PF has been assuming its authority in stages over time, as its budget has grown and it has combined and reorganized police departments from major agencies such as those for migration, treasury, and highways. Many large bus stations and airports in Mexico are assigned a PF detachment.

Public Safety Secretary Genaro García Luna hoped to reform the nation's long-troubled police. Among other steps, he consolidated several agencies into a Federal Police force of nearly 25,000.[6]

The Federal Police celebrates its anniversary on July 13 every year (Federal Police Day), with its history dating to 1928 as the successor of the agencies mentioned above.

Mexican Federal Preventive Police

Agencyname:Mexican Federal Preventive Police
Nativename:Policía Federal Preventiva de Mexico
Abbreviation:PFP
Patchcaption:Badge of the Mexican Federal Preventive Police
Formed:January 1, 1999
Dissolved:May 30, 2009
Preceding1:Mexican Federal Highway Patrol
Superseding:Mexico Federal Police
Employees:50,000-100,000
Country:Mexico
Federal:yes
Headquarters:CDMX, Mexico

The Mexican Federal Preventive Police was an agency created by the Mexican Highway Patrol in 1999. It was replaced by the Mexican Federal Police due to corruption problems and bribing issues. On May 30, 2009, the Mexican Federal Police took over the PFP's duties as the Federal Ministerial Police which also took over the Mexican Federal Investigative Agency's duties.

Calderón's administration

See main article: Mexican Drug War.

When Felipe Calderón took office as president in 2006, there were roughly half a dozen drug cartels in Mexico. Each of the organizations was large and dominated huge parts of Mexico's territorial landscape, and operated internationally and overseas as well.[7] When Calderón assumed the presidency, he realized that he could not rely on the federal police nor the intelligence agencies to restore order and crack down the logistics of the mafias. Over several decades, the cartels had bribed police commanders and top politicians; and often riddled with corruption, state authorities would not only fail to cooperate with other authorities in distinct federal levels, but would actively protect the cartels and their leaders. With limited options available, Calderón turned to the Mexican Armed Forces, which, because of its limited involvement in acting against the cartels, remained relatively immune to corruption and organized crime infiltration. He then moved the military to parts of Mexico most plagued by drug-violence to target, capture, and – if necessary – kill the leaders of the drug trafficking organizations. Yet, the president understood that the military could not fight the cartels alone and needed cops to rely on for patrolling, collecting intelligence information, and gathering evidences necessary to prosecute drug traffickers.

With the argument that he was tired of the corruption, Calderón abolished the AFI agency created in May 2009 and created an entirely new police force. The new force has formed part of Mexico's first national crime information system, which stores the fingerprints of everyone arrested in the country. They also have assumed the role of the Army in several parts of the country. According to The New York Times, the federal police have avoided "any serious incidents of corruption."

On October 21, 2008, President Felipe Calderón proposed to break the former Federal Preventive Police to replace it with a different organization, because "the PFP has not yielded the expected results and has not been a strong institution capable of serving as a model for all police services in the country."[8] [9] The new corporation became the Federal Police. It provides support to the police as to the Federal District, states and municipalities. This decision was said to be not entirely unexpected, given the insufficient number of convictions, the alarming increase of violence, abductions and cases of corruption and complicity with organized crime elements.[10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]

Peña Nieto's administration

In 2012, it was reported that President Enrique Peña Nieto's government had proposed the creation of a new unit to replace all Federal Police duties.[16] The Federal Police would not be disbanded, but they would be assigned to special tasks and missions. Additional information on Mexico's planned gendarmerie was on the website MexiData.info on December 24, 2012.[17]

In 2014, the Federal Police's Gendarmerie Division was created with 5,000 police agents. Its focus is on providing ongoing public security in areas with heavy criminal activities and providing border security. It is also expected to reinforce state, city, and municipal police forces as needed. It is one of the seven constituent divisions of the Federal Police, reporting directly to the Commissioner, and the newest to be incepted.

The National Gendarmerie is defined as a military grade force within the Federal Police.

Lopez Obrador's administration

See main article: National Guard (Mexico). Before becoming President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador campaigned on a promise to take the military off the streets of Mexico.[18] Shortly after getting into office, Obrador released a plan to create the National Guard under control of the Mexican Armed Forces which would be in charge of "preventing and combating crime".[19] Obrador stated that the new National Guard would be critical to solving Mexico's ongoing security crisis.[20] [21]

On 28 February, Mexico's General Congress voted to approve a 60,000-member national guard.[21] On 30 June 2019, the National Guard was officially established in the Constitution of Mexico.[22]

The new National Guard, de facto successor to a similar formation raised in 1821 and abolished in 1935, is composed today of personnel from parts of both the National Gendarmerie and Federal Forces Divisions of the Federal Police.[23]

Strength

In 2000, the PF had 10,878 agents and staff:

Organization

Regulation of the Law of the Federal Police in the Official Gazette of May 17, 2010, to establish the basic organizational structure of this Decentralized Administrative Body, Article 5 of that system, comprising a total of 136 seats of middle and senior management, broken 130 seats structure, as shown below:

Commissioner General

Intelligence Division

Research Division

Regional Security Division

Scientific Division

Drug Division

Federal Forces Division

National Gendarmerie Division

See article: National Gendarmerie (Mexico)

General Secretary

Internal Affairs

Superior Academy of Public Security of the Federal Police

Divisions

The Policía Federal consists of seven branches of service, known as divisions, administered by a central administration called the General Secretariat (Spanish; Castilian: Secretaría General)[24] [25]

There is also a separate Internal Affairs Unit (Spanish; Castilian: Unidad de Asuntos Internos).

2010 included the Spanish; Castilian: Policía Federal approx 35,000 civil servants on.[26] A Comisionado General (General Manager), which is used directly by the President of Mexico, heads with wide-ranging powers the institution.[27] Maribel Cervantes Guerrero broke off in February 2012 Facundo Rosas Rosas, who held this office since 2009 .[28]

The Special Operations Group (GOPES) is the police elite counter terror hostage rescue unit.

Ranks

Commissioned officers
Basic scale ladder

The ranks from Commissioner to Commissioner General wear more complex rank insignia involving the seven-pointed star of the Federal Police badge above one to four five-pointed stars placed between two stripes.

Equipment

Weapons

Pistols

Submachine guns

Long guns

Sniper rifles

Machine guns

Shotguns

Grenade Launchers

Transport

The Mexican Federal Police has many vehicles; land, sea, and air, it is estimated to own more than 17,000 patrol cars. The exact information regarding transport vehicles and aircraft that comprise the fleet of the Federal Police is classified, to protect the life and efficiency of agents.[29]

Rotary wing and fixed wing pilot training takes place in the school of Naval Aviation located in Las Bajadas, Veracruz.[30]

Aircraft

ManufacturerAircraftVersionsTypeIn ServiceOriginNotesImage
Fixed-wing aircraft
CN-235-400 Transport 2 1 on order
Unmanned aerial vehicles
Hydra Technologies S4 EhécatlS4B Observation & Reconnaissance 12
Elbit Hermes 450H-450 Observation & Reconnaissance 4 10
Helicopters
UH-60 Black HawkUH-60M/L Transport & Air Support13
Mil Mi-17Mi-171-V Transport & Air Support 3
Eurocopter AS350 ÉcureuilAS350L1 Reconnaissance & Air Support 103 more ordered
Eurocopter EC120 ColibriEC120 Transport & Reconnaissance 3
B-206L Transport & Reconnaissance 5 1 loss
B-412EP Transport, Air Support & Reconnaissance 3
MD 500MD 530G Reconnaissance & Air Support 7

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: México conmemora el Día del Policía. La Prensa . Laprensa.com.ni . 2014-03-25 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140325070454/http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2011/06/02/internacionales/62378 . 2014-03-25 .
  2. In a news conference after the Zacatecas prison break in May, spokesman Ricardo Nájera for the Mexican Attorney General stated that the name and acronym PFP (Policia Federal Preventiva) has not been used for a year and a half.Web site: YouTube . . 2016-11-29 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170213123144/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR_eCjjRA9I . 2017-02-13 .
  3. Web site: Former top police official in Mexico is arrested for torture. NBC News. 6 July 2021 .
  4. Web site: Former Mexican Federal Police Commander Sentenced to 10 Years' Imprisonment for Drug Trafficking Conspiracy. United States Department of Justice. 9 February 2022 .
  5. Web site: Hoy, último día de la Policía Federal. Milenio. 31 December 2019 .
  6. Web site: L.A. Times . L.A. Times . 2008-09-15 . 2014-03-25.
  7. News: Bonner . Robert C. . Cracking the Mexican Cartels . 7 July 2012 . . 15 April 2012 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20120829034729/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/16/opinion/16iht-edbonner16.html . 29 August 2012 .
  8. Web site: Andrea . Merlos . Pide Calderón 'zar' policiaco . 2008-10-22 . El Universal . 2008-10-23 . es . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20081024055722/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/primera/31838.html . 2008-10-24 .
  9. Web site: Toni . Cano . Calderón quiere una policía lejana a los narcos . 2008-10-23 . Diario Córdoba . 2008-10-23 . es . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20090211171753/http://www.diariocordoba.com/noticias/noticia.asp?pkid=439387 . 2009-02-11 .
  10. Web site: Relevan a 284 mandos de la Policía Federal Preventiva para depuración . 2007-06-25 . Notimex . 2008-10-23 . es . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090211201450/http://mx.starmedia.com/noticias/politica/mexico_198794.html . 2009-02-11 .
  11. Web site: Ricardo . Ravelo . Las policias: Improvización, caos, desastre . 2008-08-17 . Democrata – Norte de Mexico . 2008-10-23 . es . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20110708032853/http://democratanortedemexico.blogspot.com/2008/08/las-policas-improvisacin-caos-desastre.html . 2011-07-08 .
  12. Web site: Daniel Blancas Madrigal . Arrestan a más federales por el caso Martí . 2006-09-26 . La Cronica de Hoy . 2008-10-23 . es . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20081020002225/http://www.cronica.com.mx/nota.php?id_nota=387426 . 2008-10-20 .
  13. Web site: Jacinto . Segura Garnica . Gatilleros son empelados administrativos de PFP . 2007-04-30 . El Mexicano . 2008-10-23 . es .
  14. Web site: Cae mando de PFP por proteger al Rey Zambada . 2008-10-30 . El Universal . 2008-11-03 . es . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20081102100115/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/163281.html . 2008-11-02 .
  15. Web site: Maria de la Luz . González . Confirma PGR arraigo de ex comisionado de PFP . 2008-11-04 . El Universal . 2008-11-05 . es . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20081107120940/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/552550.html . 2008-11-07 .
  16. Web site: Is it Worth Creating a Gendarmerie in Mexico? - InSight Crime | Organized Crime in the Americas . InSight Crime . 2012-12-10 . 2014-03-25 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20140325072101/http://www.insightcrime.org/news-analysis/worth-creating-gendarmerie-in-mexico . 2014-03-25 .
  17. Web site: The 'National Gendarmerie' and Mexico's Crime Fighting Plans . Mexidata.info . 2008-12-15 . 2014-03-25 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20140325071531/http://www.mexidata.info/id3526.html . 2014-03-25 .
  18. News: Mexico is sending its new national guard to the Guatemala border. The mission is unclear.. Sieff. Kevin. 10 June 2019. The Washington Post. 2019-07-14. Sheridan. Mary Beth. en.
  19. Web site: Plan Nacional de Paz y Seguridad. transicion.mx. es. 14 July 2019.
  20. News: A Look At Mexico's New National Guard . 14 July 2019 . NPR.org . 13 July 2019 . en.
  21. News: Semple . Kirk . Villegas . Paulina . Mexico Approves 60,000-Strong National Guard. Critics Call It More of the Same. . 14 July 2019 . The New York Times . 28 February 2019 . en.
  22. News: Correa . Catalina Pérez . México necesita una Guardia Nacional realmente civil . 9 August 2019 . The New York Times . 8 August 2019 . es-LA.
  23. Web site: Hold These Truths with Dan Crenshaw - Inside the Mexican Cartel Wars | ed Calderon .
  24. Web site: Comisión Nacional de Seguridad . 11 December 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141201155721/http://www.ssp.gob.mx/portalWebApp/wlp.c?__c=7f9 . 1 December 2014 .
  25. Web site: Comisión Nacional de Seguridad . 11 December 2014 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20141031231152/http://www.cns.gob.mx/portalWebApp/wlp.c?__c=1f402 . 31 October 2014 .
  26. Web site: Alex Gertschen . Moral für den Krieg ohne absehbares Ende . 6 September 2009 . Neue Zürcher Zeitung . de . https://web.archive.org/web/20181127234406/https://www.nzz.ch/moral_fuer_den_krieg_ohne_absehbares_ende-1.7458708 . 27 November 2018 . dead.
  27. Web site: Diario Oficial de la Federación. Cámara de Diputados, 1. Juni 2009; retrieved, 15 April 2012 (PDF; 98 kB, spanisch, Gesetzestext). . 2014-03-25 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20120612203609/http://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/ref/lpf/LPF_orig_01jun09.pdf . 12 June 2012 .
  28. Web site: kheinle . Justice in Mexico Project, 13 February 2012 . Justiceinmexico.org . 2012-02-13 . 2014-03-25 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140302191907/http://justiceinmexico.org/2012/02/13/mexico-names-first-female-chief-of-federal-police/ . 2 March 2014 .
  29. http://www.ssp.gob.mx/portalWebApp/appmanager/ssp/desk?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=ssp_page_3&nodeId=/BEA%20Repository/270813//archivo&pathImg=%2FBEA+Repository%2Fimport%2FPolicia+Federal+Preventiva%2FLey+de+Transparencia+en+la+PFP%2FSOLICITUDES+Y+RESPUESTAS%2FSOLICITUDES+Y+RESPUESTAS+2007&docName=Documento%20sin%20título Transporte
  30. Web site: Entrenamiento de Pilotos de la PF . Portalaviacion.vuela.com.mx . 2014-03-25 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120706125904/http://portalaviacion.vuela.com.mx/articulos/enaval.html . 2012-07-06 .

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