DATE=10/26/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=MEXICO SECURITY (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-255507
BYLINE=GREG FLAKUS
DATELINE=MEXICO CITY
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The arrest of four leftist guerrilla leaders
in Mexico last week has produced both satisfaction and
caution among officials who say the armed groups had
plans to disrupt the nation's electoral process. As
VOA's Greg Flakus reports from Mexico City, the danger
from such groups is far from over.
TEXT: Mexico's Federal Police Chief, Wilfrido Robledo
says the Revolutionary Army of the Insurgent People,
known by its Spanish initials as the E-R-P-I, had
planned to disrupt next year's presidential election.
Documents captured by the Mexican army indicate that
the insurgents planned attacks here in Mexico City as
well as in other parts of the nation with the
objective of creating panic and chaos in the electoral
process.
The group has been linked to several high-profile
kidnappings in Mexico, but security expert Jorge
Fernandez, speaking in a VOA interview, says that the
guerrillas could also be involved in narcotics.
/// FERNANDEZ ACT (SPANISH) ///
Mr. Fernandez says the E-R-P-I operates in the same
part of Guerrero which produces marijuana and the
poppies from which heroin is produced. He said this
could represent a small-scale version of the link
between leftist guerrillas and drug smugglers that
developed in Colombia.
While the capture of four of the five leaders of the
group represents a clear victory for the government,
Mr. Fernandez says the threat of further insurgent
action still exists. He says the E-R-P-I has a large
arsenal of automatic weapons and maintains cells deep
in the mountainous terrain of both Guerrero and
Oaxaca. He also notes that this is but one of several
armed groups operating at this time in Mexico.
/// OPT ///
The E-R-P-I represents a splinter group from the
Peoples Revolutionary Army, or E-R-P, which traces its
origins back to the Lucio Cabanas (Loo SEE oh Kah BAHN
yaz) insurgent group. This faction operated in
Guerrero in the 1970's.
The leaders of the Zapatista rebel movement in the
southern state of Chiapas were also influenced by that
group. Over the past three years, the E-R-P and E-R-
P-I have carried out numerous attacks on police and
Mexican army units in Guerrero and have appeared in
various communities to issue anti-government
statements and seek recruits. (Signed)
NEB/GF/TVM/PT
26-Oct-1999 19:33 PM EDT (26-Oct-1999 2333 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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