WikiLeaks: Mexican Informants Killed

By: Blanche Petrich
La Jornada

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico acknowledged a WikiLeaks cable classified as "secret for internal use only" (09MEXICO193) of which the sources remain unknown that relates to the high human price that is being paid by Mexican police for their close collaboration with the two governments in the confrontation against organized crime: in 2007 there were 10 police officers killed who were alleged informants for the DEA.

It does not specify to which agency they belonged to but seven of them formed part of special units of officers that are typically subjected to extensive confidential tests by their agencies.

The report highlighted the murder of 51 "close contacts" of the FBI between the years of 2007 and 2008. The report went on to say: "over 60 of the best cops in Mexico who we had placed our trust in and with who we had collaborated in sensitive investigations, with who we had shared sensitive intelligence, who we had performed confidence tests and in many cases we had conducted training, were killed by the cartels."

Adding to this toll there are at least 161 known executions that are revealed in the blood that the active officers have spill in the areas of confrontation in Mexico. The report is dated January 23, 2009, signed by the Deputy Chief Charles Barclay with copies sent to the Departments of State, Justice, Homeland Security, Treasury, the National Security Council, CIA, and to the Northern and Southern Commands. It reads as follows: "We have been observing that the alerts of threats and incidents related to our employees and their property in the last three months are becoming more frequent."

"Although the cartel at this time have not directed their attacks directly against us, they will not waste no time attacking some of our most reliable partners in the police forces of Mexico."

In another paragraph it states: "we know from our informants that cartel members have occasionally considered the possibility of causing harm to our staff and institutions, but frankly we still do not know enough about how these organizations could operate or what factors may push them in to action. However, the threat is very real."

"These are the scenarios: the risk to U.S. personnel in Mexico has increased to the extent that violence in Mexico will continues to grow. Another factor that could trigger an adverse reaction will be if the cartels perceive that the U.S. intervention in support of the Mexican government in the fight against drug trafficking is responsible for some of their losses."

This cable provides a detailed report on the death tolls related to the drug war violence in 2008, the highest number known so far. In the year of 2008 the number of killings linked to organized crime was 6,380, this according to data provided by the Department of Defense to the U.S. embassy, which is double the number from the previous year in 2007 of 3,038.

It also records a sharp increase in casualties from various police agencies and military. Citing data from the Department of Defense and the Center for Information, Analysis and Planning, the embassy report that in 2007 315 officers were killed and the number increased to 522 in 2008. Of these, the municipal police was the primary agency affected, with a total of 425 deaths in the biennium, state agencies suffered 172 casualties, military had 78 (in contrast the military had 27 casulaties in 2007 that nearly doubled the following year (2008) with 51 killed), 77 judicial police , 49 officers of the then Federal Police, 27 of the AFI, plus nine additional victims of unknown agency.

To the American press, "the worst is yet to come." Analysts representing data in Washington about Mexico agree with that diagnosis, and it continues: "We will continue evaluating the information. The evidence at our disposal so far suggests that the cartels have decided to raise their activity, they are now undertaking attacks causing heavy casualties among civilians, they are also directly hitting the government officials and institutions in Mexico and they are capable of hitting U.S. personnel at will."

It also states that the cartels are directing their attacks against the Mexican military, "an ominous sign", as expressed by Barclay.

"There have been significant incidents against Mexican soldiers, of great violence, including a series of killings in October in Monterrey and the beheading of six enlisted men in Guerrero." The embassy interprets these events as an act of "revenge" by the "success obtained by the military. "

He continues: "Do not know yet if this violence will have a chilling effect. Some informants say soldiers are now more fearful, but others say they are going to respond even more vigorously. We know that the Mexican Secretary of the Navy and the Department of Defense have instructed its regional commanders to take measures to counter the risk of future incidents."

The analysis in early 2009 from director Barclay was correct in one thing about the trend in the drug violence, the worst was yet to come.