A decade into drug gang fight, Mexican army pushes to return to base

Mexican General Alejandro Ramos Flores, head of the defense ministry's legal department, speak during an interview with Reuters at the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA), in Mexico City, Mexico May 11, 2017. Picture taken May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Henry Romero

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - After more than a decade on the streets of Mexico battling ruthless drug cartels, the nation's battered armed forces have thrown their weight behind a law that would force them to return to barracks and put the fight back in the hands of the police.

Since former President Felipe Calderon sent out the army to bring the gangs to heel at the end of 2006, about 150,000 people have died in the violence, including hundreds of soldiers as well as scores of police and members of other security forces.