Possibly without realizing it, the National Police Chief Major General Manuel Castro Castillo, harked back to the days of the Magna Carta as he prohibited his agents from rounding up people “on suspicion” during traffic stops and other operations. The Chief said “no one can be sent to jail or arrested without a warrant handed down by a competent judge, except in the case of flagrante delicto.” Clauses 38-40 of the Great Charter say practically the same thing (38. No bailiff for the future shall, upon his own unsupported complaint, put anyone to his “law”, without credible witnesses brought for this purposes. 39. No freemen shall be taken or imprisoned or disseised or exiled or in any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him nor send upon him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land. 40. To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, right or justice.)” The Chief cautioned his regional commanders that if a person appeared to be suspicious, they should be observed and a quick check of names on a wanted list could be done on the scene. He stated “that if the procedure for checking the person required taking the person into custody, this should not last for more than one hour.
A cartoon in Diario Libre today comments how the decision will affect the “income” of corrupt police. It is a known practice that many of the roundups served as personal fund-raisers for the corrupt police.