Mexico Replaces Police With Soldiers In Border Area

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NPR:

In Mexico, one controversial part of President Felipe Calderon's war against the drug cartels has been the use of the military to fight organized crime. Now in the border state of Tamaulipas, the Mexican army is taking over full control of the police departments in some of the state's most troubled cities.

In May, municipal police across Tamaulipas were ordered to turn in their weapons. This week 3,000 armed reinforcements from the military finally arrived to help patrol the state. The Mexican government sent soldiers to replace police in 22 municipalities, including the border cities of Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa and Matamoros.

Outside the main police station in Matamoros — across the border from Brownsville, Texas — scores of police officers lounge around in the parking lot. Others sit idly in the lobby. They're in uniform but their weapons are conspicuously absent from their holsters.