Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday he had ordered an investigation into the suspected extrajudicial killing of an alleged gang member after a shootout with the military.

The newspaper El Universal published a video that it said was of a pursuit and armed clash in the northeastern border city of Nuevo Laredo that left a dozen suspected criminals dead.

In the footage, reported to have been filmed on July 3 from a military vehicle, men in uniforms are seen approaching a pick-up truck after intense gunfire has subsided.
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A shout of “he’s alive!” is heard, followed by “kill him, kill him” and an expletive.

“There was a report of a possible crime committed by a member of the army when he finished off a wounded man,” Lopez Obrador told reporters.

“Today I gave instructions to the defense minister to investigate it. We’re not going to allow these practices.”
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Members of the Mexican security forces have been accused on several occasions of torture, human rights violations and extrajudicial killings since a controversial anti-drug operation began in 2006.

Before coming to power in 2018, Lopez Obrador was a vociferous critic of the campaign and vowed to send the military back to the barracks.

But the armed forces have continued in their role of tackling gang-related violence, although Lopez Obrador says he has instructed them to respect human rights.

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