Military Use in Public Security Operations: Is it ever Advisable?
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| Autor | David Pion-Berlin |
| Páginas | 13-28 |
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REVISTA DEL INSTITUTO DE CIENCIAS JURÍDICAS DE
PUEBLA, MÉXICO. E-ISSN 1870-2147. NUEVA ÉPOCA
VOL. 13, No. 44. JULIO - DICIEMBRE DE 2019. PP 13-28
Military Use in Public Security
Operations: Is it ever Advisable?*
¿Es aconsejable el uso militar en operaciones
de seguridad pública?
David Pion-Berlin**
ABSTRACT
Countries throughout the Latin American region have
introduced the armed forces into internal security
operations of one kind or another. Since militaries
are accustomed to using maximal levels of violence
to defeat enemies, such interventions could pose
threats to civilians. However, it may be that those risks
vary, depending upon the nature of the intervention.
Internal security challenges must first be disaggregated
to explore the varieties of operations that militaries
undertake. Militaries can adhere to this and other
international human rights standards of behavior, when
the requisites of the mission are compatible with their
pre-existing skill sets. Where they are not, human rights
violations will inevitably result. Evidence for this comes
from research on counter-narcotic operations in Mexico,
where military police patrols are differentiated from
high value targeted operations.
KEY WORDS
Military, military missions, military operations, police
patrols, internal security, public security, Mexico, human
rights.
RESUMEN
Los países de toda la región de América Latina han
introducido a las fuerzas armadas en operaciones de
seguridad interna de un o otro tipo. Dado que los milita-
res están acostumbrados a utilizar niveles máximos de
violencia para derrotar a los enemigos, tales interven-
ciones podrían representar una amenaza para los civiles.
Sin embargo, puede ser que esos riesgos varíen, depen-
diendo de la naturaleza de la intervención. Los desafíos
de seguridad interna primero se deben desagregar para
explorar las variedades de operaciones que realizan los
militares. Los militares pueden adherirse a esta y otras
normas internacionales de comportamiento de dere-
chos humanos, cuando los requisitos de la misión son
compatibles con sus habilidades preexistentes. Donde
no estén, inevitablemente se producirán violaciones de
derechos humanos. La evidencia de esto proviene de la
investigación sobre operaciones antinarcóticos en Mé-
xico, donde las patrullas de la policía militar se diferen-
cian de las operaciones dirigidas de alto valor.
PALABRAS CLAVE
Militares, misiones militares, operaciones militares,
patrullas policiales, seguridad interna, seguridad
pública, México, derechos humanos.
*Artículo recibido el 30 de mayo de 2018 y aceptado para su publicación el 25 de junio de 2018
**Profesor en The University of California, Riverside, Estados Unidos. (david.pion@ucr.edu) orcid.org/ 0000-0002-
9887-7083
DAVID PION-BERLIN
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SUMARIO
1. Introduction
2. The Argument Against Military Use for Public Security
3. Disaggregating the Security Threat
4. Boundaries Between Police and Military Missions
5. The Mexican Case: Military Police Patrols vs. High Value Targeted Operations
6. Conclusion
1. Introduction
The use of armed forces personnel in internal security operations, and counter-
crime operations in particular, is now widespread in Latin America, for better
or worse. The following statistics make the point:
Guaranteeing the internal order is now a constitutional provision
in ten Latin American nations.1
In 2014, 94 percent of Latin American armed forces regularly per-
formed operations related to public security, 65 percent have a
program related to citizen security, and 76 percent possess regular
programs for combatting drugs and crime.2
13 countries have military, counter crime, counter-narcotic oper-
ations. 14 countries have frontier operations against trans-border
criminal activity, and 10 countries conduct military citizen securi-
ty operations, including foot patrols, riot control and response to
demonstrations.3
Most scholars are deeply skeptical that soldiers can perform these roles compe-
tently and humanely. Specifically, they fret that the military will not be able to
restrain their use of force, and that innocent civilians might get harmed in the
process. For this reason, some nations have amended constitutions or passed
laws restricting the use of military force within national borders. And yet, all
nations of the region continue to allow for some form of military utilization
under certain conditions.
1 “Comparative Atlas of Defense in Latin America and the Caribbean”, Red de Seguridad y Defensa de América
Latina, 2014. Disponible en: http://www.resdal.org/
2 “Comparative Atlas of Defense in Latin America and the Caribbean”, Red de Seguridad y Defensa de América
Latina, 2014. Disponible en: http://www.resdal.org/
3 “Comparative Atlas of Defense in Latin America and the Caribbean”, Red de Seguridad y Defensa de América
Latina, 2014. Disponible en: http://www.resdal.org/
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