MEXICO CITY: The apparent execution of a wounded fuel theft suspect by a Mexican soldier caught on video has provided graphic evidence of a long-suspected practice and put the government in an awkward spot as it tries to pass a security law critics say could shield troops.
Outrage at the surveillance camera video posted by media this week was swift from human rights groups, which claimed it provided rare evidence of an extrajudicial execution by security forces. But President Enrique Pena Nieto has limited his public comments to saying there should be an investigation.
And it remains unclear how the shocking images will affect public perception of the Mexican military’s role in combating organized crime as congress’ lower chamber debates a law that Pena Nieto has said is needed to give “certainty” to the armed forces in its policing role.
Human rights groups say the proposed law would make it more difficult to hold the military accountable for its actions and already some are linking the incident seen in the video to the legislation.
“If the interior security law is approved, it is predictable that this type of situation will continue occurring,” Mexican rights group Security without War said in a statement Friday.
The video appears to show a soldier shooting a wounded man in the back of his head as he lay on the ground during a May 3 encounter between the army and gunmen defending their fuel theft business in the town of Palmarito in central Puebla state. In total, the day’s combat left six civilians and four soldiers dead.
Mexican officials have defended such military operations as necessary in the face of growing fuel theft by gangs, often linked to organized crime, which tap into gasoline and diesel pipelines. The practice costs the country $780 million to $1 billion each year, Mexico’s treasury secretary has said.
The armed forces have played a prominent role in combatting organized crime and drug cartels in Mexico for more than 20 years, and many local police forces were deemed so corrupt that they were disbanded. There is widespread support among Mexicans for the military taking over their policing duties.
Mexico’s energy resources are considered critical infrastructure, so using federal forces to protect them is considered fair game, said Erubiel Tirado, coordinator of the national security, democracy and human rights program at Iberoamericana University in Mexico City.
Tirado said human rights abuses by soldiers in such situations were foreseeable.
“In a confrontational situation or an operation against criminals or enemies, they aren’t going to look for prisoners,” he said. “They are going to kill. This is what the video shows.”
The apparent extra-judicial execution in Puebla was just the latest such controversy.
In April 2016, after a video leaked showing soldiers and federal police torturing a young woman, Mexico’s defense secretary issued an unprecedented public apology.
Another, more deadly, incident lacked such video evidence and no such apology was forthcoming. Mexico’s national human rights commission determined that on June 30, 2014, in the town of Tlatlaya in Mexico State, soldiers executed at least 12 suspects after they surrendered.
The military had said that 22 suspects died in a gunfight in which only one soldier was wounded, but The Associated Press found evidence at the scene that contradicted that version.
Seven soldiers were initially charged. A judge dismissed charges against four, and a later ruling cleared the remaining three. A military court dismissed charges against six and convicted one of disobeying orders.
In October 2015, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said Mexico’s defense secretary had told him that troops were not trained for police work and the military didn’t want the job. Ra’ad Al Hussein said Mexico should return its soldiers to their barracks.
Whether the latest accusations of human rights abuses reverberate with the public is far from certain.
In a 2012 survey, polling company Parametria found that 62 percent of respondents said the human rights of drug traffickers needn’t be respected.
Parametria has been measuring the public’s perception of the army for years and found that confidence has ranged between 52 percent and 75 percent since 2002. That has consistently ranked it among the top three most respected institutions in Mexico, trailing the Roman Catholic Church. It’s most recent appraisal put it at 58 percent in January. And six out of 10 Mexicans surveyed said they prefer having the army in the streets to having the police.
But the incident in Puebla undoubtedly comes at an inopportune time for Pena Nieto and the armed forces, with human rights groups clamoring against the law. Some are criticizing proposed provisions that would give the military greater domestic intelligence-gathering powers and say it would make it more difficult for civilian authorities to investigate military abuses.
Others are using the video to bash the military’s role in fighting organized crime.
It is “irrefutable evidence that the militarization of public safety brings with it the excessive use of lethal force and other serious human rights violations,” according to Security Without War.
Video of apparent execution a problem for Mexican government
Video of apparent execution a problem for Mexican government
Putin signs off record Russian defense spending
- Around 32.5% of the budget has been allocated for national defense
- Lawmakers had already approved the plans in the past 10 days
Around 32.5 percent of the budget posted on a government website Sunday has been allocated for national defense, amounting to 13.5 trillion rubles (over $145 billion), up from a reported 28.3 percent this year.
Lawmakers in both houses of the Russian parliament, the State Duma and Federation Council had already approved the plans in the past 10 days.
Russia’s war on Ukraine, which started in Feb. 2022, is Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II and has drained the resources of both sides.
Kyiv has been getting billions of dollars in help from its Western allies, but Russia’s forces are bigger and better equipped, and in recent months the Russian army has gradually been pushing Ukrainian troops backward in eastern areas.
On the ground in Ukraine, three people died in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson when a Russian drone struck a minibus on Sunday morning, Kherson regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said. Seven others were wounded in the attack.
Meanwhile, the number of wounded in Saturday’s missile strike in Dnipro in central Ukraine rose to 24, with seven in serious condition, Dnipropetrovsk regional Gov. Serhiy Lysak said. Four people were killed in the attack.
Moscow sent 78 drones into Ukraine overnight into Sunday, Ukrainian officials said. According to Ukraine’s Air Force, 32 drones were destroyed during the overnight attacks. A further 45 drones were “lost” over various areas, likely having been electronically jammed.
In Russia, a child was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine, according to regional Gov. Alexander Bogomaz.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that 29 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight into Sunday in four regions of western Russia: 20 over the Bryansk region, seven over the Kaluga region, and one each over the Smolensk and Kursk regions.
Thailand protests Myanmar’s navy firing at Thai fishing boats
- Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra questioned claims that the fishing boats had intruded into Myanmar’s territorial waters
- Thailand seeking more details on the incident and a quick release of four Thai nationals who were among the 31 fishermen detained
BANGKOK: Thailand protested an incident involving Myanmar’s navy firing on Thai fishing vessels, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Sunday, after one fisherman drowned, two were injured and dozens were detained from one of the boats.
Shinawatra questioned claims that the fishing boats had intruded into Myanmar’s territorial waters when Myanmar’s navy opened fire on the vessels on Saturday.
The Thai defense ministry earlier said two of 15 Thai fishing vessels were fired on when they were 4-5.7 nautical miles (7.4-10.6 km) inside Myanmar’s territorial waters near the southern Thai province of Ranong.
“It is inconclusive,” Shinawatra said, when asked by reporters whether Thai fishing boats encroached on Myanmar’s territorial waters.
“We don’t support violence whatever the circumstances,” she said, adding that Thailand was seeking more details on the incident and a quick release of four Thai nationals who were among the 31 fishermen detained.
Myanmar’s ruling junta did not immediately respond to a telephone request for comment.
Thai Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said a letter protesting the use of force was sent to Myanmar through a local border mechanism, demanding clear details about what happened and a quick return of the Thai boat and crew detained.
Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa also issued a letter of concern over the incident to the Myanmar government and summoned the Myanmar ambassador for a meeting on Monday, seeking clarification about what happened and a quick release of the four Thai nationals.
Myanmar has been in crisis since 2021 when the military seized power, toppling an elected government and sparking an armed rebellion by crushing protests with lethal force.
Pakistan national airline hopes to resume Europe flights soon after regulator lifts ban
- The European Union Aviation Safety Agency suspended PIA’s authorization to operate in the EU in June 2020
- Once PIA gets approval for UK flights, London, Manchester, and Birmingham would be the most sought-after destinations
KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) said on Sunday it expects to resume European routes soon and is eyeing several UK destinations after the EU aviation regulator lifted its bar on the flag carrier.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) suspended PIA’s authorization to operate in the EU in June 2020 over concerns about the ability of Pakistani authorities and its Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) to ensure compliance with international aviation standards.
“PIA plans to approach the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) for UK route resumption, as EASA clearance is a prerequisite for their decision,” PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez Khan told Reuters.
EASA and UK authorities suspended permission for PIA to operate in the region after Pakistan began investigating the validity of pilots’ licenses following a deadly plane crash that killed 97 people.
Khan said the airline expects to resume flights to Europe, starting with Paris, within the next three to four weeks.
Once PIA gets approval for UK flights, Khan said London, Manchester, and Birmingham would be the most sought-after destinations.
PIA and the government, which is aiming to sell a 60 percent stake in the carrier, had urged EASA to lift the ban, even provisionally. The ban cost the airline 40 billion rupees ($144 million) annually in revenue.
Khan said the company has sufficient cash flow to add new routes. Decisions on leasing new aircraft will be made after the government finalizes privatization discussions, he said.
The loss-making national carrier has a 23 percent stake in Pakistan’s domestic aviation market, but its 34-plane fleet can’t compete with Middle Eastern carriers which hold a 60 percent market share, due to a lack of direct flights, despite having agreements with 87 countries and key landing slots.
The government’s attempt to privatize the airline fell flat when it received only a single offer, well below its asking price.
“With Europe now, and upcoming UK routes, we anticipate increased revenue potential and hence a rise in PIA’s value during the privatization process,” Khan said.
New EU chiefs visit Kyiv on first day of mandate
- The European Union’s new leadership team is keen to demonstrate it remains firm on backing Kyiv at a perilous moment for Ukraine
- Questions are swirling around the future of US support once Donald Trump assumes office in January
Kyiv: The EU’s new top diplomat Kaja Kallas and head of the European Council Antonio Costa arrived in Kyiv Sunday in a symbolic show of support for Ukraine on their first day in office.
“We came to give a clear message that we stand with Ukraine, and we continue to give our full support,” Costa told media outlets including AFP accompanying them on the trip.
The European Union’s new leadership team is keen to demonstrate it remains firm on backing Kyiv at a perilous moment for Ukraine nearly three years into its fight against Russia’s all-out invasion.
Questions are swirling around the future of US support once Donald Trump assumes office in January and there are fears he could force Kyiv to make painful concessions in pursuit of a quick peace deal.
Meanwhile, tensions have escalated as Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to strike government buildings in Kyiv with his new Oreshnik missile after firing it at Ukraine for the first time last month.
The Kremlin leader said the move is a response to Kyiv getting the green light to strike inside Russia with American and British missiles, and he has threatened to hit back against the countries supplying the weaponry.
As winter begins Russia has also unleashed devastating barrages against Ukraine’s power grid and on the frontline Kyiv’s fatigued forces are losing ground to Moscow’s grinding offensive.
“The situation in Ukraine is very, very grave,” Kallas, a former prime minister of Estonia, said. “But it’s clear that it comes at a very high cost for Russia as well.”
Ceasefire?
The new EU leaders — the bloc’s top officials along with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen — were set to hold talks with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelensky on Friday appeared to begin staking out his position ahead of any potential peace talks.
He called on NATO to offer guaranteed protections to parts of Ukraine controlled by Kyiv in order to “stop the hot stage of the war,” and implied he would then be willing to wait to regain other territory seized by Russia.
“If we speak ceasefire, (we need) guarantees that Putin will not come back,” Zelensky told Britain’s Sky News.
Kallas said that “the strongest security guarantee is NATO membership.”
“We need to definitely discuss this — if Ukraine decides to draw the line somewhere then how can we secure peace so that Putin doesn’t go any further,” she said.
Diplomats at NATO say there appears little prospect of the alliance granting Ukraine membership soon given opposition from a raft of members cautious of getting dragged into war with Russia.
Kallas said the EU “shouldn’t really rule out anything” in terms of the question of sending European troops to help enforce any ceasefire.
“We should have this strategic ambiguity around this,” she said.
’Transactional language’
Trump has cast doubt on continuing Washington’s vast aid for Ukraine and called on EU countries to do more.
Europe together has spent around $125 billion on supporting Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion, while the United States alone has coughed up over $90 billion, according to a tracker from the Kiel Institute.
Kallas said the EU would use a “transactional language” to try to convince Trump that backing Kyiv was in the interest of the US.
“Aid for Ukraine is not charity,” she said. “A victory for Russia definitely emboldens China, Iran, North Korea.”
The new EU foreign policy chief said the bloc would continue seeking to put Ukraine in the “strongest” position — if and when Kyiv chose it was time to negotiate with Moscow.
But she conceded that it was becoming “increasingly difficult” for the 27-nation bloc to agree on new ways to ramp up support for Ukraine.
“This war has been going on for quite some time and it is harder and harder to explain it to our own people,” she said. “But I don’t see any option.”
Russian drones target Kyiv in overnight strike
- Russia has regularly sent missiles and drones at Ukrainian settlements far beyond the front line
KYIV: Russia launched attack drones at Kyiv in its latest overnight air strike on the Ukrainian capital, city officials said on Sunday.
Air defenses destroyed around a dozen drones over the city, according to military administrator Serhiy Popko. No injuries were reported after debris fell on one city district, he said.
Reuters correspondents heard explosions above the city later in the morning during the second air-raid alert of the day.
Russia has regularly sent missiles and drones at Ukrainian settlements far beyond the front line of its nearly three-year-old invasion, targeting the energy grid in particular as winter sets in.
