Breaking the Law to Ensure Order: The Case of Tijuana (2007–2012)

This paper explores how state agents and civilians justify human rights violations when the military perform police tasks. Based on a set of interviews and documents, it analyses the actions of the armed forces and the police during a military‐led operation that targeted drug trafficking organisatio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bulletin of Latin American research 2021-04, Vol.40 (2), p.251-266
Main Author: Passos, Anaís M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Armed forces
civilian control
civil‐military relations
Discourses
Drug trafficking
Human rights
Human rights violations
Latin America
Mexico
Military operations
Police
Violations
violence
war on drugs
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Summary:This paper explores how state agents and civilians justify human rights violations when the military perform police tasks. Based on a set of interviews and documents, it analyses the actions of the armed forces and the police during a military‐led operation that targeted drug trafficking organisations in Tijuana. In a context of limited civilian control over the armed forces and the police, the paper identifies two discourses that supported the illegal action of state agents: the construction of a foreign other who does not belong to society and the need to use violence to accomplish a greater good.
ISSN:0261-3050
1470-9856
DOI:10.1111/blar.13135