Mexico’s military gains power as president turns from critic to partner

Members of Mexico’s military salute during an official reception in Mexico City in 2014. As a candidate for president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador slammed Mexico’s armed forces and the “mafia of power” that he said controlled them. The deal with the United States, tweeted political analyst Carlos Bravo Regidor, “is more of a triumph for the military than for AMLO.” Some analysts believe that López Obrador’s presidency has become so inextricably linked to the armed forces that he had little choice but to lobby for Cienfuegos. “Having an armed forces with that much power is really dangerous.” On Thursday, Mexico said that it will no longer allow officials accused of corruption to be tried in the United States, ending a long tradition in which major drug cases involving crooked officials were held north of the border because of Mexico’s weak justice system, under which the vast majority of reported crimes go unpunished. Cienfuegos denied a human rights commission investigating the case access to troops that had been on the scene, saying he would not permit his soldiers “to be treated like criminals.” Promising “zero impunity” for military personnel linked to the Guerrero disappearance, López Obrador’s administration recently issued arrest warrants for military and police officials.