Thousands of former Mexican Federal Police officers who were later folded into the National Guard say they’ve been left in professional limbo, with no clear job duties, no formal assignment, and mounting fears over their pay.
Mexico dissolved its Federal Police in 2019 under then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, merging most of its personnel into the newly created National Guard, a force that has since shifted from civilian to military control. Officers now describe being warehoused in offices or made to sign public attendance logs day after day, despite holding bachelor’s and master’s degrees, specialized certifications, and training received abroad.
“There are between 5,000 and 10,000 of us being wasted, shelved in some office. All of that was thrown in the trash because of a whim of the former president,” one former federal officer told reporters. Some of these workers have up to 20 years of law enforcement experience.
The officers say they face harassment and threats of salary cuts, with no formal posting to the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), the agency now overseeing public safety. In December 2025, many received termination notices from the National Guard that promised they would be reabsorbed into the SSPC while keeping their jobs, salaries, and benefits — a promise many say has gone unfulfilled, with reports that only those with personal connections are being rehired.
Read the full original report at Excélsior for more details.
Source: <![CDATA[Expolicías federales y guardias nacionales denuncian limbo laboral]]> (RSS::excelsior.com.mx – Portada).
Image: US Army Africa, BY 2.0 (via Openverse).