Mayor Responds to Admiral’s Revelation
(Acapulco, JG 17 June) On Wednesday Admiral Sergio Javier Lara Montellano, commander of the VIII Naval Region based in Acapulco, revealed that city police cameras had been spying on the military base and that information had leaked to organized crime groups. Yesterday, Acapulco Mayor Manuel Añorve Baños explained that when he first heard about the suspicions by the Navy that the city police had been compromising military security, he made his own investigation into the allegation. He said that it was he who invited the Army and Navy into the Emergency Response Center where the camera images were received, as a means of resolving the problem.
The mayor would not say whether any information had inappropriately been leaked to any crime groups, but did affirm that city law enforcement always works in close coordination with the military, and this is just one example of that relationship. He said that the Navy did indeed want to participate in the supervision of the cameras, and he interposed no objection.
Añorve declared, “I will not permit that there exist even the possibility that someone is involved [in this], and with legal arguments and proofs we shall apply all of the weight of the law.” He added, “By putting the city’s director of public safety together with the Navy’s people, we are assured of having greater transparency, and with both city police and Navy personnel monitoring the cameras, we will avoid any suspicion.” He added that if there is evidence of corruption, it needs to be presented formally so that appropriate action can be taken.
When asked directly about the leaks to crime groups, the mayor replied, “Unfortunately there is no police force that is totally free of this problem. I cannot deny that there are members of the force who are tempted to get involved such complicated issues, but they know that this will create big problems for themselves sooner or later. But also, there are many good policemen, some of which have given their lives in the battle against delinquency. “Things cannot change overnight, but we have made much progress in cleaning out the police force, as well as in training, in their code of conduct, and in the drug testing – all in accordance with federal guidelines, which we are bound to follow. I understand that it is a job that we must do every day.”
