Mexico: National Guard May Have Killed Pregnant Teen, One Other

Mexican National Guard troops are accused of shooting and killing a pregnant teen and another man in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. This news broke as Mexico's Supreme Court ruled that its transfer to the army was unconstitutional.

A report by the Associated Press revealed that a Mexican man claimed on Monday that members of the Mexican National Guard (GN) opened fire on his SUV. This attack killed his pregnant 15-year-old girlfriend and a 54-year-old friend. The man also claimed that two others were wounded.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had been pushing to give the military a greater law enforcement role and has been pushing for the National Guard to be under the control of the army. However, incidents such as this one have drawn more criticism to these AMLO policies.

The man filed a complaint against the Mexican National Guard on Monday to the local nongovernmental organization the Human Rights Committee of Nuevo Laredo on behalf of the driver of the SUV and other victims. The man claimed that the National Guard members shot at the SUV on Sunday while driving down a highway in Nuevo Laredo, which is right across the border from Texas. One of the passengers, a 23-year-old woman, remains hospitalized.

The complaint was addressed to AMLO himself, as well as the Interior and Defense ministers and the governmental human rights commission. It claimed that the driver noticed that a National Guard patrol vehicle began to follow the SUV and suddenly opened fire, hitting those sitting in the rear of the vehicle.

"The soldiers shouted at me, 'Get back, get back ... or we'll kill you," said the complaint filed by a man named Luís Rodríguez Santiago. "Then the National Guard got into their truck and left." This was when another National Guard vehicle pulled up and called for ambulances.

Mexico Supreme Court Rules National Guard Transfer to the Army Is Unconstitutional

AMLO had been trying to transfer the National Guard from civilian to military control. However, that shift had been challenged legally. Now, the Mexican Supreme Court has ruled that what the president was trying to do is unconstitutional.

According to the Associated Press, this was a blow to AMLO, who created the civilian force back in 2019 to help in the fight against the drug cartels.

Congress passed legislation that shifted control of the GN from the civilian government and into the military last year, as a large majority of the GN leadership originated from the military. However, AMLO's party soon lost the majority in Congress, making the shift more difficult.

What Happens to the National Guard After the Supreme Court Decision?

Initially, AMLO tried to push the transfer through constitutional reform, However, he did not have the congressional support to do so. Many hailed the decision as a step in the right direction, according to the Court House News Service. However, what will happen to the GN now?

Maria Elena Morera, executive director of the watchdog group Causa En Comun, noted that "The Constitution clearly says that the National Guard is a civil institution." This means that the GN must now return operative and administrative control to the Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection as was originally intended.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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