08/05/10 – The governor of Nuevo León, Rodrigo Medina, and the commander of the Fourth Military Region, Guillermo Moreno, announced that police forces throughout the state would soon be issued high-powered rifles to combat organized crime. The Mexican military will train a large number of police agents on how to maneuver the high-powered rifles.
The weapons being issued to police are Bushmaster rifles of caliber .223 as well as Beretta rifles of caliber 5.56 millimeters. The number of rifles that will be distributed is unknown.
The Secretary of Public Security of the state, Luis Carlos Treviño Berchelmann, explained that the process of providing these weapons to police will be selective. Polygraph, toxicology, and psychological tests will be given to the agents before beginning their military training. He also commented that the weapons being issued are more powerful and “uneven” when compared to the common rifles used by many of the drug cartels.
Sources:
Cedillo, Juan. “Ejército entrenará a policías en NL.” El Universal. 05 August, 2010.
El Golfo. “Darán a policías armas automáticas en NL.” El Golfo. 05 August, 2010.
