Mexico's President Orders The Military To Combat The Country's Crime Wave

Soldiers stand guard at a Pemex gas facility in Reynosa in northeast Mexico, September 18, 2012. Reuters

Reuters: Mexico's new president is sending in the military to combat a crime wave costing the country billions of dollars

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's government unveiled a plan on Thursday to step up use of the armed forces to combat fuel theft, vowing to root out corrupt officials it says are largely responsible for a problem that has cost the country billions of dollars.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told a regular news conference his government would fight the theft "outside and inside" state oil firm Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), saying authorities were complicit in the bulk of the crimes.

"This is the theft of national assets, of public funds, of money that belongs to all Mexicans," he said.

Lopez Obrador said 600 illegal taps a day had been put on Pemex pipelines last year and that the same amount had been detected daily this year. That theft had cost the state oil company 60 billion pesos, or just over $3 billion, according to Mexican newspaper Milenio.

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WNU Editor: This has happened before. The Mexican military being used in solve Mexico's problems. This did not worked before. No reason to think it would work now.