Four military officers were indicted in the deaths of five unarmed youths in Nuevo Laredo in late February and were remanded in custody on Monday, months after the incident, which has fueled backlash in Mexico over the “militarization” of law enforcement. and society.

They are accused of opening fire with live bullets on seven young people who were driving in a car in the early hours of Sunday, February 26 in Nuevo Laredo (northeast), on the border with the USA.

Five occupants of the vehicle were killed, a sixth was injured, a seventh escaped unharmed.

The soldiers are being charged with “manslaughter with intent” by Mexico’s attorney general’s office, according to judicial sources. They were detained at a military base.

The soldiers were on routine patrol when they heard gunfire before spotting a vehicle driving without license plates and with its lights off, the defense ministry said in early March. When the military approached it, the driver developed speed and collided with a parked car. The soldiers opened fire when they heard a loud bang.

These young men — one of whom had American citizenship — “fell victims of disproportionate use of force” and “illegal use of weapons,” the National Commission for Human Rights (CNDH, an independent public authority roughly equivalent to the Ombudsman) complained on March 22.

Nuevo Laredo is often a scene of violent acts by organized crime gangs. On December 7, the authorities announced the death of seven alleged thugs in a battle with the military.

The opposition and the non-governmental organization Amnesty International denounced at the end of 2022 the “militarization” of Mexico, which they say is being deepened by the president of the nationalist left, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

The National Guard, created to replace the federal police, recently came under the control of the Ministry of Defense. While a law passed in late 2022 extended until 2028 the participation of the military in law enforcement operations.