Naval Infantry Corps
| Infanteria de Marina | |
|---|---|
| File:Mexican Marines Patrol.JPG Mexican Marines on coastal patrol | |
| Active | 1822 – Present |
| Country | United Mexican States |
| Branch | Mexican Navy |
| Type | Amphibious |
| Role | Naval Infantry |
| Size | 15,000 |
| Motto(s) | En la tierra, en el aire y en el mar (On land, air and sea) |
| Website | http://semar.gob.mx/infanteria/pagina.html |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Mariano Francisco Saynez Mendoza |
The Mexican Naval Infantry, (Spanish:Infanteria de Marina) or Marina, are the marine corps and amphibious infantry force of the Mexican Navy. Main task of the Infanteria de Marina is to guarantee the maritime security of the countrys ports and external and internal defense of the country, to accomplish these responsibilitys the corp is trained and equipped to take on any type of operations from Sea, Air and Land.[1]
Mission
To accomplish the necessary services and task, The Naval Infantry's overall responsibilitys is to develop Amphibians Naval Operations in the areas of operations of the Navy, in order to mobilize naval troops, immediately and decisively.
and also to execute the following task:
- Command and Control - For the design, preparation and conduct of operations.
- Amphibious assault - To execute amphibious operations as part of a Naval Force.
- Air assault - To run infiltration operations in areas of difficult access.
- Amphibious command - To execute special operations such as: reconnaissance, incursions, urban combat and to support other regular operations.
- Combat Support - To execute operations in support of artillery in the development of amphibious and other regular forces operations
- Reconnaissance - Operations to obtain information to support operational units.
- Immediate Response - To run operations in emergency situations,to help the civilian population.
History
Mexican Drug War
Since the start of President Felipe Calderon's war on the drug cartels, the Infanteria de Marina's role has grown from maritime port security to combating organized crime, drug trafficking, extermination of marijuana fields, drug interdictions at sea, and also participating in arrest of cartel suspects in land based operations.[3]
For the last three years the navy has carried out permanent intense anti-narcotic operations. Such task as the extermination of marijuana fields which mostly takes place in the north-western part of the country is done by first locating the fields by satellite or simply by air reconnaissance, then sending a team of marines to eradicate the cannabis plants.[4] One of its big seizures was in late October 2007, when navy personnel in a joint operation with other Mexican agency's seized 23 tons of cocaine in the port city of Manzanillo, Colima.[5][6]
Narco submarine interception
Obviously drug interdiction at sea is also part of the Navy's strategy to combat drug trafficking, this came to light when on July 16, 2008 the Mexican Navy intercepted a 10 metres (33 ft) long narco submarine travelling about 200 kilometres (120 mi) off the southwest of Oaxaca, Mexico; in a raid, Mexican Navy Special Forces rappelled from a helicopter on to the deck of the narco submarine and arrested four smugglers before they could scuttle their vessel. The vessel was found to be loaded with 5.8 tons of cocaine and was towed to Huatulco, Oaxaca by a Mexican Navy patrol boat..[7][8][9][10][11]
Organization and Role
The overall head of the Naval Infantry is The President of Mexico Felipe Calderon, in his role as Commander-in-Chief of the Mexican Armed Forces.
The development plan of the Ministry of the Navy-Navy Mexico presented by the Executive C. Secretary of the Navy admiral, stated that the Navy of Mexico should be properly organized, equipped and trained to anticipate and neutralize any internal or external threat.
Having defined the Navy in its strategic review the status of Mexico as a coastal state and highlighting the importance of their borders with the United States of America, Belize and Guatemala, identified areas of strategic importance such as the Caribbean and the Yucatan Channel Mexico, for their transit of maritime trade is of great importance for the country, without forgetting that it is also an area crowded by tourist cruises that visit Mexican ports and their use as a runner and high rate of drug trafficking activities; The Sonda de Campeche , which is distinguished by its deposits of oil and marine resources and the enormous network of oil and gas pipelines between the production platforms and destinations on the coast, The Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the Gulf area by sea and land considered as a future strategic development of the country, industrial corridor and gateway between the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico; Grijalva Hydroelectric Complex, considered an important center of power generation in the country and the Gulf of California, for their ecological importance and tourist their influence as well as activities of drug trafficking corridor.
To meet the operational requirements of the Navy, it was necessary to create structure of a reaction force with organizational skills: flexibility, multi-tactical use of rapid response, fire power, mobility and economy of forces, in addition to the efforts of support for transport by air, sea and land, to the missions and tasks assigned by the Navy to fulfill its mission.
Therefore, the Amphibious Marine Reaction Force is defined as an organized force, equipped and trained as a component part of a Naval Force to develop operations in the immediate response missions that are assigned. And falls into an operational concept which states that given the need to respond as a projection of naval power, requires that their actions are limited by an autonomous period of time, according to the task units that are integrated to meet mission identified in a variety of operational environments, its capacity to be transported by air, sea and land that are organic to the unit. Therefore, the flexibility of its organizational units can integrate multi-operating in different areas of operations such as Amphibious Combat, urban operations in the jungle night airborne assault vertical river of interdiction raid, in addition to other civic action operations and support to other units when ordered.
Structure
After reorganization, the Marine forces were deployed under a new strategic operational concept with specific functions, including the Mexican Navy to the following Marine Corps units:[12]
- Two Amphibious Reaction Forces - deployed along the Mexican coast, comprising Amphibious Infantry Battalions, Artillery Battalions, Amphibious Commando Battalions, Boat and Vehicle Battalions and Amphibious and Services Battalions.
- One naval infantry battalion, One presidential guard battalion, and one paratrooper battalion.
- Four naval infantry groups for maritime security for strategic installations.
- 2 Special forces groups
Special Forces Units
- Fuerzas Especiales (FES) Special Forces, is a special operations unit of the Mexican Navy officially established in late 2001.
- Battallon de Infanteria de Marina Fusileros Paracaidistas (Marine Paratrooper Riflemen Infantry Battalion)[13]
Equipment
| Vehicle/System | Status | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Land Vehicles | ||
| BTR-60/BTR-70 | Has diesel engine and it does not have the turret with the 14.5 mm machine gun. Used with a 40 mm Mk 19 grenade launcher |  Russia
|
| Ural-4320 | Off-road 6x6 truck | Russia
|
| UNIMOG U-4000[14][15] |  Germany
| |
| Gama Goat | Amphibious 4x4 vehicle. Used with a 40 mm Mk 19 grenade launcher or an Oerlikon 20 mm cannon. |  United States
|
| Freightliner M2[16] | 4x2 truck |  Mexico
|
| MiniComando Ford[17] | 4x4 F-250 series pick up | Mexico
|
| MiniComando Dodge[18] | 4x4 Pick up | Mexico
|
| Mercedes-Benz G-Class[19][20] | 4x4 cross-country vehicle | Germany
|
| Land Rover | 4x4 |  United Kingdom
|
| Assault Rifles | ||
| AK-103 | In service | Russia
|
| M16 rifle | In service | United States
|
| M4 Carbine | In service | United States
|
| Submachine gun | ||
| Heckler & Koch MP5 | In service | Germany
|
| Heckler & Koch UMP | In service | Germany
|
| FN P90 | In service |  Belgium
|
| Heavy and light machine guns | ||
| M2 Browning machine gun | In service | United States
|
| M249 Squad Automatic Weapon | In service | United States/ Belgium
|
| CETME Ameli | In service |  Spain
|
| FN Minimi | In service | Belgium
|
| GAU-19 | In service. Used on board of MD902 Helicopter. | United States
|
| Grenade launcher | ||
| CIS 40 AGL 40mm grenade launcher | In service |  Singapore
|
| Milkor MGL | In service |  South Africa
|
| M203 grenade launcher | In service | United States
|
| Shotgun | ||
| Remington 1100 | In service | United States
|
| Sniper rifle | ||
| Heckler & Koch MSG90 | In service | Germany
|
| Barrett M82 | In service | United States
|
| Remington 700 | In service | United States
|
| Pistol | ||
| Glock pistol | In service |  Austria
|
| Heckler & Koch USP | In service | Germany
|
| Artillery[21] | ||
| OTO Melara Mod 56 105 mm | In service |  Italy
|
| Bofors 40 mm |  Sweden
| |
| 51 mm FIROS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) | ||
| 60 mm and 81 mm mortars | ||
| Anti-Ship Missile | ||
| Gabriel MK II missile | In service. Used on board of Huracan class ships |  Israel
|
| Anti-Aircraft missile | ||
| SA-18 Grouse | In service | Russia
|
References
- ^ http://www.semar.gob.mx/sitio/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=47&Itemid=91#mision
- ^ http://semar.gob.mx/infanteria/pagina.html#tareas
- ^ http://www.semar.gob.mx/sitio/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=978&Itemid=293
- ^ http://www.semar.gob.mx/sitio/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=516&Itemid=201
- ^ http://www.semar.gob.mx/sitio/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1100&Itemid=293
- ^ http://www.semar.gob.mx/sitio/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1102&Itemid=293
- ^ Secretaría de Marina - Noticias
- ^ Reuters -Mexico captures submarine loaded with drugs
- ^ The Narco Submarine
- ^ Mexican navy seizes cocaine sub
- ^ Drug cartels using submarines to smuggle cocaine
- ^ http://semar.gob.mx/infanteria/pagina.html
- ^ http://ejercito-mexicano.net/fotos/main.php?g2_itemId=1468
- ^ http://www.semar.gob.mx/galeria/terrestres/unimog/ficha.htm
- ^ http://www.semar.gob.mx/galeria/terrestres/unimog/image_3.jpg
- ^ http://www.semar.gob.mx/galeria/terrestres/comando/ficha.htm
- ^ http://www.semar.gob.mx/galeria/terrestres/minicomando/ficha.htm
- ^ http://www.semar.gob.mx/galeria/terrestres/pick%20up/ficha.htm
- ^ http://www.informador.com.mx/mexico/2009/103816/6/recibe-semar-vehiculos-para-incrementar-capacidad-operativa.htm
- ^ http://www.semar.gob.mx/boletin/2009/bol_136_09.html
- ^ 51mm FIROS
