Mexican military losing drug war support

Congress OK's $400 million
Military officials at the Ojinaga base told an AP reporter that no one was available to comment on the case. A request for comment from the Defense Department in Mexico City was not immediately answered.

Workers at the human rights office in Chihuahua state said no one was available to comment on the cases.

A $400 million drug-war aid package just approved by the U.S. Congress does not require the U.S. to verify that Mexico's military is respecting human rights, as many American lawmakers and Mexican human rights groups had insisted.

The requirement was dropped at the insistence of Mexican officials, who said it would violate the country's sovereignty.

And many Mexicans argue that the soldiers have to be tough. Arturo Huitzil, a federal government employee in Mexico City, said crime is out of control. He was robbed at an automatic teller machine on Father's Day.

"If the criminal is guilty, you have to use a strong hand," Huitzil said. "You can't coddle them."

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