David K - 10-20-2004 at 11:13 AM
A Visitor's Guide To M?xican Police
Ej?rcito M?xicano (M?xican Army)
The army has been charged with civil protection, fish and game patrols (land and fresh water), conservation and fire fighting duties. Regional
regiments are commanded by One-Star General officers. Subsidiaries of the regiment are called "Batallons" (Battalions). Officers and enlisted men are
stationed a minimum of one thousand miles from their home to avoid collusion and conflicts of interest. Army personnel are usually dressed in
camouflage uniforms. They transport with Mercedes deuce and a half trucks and patrol in American General manufactured Hum Vee vehicles. Belgian FN.
7.62 mm. automatic rifles are the mainstay of the troop armament. Browning .30 caliber M6A1 machine guns are used to arm sandbag reinforced positions
monitoring rural roads in narcotics transport areas. The army cannot prosecute civilians directly. Suspects are remanded to federal or state police
custody for further processing.
Armada M?xicano (M?xican Navy)
Navy duties are similar to those of the army. Naval patrols also assist ships and boats in distress. Fifteen hundred ton Frigates are the mainstays of
the blue water fleet while multiple (outboard) engines open craft patrol shorelines and estuaries. The former is equipped with 3" 50 cal. Naval
cannon, Browning M2A1 .50 cal. machine guns and hand weapons. The later uses Browning .30 caliber air-cooled machine guns. Naval personnel dress in
dark blue uniforms. The Armada is saddled with the responsibility of fish and game enforcement. M?xican land transport vehicles are similar to those
that the army uses except they are light gray in color.
Polic?a Judic?al Federal (PJF)
Thirty one regional command?nte officers each supervise a minimum of six Capit?ns who in turn supervise a minimum of sixty subordinates. A cadre of
"home office" command?nte officers is at the disposal of the Command?nte Primer, who is based in M?xico City. The Command?nte Primer is directly under
the Secret?ria de Gobernacion, an appointed cabinet minister. The Secretaria de Gobernacion is generally regarded as the second most powerful position
in Mexican government (right after the president). The federal police are charged with enforcing M?xico's most serious criminal laws including "Gr?nde
Del?tos Feder?les" which is the same as "Federal Felonies" (murder, drugs, bank robbery).
Federal police officers prefer two modes of dress? all black for operations and similar to prosperous Texas cattle ranchers (cowboy boots and all).
Armament consists of Browning Automatic Rifles, UZI 5.56 mm. machine guns, Ingram MAC 10, 9 mm. machine pistols, and heavily decorated Colt 45 caliber
handguns. Command?nte and Capit?n officers prefer to drive new Chevrolet Suburbans with heavily tinted windows. Rank and file Feder?les sometimes
drive confiscated automobiles without bothering to remove U.S. license plates. Federale task forces cruise the roads in battered station wagons and
pickup trucks.
Official identification consists of a badge and photo Identification card. When flipped open the silver badge will occupy the right flap. The badge is
in the form of a shield with the inscription: POLIC?A FEDERAL. Above the inscription is a nine-digit badge number. The photo ID has the officers mug
in the lower right corner. The officer's name, district, and badge number is printed on the bulk of the card. Shadowed in, in large Arial background
print are the words "POLIC?A LA REP?BLICA". In a working crew of eight police officers only one will have an identification badge and photo ID.
M?xican Secret Service
The official title of appointed field agents is: Sub Deleg?do Federal Para Investigacion Nacion?l y Seguridad de la Rep?blica. Formerly called the
Federal Security Directorate (DFS). Agent's responsibilities include spying on opposition political parties, infiltrating, and counter-subversion of
dissident political factions, and labor union groups. Security officers normal dress is prosperous businessmen's attire. Their armament consists of
weapons similar to those of the Federal Police. Their badge is a shield with the motto "Seguridad Nacion?l". Secret Service agents prefer new Dodge
Cirrus (unmarked) sedans, with a radio antenna on the roof. M?xican secret service agents are at the whim of each 6-year federal administration. Many
manage to stay on from term-to-term. The Secretaria de Gobernacion is the Federal administrative head of field agents.
Polic?a Federal de Caminos y Puentes
Federal Highway Patrol. Tired four-cylinder Dodge Aries and Mustang patrol cars are being replaced with the much more popular full-size Ford
8-cylinder sedans. Patrol cars are black and white, with a red and blue strobe lamp overhead light bar. Uniforms consist of brown pants and a khaki
shirt. Usually armed with a 9-mm automatic.
Polic?a de Hacienda
Treasury cops. Blue and silver Dodge Ram pickups and Dodge Cirrus sedans. Blue and red overhead light bar. Dark blue pants with light blue shirt.
Treasury cops intercept smuggled merchandice and arrest the participants. They are usually found near M?xico's international, borders and shipping
ports. Armed with 9-mm automatics and shotguns.
Polic?a del Est?dal (PJE)
State police officers. Plain-clothed. Armed with every conceivable type of weapon. Envious of the prestige of the more elite PJF. Identification
consists of a photo ID and a star or shield badge depending on the state. State cops love to cruise around in new Dodge Ram pickup trucks occasionally
with six heavily armed officers perched on the bed rails. Armament takes the form of a 9-mm. or .38 caliber sidearm.
Trans?tos
Traffic cops are usually attired in brown garb and they drive regulation patrol automobiles with overhead light bars, and police identification
markings on the door. Their armament consists of a revolver or semi-automatic handgun. Uniforms are usually light brown (Transitos are referred to as
"tamarindos").
Ejid?ros
A ragtag assortment of civilians that are members of an Ejido. Their powers are limited and they are considered little more than an ill-trained and
equipped rural police auxiliary. Transportation is via anything with wheels, usually with a Kojak bubble gum light on the roof. Many Ejideros have
firearms but most cannot afford ammunition.
Note:
It is a serious violation of federal law for a plain-clothed officer to refuse to show proper identification when asked to do so.
Excellent post David
jrbaja - 10-20-2004 at 12:02 PM
I might add that the PJF guys are similar to the majority of u.s. border patrol agents. Nasty at best !!
You don't want to mess with these guys as they do have an "Attitude"!
viabaja - 10-20-2004 at 12:41 PM
Dave,
Great post! Note attached Mexican military rank insignia. I wanted to see to whom I'm talking to at those check points.
JESSE - 10-20-2004 at 12:49 PM
JUst a few observations:
Polic?a Judic?al Federal (PJF) no longer exists, it was replaced by AFI ( Agencia federal de investigaciones ).
M?xican Secret Service is now CISEN, (Center for intelligence and national security), you will never see these guys.
Polic?a Federal de Caminos y Puentes no longer exists, it was abosrved by the newly formed PFP or (policia federal preventiva).
Polic?a del Est?dal (PJE) had changed to (PME) or Policia ministerial del estado, their functions have stayed the same.
bajalou - 10-20-2004 at 12:50 PM
viabaja, great information - thanks
At the checkpoint at Hghy 5 and Hghy 3 north of San Felipe we sometimes have soldiers in the olive camo and some in the desert tan camo uniforms.
Also from time to time I've seen the desert tan at other roving checkpoints in the Mexicali valley.
Bruce R Leech - 10-20-2004 at 01:06 PM
Nice job David please post this in moor places Bruce in Mulege Baja
http://www.mulegebaja.com
info@mulegebaja.com
Braulio - 10-20-2004 at 05:33 PM
I hate to be an a-hole again - but - the written accents in this article are pretty helter skelter - it's as if someone just kind of threw them in
there randomly -in addition many of the words that should have written accents don't.
If anyone cares: you can get about 90% of the accents right if you remember a couple of rules:
1)If the last syllable ends in a vowel or -s or -n then the second to the last syllable is stressed (verbally) - but no written accent is used.
2)If the last syllable ends in a consonant other than -n or -s then the last syllable is accented - but again - no written accent is used.
Exceptions to these rules are where the written accents are to be used.
The other 10% of the cases mostly concern distinguishing between homonyms and stressing weak vowels in dipthongs - or when the third to the last
syllable is stressed.
Here's a link - if anyone's interested let's take it over to the language section - meanwhile checkout-:
http://coe.sdsu.edu/people/jmora/Accents.htm
Chau and apologies.
Where'd you get this David? I'd hate to see something like this go to print.
[Edited on 10-21-2004 by Braulio]
[Edited on 10-21-2004 by Braulio]
u2u
Oso - 10-20-2004 at 06:02 PM
Brad, I just sent you a u2u, I thought. But it didn't look right after I hit send. let me know if you got it or not.
ranks
Oso - 10-20-2004 at 06:58 PM
viabaja,
cool site, but "General de army"???
Braulio - 10-20-2004 at 07:04 PM
Got it - igualmente wey.
David K - 10-20-2004 at 08:38 PM
Thanks, I first posted this in the thread about the El Rosario checkpoint ripoffs, today. There I said it was a couple years ago that David Eidell
posted it on Amigos de Baja and also emailed it to me.
Here, as there, I gave credit to the author that was attached to the article (Carlos Barragan @ Duran Freight)... Who I would presume to be a
Mexican... albeit one who doesn't know his accents.
If JESSE or another would care to update the changes he mentioned and fix the punctuation, in Word, and repost it that would be great.
Braulio - 10-20-2004 at 09:44 PM
No sweat David - except - I can guarantee that a mexican didn't write it.
I mostly just wanted to be sure that it wasn't part of some work in progress to be printed by a non-spanish speaker - it would turn out to be kind of
embarrassing.
If you want the words corrected I'd be happy - but apparently it's not that important.
Chau man.