Foreign advisors help improve skills of Chihuahua SWAT team

JUAREZ, Mexico (Border Report) – A language barrier didn’t stop Douglas Limas Pithon from sharing his expertise on criminals in highly explosive situations with a group of Spanish-speaking Juarez police officers.

The Brazilian special forces expert from the professional police department gestured, knelt and helped the Juarez officers position their rifles as they ran from one parapet to the next. Sometimes he set a good example by inserting himself into the group. Other times he simply observed them and gave them a thumbs up for a job well done while muttering praise in Portuguese.

Limas was one of a handful of experts from Spain and South America who spent this week at the Chihuahua State Police Training Academy helping the local Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit hone their skills.

“We want to share experiences and generate additional knowledge so that the State Police can do a better job for the citizens of Chihuahua,” said Gilberto Loya, Chihuahua’s director of public security.

Law enforcement experts from Spain and South America spent a week at the Chihuahua State Police Training Academy to assist the local SWAT team. (ProVideo)

State police recently activated a SWAT team, whose members were spotted during disturbances at the state prison in Juarez and subsequently called to shootings.

The experts spoke to local police about the importance of using field intelligence and technology to assess a crisis even before it is deployed. They also urged alertness, as crises can take unexpected turns in the blink of an eye.

“Maybe you don’t see situations here that are typical of other parts of the world, but our tactics could be used in the future by (law enforcement) personnel here in Chihuahua,” said Eduardo Gabino Ruiz Murillo, a police commander in Catalonia, Spain. “And what Chihuahua is doing could be useful for us in our respective countries. (…) Here they are using a very measured approach that is yielding good results for the police.”

But criminals in Chihuahua could become more aggressive and take hostages if confronted by police. That’s when local officers could use the training of visiting experts who have handled hundreds of such situations in their own countries, he said.

That’s as far as isolated criminal events go. On the other hand, Spain has not seen drug cartels take to the streets, torching cars, shooting up businesses and killing people seemingly at random as they did two years ago during Black Thursday in Juarez, one of the experts said.

“We do not have such a high crime rate in Spain, and we do not see criminals carrying out violent acts in the streets with high-caliber weapons, with guns or war. The conflict in Juarez has reached great heights and has put the police at a disadvantage in terms of resources,” Ruiz said.

Law enforcement experts from Spain and South America spent a week at the Chihuahua State Police Training Academy to assist the local SWAT team. (ProVideo)

The training was part of the Special Forces International Encounter 2024 at the state police training academy. In addition to the exercises, gang experts from Chile and El Salvador told Chihuahua state officers how they dealt with the Mara Salvatrucha and Tren de Aragua.

Ruben Contreras, a police officer with the state of Chihuahua, said the training was welcome because it will help him and his colleagues accomplish the most important mission of the job: returning home unharmed at the end of the day.