Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto fired Federal Police Chief Enrique Galindo Monday, after the country’s National Human Rights Commission found cops had summarily killed 22 cartel suspects.
Secretary of the Interior Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong announced the firing and stated it was “by instruction of the president.” Osorio Chong went on to state that the change in leadership has “the objective of facilitating that the relevant authorities can carry out a quick and transparent investigation,” into the cartel killing.
The confrontation with cartels took place in the Mexican southwest in Michoacán state on May 22, 2015. Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission (known as CNDH) published its findings on August 18.
CNDH President Luis Raul Gonzalez Perez said in a press conference on August 18 that he believes, “the investigation confirmed facts that show grave human rights violations attributable to public servants of the federal police.”
Among its most damning pieces of evidence that this was no normal police raid, the CNDH found that 13 of the 22 cartel suspects who were arbitrarily killed, were shot from behind.
In response to the CNDH findings, Mexico’s National Security Commissioner Renato Sales held a press conference in which he stated, “The use of weapons was necessary and proportional against the real and imminent and unlawful aggression.” Ultimately Sales said that, “in our minds they [the police] acted in legitimate defense.”
A total, 42 civilians and one police officer died during the drug raid. Police claim that they were going after members of the Jalisco Cartel New Generation, one of the largest and most powerful cartels in Mexico. Authorities flew a Black Hawk helicopter to assist them in their raid, from which they fired 4,000 rounds, which managed to kill five people.
Two suspects at the scene of the operation were tortured, while another two were burned. It is not clear to the CNDH how 15 people died, but it appears the bodies were moved and guns planted to make victims appear as deadly threats to authorities.
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