Military men from generals to foot soldiers say they are being offered up to hundreds of thousands of dollars to turn a blind eye to shipments or call off anti-drugs operations in Baja California state, where there has been a surge of violence this year.
"These groups are coming to us to try to negotiate, to take us over to their side, trying to break us down," Gen. Sergio Aponte, who co-heads the military operation in Baja California, told reporters.
Since the late 1990s, Mexico has convicted at least five army generals for taking drug money, including the man who was once its anti-drugs czar and led the war against the gangs but was later found to be on the payroll of the Juarez Cartel.
Despite that record, Calderon has used the army as the driving force in his effort to destroy the cartels, sending 25,000 troops into action in an unprecedented campaign that began shortly after he took office in late 2006.
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