Mexican Special Forces
From Open Encyclopedia
The special forces of Mexico were developed for a combination of reasons. In the Army they were first created in the 1980s as a counter-terrorism unit to provide security for the Soccer World Cup hosted in Mexico. In the 1990s the Chiapas-based Zapatista Army of National Liberation (Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, EZLN) guerrillas declared war on the Mexican government, and the drug cartels kept getting stronger, causing the army to put more effort into its special forces program. The Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales (Special Forces Airmobile Group, GAFE) was created.
The Mexican Navy was also concerned about the simultenous birth of different guerrilla groups and drug cartels in many parts of Mexico. In addition, the Navy High Command had in mind the possible future threats that Mexico could face as one of the main commercial partners of the United States as well as a neighbor. Therefore, the Navy started its own development of a special operations group, the Fuerzas Especiales (FES) from the Navy.
