Security

Armed Forces Overview

Mexico maintains one the smallest militaries in the Western Hemisphere in per-capita terms. During 2004 it had 192,700 active armed forces personnel and 300,000 reservists. Active-duty personnel are assigned to the various services: army, 144,000; navy, 37,000 (including 8,000 marines); and air force, 11,770.

Foreign Military Relations

Historically, relations between the military establishments of Mexico and the United States have not been close. Cooperation peaked for a brief period during and after World War II. In the Cold War atmosphere that followed, however, Mexico opposed U.S. concepts of regional security. During the late 1980s, relations between the Mexican and U.S. military establishments improved as cooperative efforts expanded in the fight against illicit drugs. Numerous Mexican officers receive training in the United States and are well acquainted with U.S. military doctrine, but on the whole, the Mexican armed forces are less influenced by the U.S. military than the armed forces of other countries in Latin America.

External Threat

Mexico has no foreign nation-state adversaries and little ambition to impose itself upon other nations. It repudiates the use of force to settle disputes and rejects interference by one nation in the affairs of another. Although it has not suffered a major terrorist incident, Mexico considers itself a potential target for international terrorism.

Defense Budget

In 2005 Mexico’s defense budget was US$3.1 billion or about 0.4 percent of gross domestic product.

Major Military Units

The principal units of the Mexican army are nine infantry brigades and a number of independent regiments and infantry battalions. The main maneuver elements of the army comprise three corps, each consisting of three infantry brigades, all based in and around the Federal District. Distinct from the brigade formations, independent regiments and battalions are assigned to zonal garrisons. Infantry battalions, each composed of approximately 300 troops, generally are deployed in each zone, and certain zones are assigned an additional motorized cavalry regiment or an artillery regiment. The air force is organized into two wings and 10 air groups, as well as an airborne brigade. The air force’s principal base is located at Santa Lucía in the state of México. Other major air bases are located in the states of Baja California Sur, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Veracruz, and Yucatán. The navy’s operational command is divided between the nation’s two coasts. The Pacific fleet is headquartered at Acapulco; the Gulf of Mexico coast command is located at Veracruz. Each command has three naval regions. There are 17 naval zones, one for each coastal state; some are subdivided into sectors. In addition to the surface fleet, the navy maintains an aviation arm and a marine force.

Major Military Equipment

The army is equipped with 264 reconnaissance vehicles, approximately 860 armored personnel carriers, 194 towed artillery, five self-propelled artillery, 1,575 mortars, 30 antitank guns, eight antitank guided weapons, 80 air defense guns, and an unspecified number of surface-to-air missiles. The navy inventory includes three destroyers, eight frigates, 109 patrol and coastal combatants, and 19 support and miscellaneous vessels. Naval aviation maintains 150 unarmed helicopters and eight combat aircraft. The navy’s marine component is equipped with towed howitzers, mortars, and amphibious vehicles. The air force has 107 combat aircraft and 71 armed helicopters.

Military Service

The navy and air force are all-volunteer services, while the 144,000-strong army includes 60,000 conscripts. Army conscripts are selected by lottery and are obligated to serve for one year.

Paramilitary Forces

The Federal Preventive Police (Policía Federal Preventiva–PFP) under the Public Security Secretariat (Secretaría de Seguridad Pública–SSP) combats organized crime and domestic insurgencies. The PFP, which relies heavily on reassigned military police and intelligence personnel, includes several specialized tactical and investigative elements, an independent intelligence arm, the federal highway police, a border and port security branch, and an internal affairs component. The PFP currently numbers approximately 11,000 personnel and is projected to expand gradually toward a full strength of 15,000 to 20,000 agents.

Foreign Military Forces

None present.

Military Forces Abroad

Consistent with its foreign policy of non-intervention in the affairs of other states, Mexico has declined United Nations (UN) requests for peacekeeping troops. However, in 2004 the Mexican Foreign Ministry stated that Mexico would be willing to contribute non-combat personnel to UN peacekeeping missions. Mexico has dispatched unarmed troops to Central America and Indonesia to provide humanitarian relief in the aftermath of major natural disasters. In September 2005, a Mexican army convoy delivered humanitarian supplies to survivors of Hurricane Katrina in Texas. Mexico maintains military attachés in several friendly foreign capitals.

Police

Police forces, numbering 331,000 officers in 2005, exist at the federal, state and municipal levels. The paramilitary Federal Preventive Police (Policía Federal Preventiva—PFP) is the main enforcement arm of the federal government. The Federal Investigation Agency (Agencia Federal de Investigación–AFI) under the Office of the Attorney General is a multiskilled investigative agency comparable to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The Special Unit Against Organized Crime (Unidad Especializada Contra la Delicuencia Organizada—UEDO), an investigative arm of the Office of the Attorney General, was specially created to combat organized crime.

Internal Threat

Mexico faces numerous internal threats to public safety, most notably from established domestic drug trafficking networks that transport and distribute South American cocaine and other illicit substances destined for the United States. The country’s heavily armed, territorially organized drug trafficking networks regularly launch sophisticated, lethal attacks on police, rival drug gangs, journalists, and elected officials. Street crime and targeted crimes such as kidnapping for ransom are common in major cities. Politically inspired domestic insurgencies pose a minor, but persistent threat to public safety, mainly in the remote, mountainous zones of western and southern Mexico.

Terrorism

As of the spring of 2006, Mexico had not experienced a major terrorist incident, although some drug trafficking gangs have begun to employ high-powered military-grade weapons in their attacks. Mexico historically has been a haven for Latin American and Spanish militant groups, including the Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) terrorist organizations. Increased intelligence and law enforcement cooperation between Mexico and the governments of Colombia and Spain in recent years has helped reduce the presence of these groups in the country. Given its status as a major U.S. commercial partner and ally against terrorism, Mexico considers itself a potential target for attacks by the al Qaeda terrorist network. Since the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States,Mexico has upgraded border security and deployed its armed forces at critical infrastructure sites throughout the country.

Source: Library of Congress – Federal Research Division Country Profile