Soldiers Replace Baja Police Force

In the latest attempt to strengthen crippled law enforcement efforts, the entire Baja California federal police delegation is being replaced with army soldiers amid indications of new nationwide changes in the notoriously corrupt force, authorities said Friday.

The 87 Baja agents were ordered to Mexico City Thursday for drug tests and debriefing, according to Gen. Jose Luis Chavez Garcia, the new Baja federal delegate, who oversees the force.

The move to place the Mexican military at the front lines of the nation’s anti-narcotics effort comes as Mexico struggles with the fallout of the arrest of its top anti-narcotics czar, Gen. Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, for his allegedly cozy relationship with a powerful drug lord.