A video obtained by Univision questions the actions of the Mexican military in an operation against alleged drug traffickers

Photo: ULISES RUIZ/AFP/Getty Images

A chilling security video to which Univision had exclusive access raises serious questions about the behavior of a group of mexican military after the arrest of five alleged drug dealers in Nuevo Laredo. The Prosecutor's Office is investigating the death of the suspects who appear alive at the beginning of the video.

The video has strong images that may be disturbing to some people.

The Univision News investigative unit, Univision Investigatesgot this exclusive video that raises serious doubts about the behavior of the Mexican Armed Forces in its war against drug violence.

The material, which was broadcast on Tuesday, May 6 during the evening edition of Noticiero Univision, shows 11 Mexican soldiers chasing and later arresting five alleged drug traffickers after his truck crashed into a wall in the border city of Nuevo Laredo.

Stunned criminals are taken from the truck, handcuffed, dragged and placed against the wall behind a supermarket. The soldiers proceeded to shoot in the direction where these men were lying, and then placed some of the high-caliber weapons found in the vehicle next to the drug traffickers. All five men were later reported dead.

An analysis of the video by former DEA agent Jim Shedd called the tactics "totally amateurish." and added that the images reflect "little professionalism on the part of the soldiers."

Inside the Ford pickup, drugs were reportedly found.

Univision Investiga had exclusive access to more than 80 minutes of the video that shows the fateful outcome of the operation on May 18, less than a kilometer from the border with the United States and the video does not show obvious signs of aggression against the military.

The five occupants of the vehicle who are pushed down alive, punched and kicked, end up dead at the end of a confusing day in which the military fired left and right against a non-existent enemy, since the men who got out of the vehicle did not they offered resistance.

The video could become key evidence in an investigation by the Mexican prosecutor's office. A spokesperson for the agency confirmed to Univision that a file was opened for these events.

The operation was officially reported as an armed confrontation, according to what Tamaulipas State Security Secretary Sergio Hernando Chávez García told the Milenio news program: “[Los Militares] They were attacked and then when they repelled the aggression, these events occurred."

an invisible enemy

The video, reviewed minute by minute by Univision, does not show any aggression. On the contrary, it is the military who constantly beat those arrested despite the fact that they are handcuffed and some are dazed by the brutal collision of the vehicle against the wall.

Univision Investiga visited the scene of the events. On the wall there are traces of blood, bullet holes and three crosses in memory of Ángel Moreno, born in 1995, José Rivera Vega, in 1999, and Jorge Antonio Collector. An official list added Edgar Chavarría, 38, and Clinton Alex, 25.

“It is unbelievable what happened. These soldiers are going to end up in jail. I don't see any other way out for them, they are going to prosecute them”, commented former DEA agent Jim Shedd who participated in joint operations with local authorities in Latin America. "Is it something completely out of the ordinary or is it something that they are used to doing, which is another danger."

Keep reading:

– They murder Pablo Salgado, a radio host in Iguala, Guerrero, organized crime would be behind the crime, says the prosecutor's office
– Mexico: the wave of violence that led the government to deploy the army in Tijuana and other cities
– López Obrador acknowledges that the highest number of homicides in the history of Mexico has occurred in his government