Senate approves civil proceedings to prosecute soldiers who took part in 'dirty war'

Original Americas Program Translation 

La Jornada - Mexico

February 6, 2014 

The Senate unanimously approved the withdrawal of the reservation made ​​by the Mexican government to the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons, whereupon the civil courts now may try the military officials involved in the disappearances of persons during the dirty war.

The ruling approved by all parliamentary groups recognized that "the alleged perpetrators of the acts constituting the crime of forced disappearance of persons may be tried only by the competent jurisdictions of ordinary law in each state, excluding any special tribunals, in particular military.

"The acts constituting forced disappearance shall not be considered as committed in the performance of military duties."

"No privileges, immunities or special exemptions will be administered in such proceedings without consideration of the provisions included in the Convention on Diplomatic Relations.”

The ruling emphasizes that this decision by the Mexican government to withdraw its 2002 reservation to the convention" is according to the verdict issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Coidh) on the case Radilla Pacheco (who was disappeared by military in the state of Guerrero during the so-called dirty war) against the United States of Mexico.

It emphasizes that "the ruling decided that the reservation made by Mexico does not meet the first requirement in Article XIX of the Convention, consequently it should be considered invalid. In this sense, it is clear that the application of military jurisdiction in the case, for which the state extended the jurisdiction of military courts to facts that are not strictly related to military discipline or legal interests of the military realm, is contrary the provision included in Article IX of the Treaty of reference, to which Mexico is clearly obligated. "

The ruling states that "considering the acts of enforced disappearance as an inhumane violation the rule of law, as well as the human dignity and human rights of individuals and not delimited to particular regions or political systems, it is an urgent task of the Sate to fight to eradicate it, not as a political, military or religious cause that justifies overlooking the situation.”

 Original Spanish article

Translated by Nidia Bautista

Mexico: Key Supreme Court Ruling on Torture Case

Human Rights Watch 
November 7, 2013

(Washington, D.C.) – A Mexican Supreme Court ruling on November 6, 2013,  affirms the Mexican constitutional principle that evidence obtained through torture or other violations of fundamental human rights is inadmissible, Human Rights Watch said today.

The court ordered the immediate release of Israel Arzate Meléndez. He was arbitrarily detained by the military in 2010, tortured to confess to taking part in a multiple homicide, and held for more than three years in preventive detention while he awaited trial. The Supreme Court has yet to publish the grounds for reaching this decision, and so its scope remains uncertain.

“The Supreme Court’s ruling is a long-overdue acknowledgment by the government that Israel Arzate’s confession was obtained in violation of his rights and should never have been allowed as evidence,” said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “Beyond freeing Israel, the court should use the ruling to affirm a clear and unequivocal prohibition on the use of torture-tainted evidence in Mexico’s justice system.”  Read more. 

Mexico's San Fernando Massacres: A Declassified History

National Security Archive 
Electronic Briefing Book No. 445
Edited by Michael Evans and Jesse Franzblau
November 6, 2013

Four months before the feared Zetas drug cartel kidnapped and murdered 72 migrants in northeastern Mexico, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City said that narcotrafficking organizations in that region operated with "near total impunity in the face of compromised local security forces." As the date of the massacre drew nearer, another U.S. agency, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), reported new evidence linking the Zetas to soldiers from the Kaibiles, an elite Guatemalan special forces known for spectacular acts of cruelty and brutality during that country's civil war.

These records are among a set of U.S. documents declassified under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and published today by the National Security Archive, providing a glimpse of what U.S. diplomats and intelligence analysts were saying about the extreme violence that has engulfed Mexico's northern border state of Tamaulipas in recent years and the apparent complicity of Mexican officials. Just this week, a new round of violence in Tamaulipas took the lives of 13 more people, as drug-related violence flared yet again.

Some of these documents are featured in this week's edition of Proceso magazine, in an article by award-winning investigative journalist Marcela Turati. Her report highlights the unchecked power of the Zetas in the region and the inability or unwillingness of federal, state and local officials in Mexico to provide security for citizens and migrants traveling in the region.  Read more.

Mexico murders at over 101,000 in past 6 years, report says

Fox News Latino 

A total of 101,199 murders were registered in Mexico during President Felipe Calderon's six-year administration, with about 50 percent of the killings drug-related, a report released Tuesday by the Mexico Evalua think tank says.

Homicides rose 37 percent from December 2006, when Calderon took office, to October 2012.
A total of 74,586 homicides were registered during the 2000-2006 administration of President Vicente Fox, the public policy research center said.

Mexico Evalua used National Institute of Statistics and Geography, or INEGI, and National Public Safety System Executive Secretariat, or SESNSP, data in preparing the report.

The increase in homicides, according to the report, is related to organized crime, with the proportion of murders linked to "criminal rivalries" at just 30 percent before 2008.

Today, that figure is around 50 percent, with some states, especially in northern Mexico, seeing 80 percent of murders linked to drug trafficking. Read more. 

Time to End Impunity in Mexico

Huffington Post, The Blog: October 17, 2012

Valentina Rosendo was just 17 years old when she was raped by members of the Mexican Army in February 2002 near her home in the Mexican state of Guerrero. A month later, Inés Fernández was raped by soldiers in a nearby community in the same state. Although the women reported the rapes, civilian and military authorities never carried out a full and transparent investigation of the crimes. Ten years later, Valentina and Inés are still waiting for justice.

In December 2009, Shohn Huckabee and Carlos Quijos were arrested by members of the Mexican army in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua state, near the border Mexico shares with the United States. According to Shohn Huckabee, soldiers reportedly planted drugs in their vehicle and took them to a military barracks where they were beaten, given electric shocks and subjected to mock executions in order to obtain information on their supposed links to drug gangs. But the Mexican government never held anyone accountable for the alleged mistreatment of Shohn and Carlos.

These separate incidents are illustrative of a human rights and public security crisis that continues to plague many regions of Mexico. While this situation predates President Felipe Calderón's administration, it has grown more acute on his watch. The next president, Enrique Peña Nieto, will inherit an unenviable security challenge. He has pledged to address it, but he should do so in a way consistent with rule of law and while respecting the basic human dignity of every person in Mexico.  Read more. 

Police accused of torturing two Indigenous members of the “Otra Campaña” in Chiapas

La Jornada: (Americas Program Original Translation) San Sebastián Bachajón, Chiapas: Antonio Estrada Estrada and Miguel Vázquez Deara, members of a Tzeltal ejido (communal agricultural plot) and the “Otra Campaña” (“Other Campaign”), found themselves in prison, suffering severe torture from the police and state judiciary, in order to force them to incriminate themselves as assailants.

Their stories were given to La Jornada by their families and uncover the practice of torture and set ups in Chiapas. Ejido representatives say that they are innocent and consider them “political prisoners” because their families “are very involved in the ‘Otra Campaña.’”

Vázquez Deara has been in the Ocosingo prison since last September and Antonio Estrada has been in the Playas de Catazajá prison since August. Antonio says that on August 7 he was arrested near his home by five hooded agents “and a commander” (as identified by their radio communications). “They covered me with a shirt, handcuffed me, and put me in their paddy wagon, face down, hands behind my back. They asked me if I was the one who had been attacking people and punched me in the ribs. They threatened to shoot me in the head, roll me in a mat, and throw me into a landfill.”

On the way to Palenque, they continued to beat him. There he was handed over to “the court,” his hood was removed, “and they immediately slapped me so I wouldn’t see the person, after which they blindfolded me very hard.” He has a 5cm scar in his nasal septum. “They put a bag over my head to suffocate me and I fainted.” They insisted on “a confession.” “When I woke up they put the bag over my head again. Later they put me in a bin full of water, pulled me out, and threw me on the floor where I hit the back of my head. I didn’t know if I’d recover or if I’d die.”

The officers warned him “that barely a quarter of the punishment had been delivered.” After “they covered my nose and mouth with a cloth, held my head back, and poured water on the cloth so when I breathed the water entered my nose and mouth. If I wanted to talk, they told me to move my head and say I was the assailant. I said no, and they continued their punishment. I felt death coming on. I signaled that I wanted to talk as they were hitting me in the head, and I managed to deny it still. The third I couldn’t stand.”

When interrogating him about his “accomplices,” Antonio mentioned Santiago and Pascual Gómez Moreno, from Xanil. “It’s well-known in my town that they attack people.” The police brought a search warrant to Santiago’s home. “They took me to Ocosingo” and then to Xanil. “They didn’t find it, they had been tipped off.”

They brought him to the sandbar to show them the location of the assaults. A few days earlier, one had occurred there. He started to deny the crime again. “They started punching me in the stomach and my ears and kicking my backside.” Bound hand and foot, he was blindfolded again and heard officers dragging a trunk into the middle of the road. “At that moment I didn’t realize it because of the blindfold, but when I saw the record, I saw the picture of a white RAM van with its doors open and the license plate covered in masking tape, making it seem like it was attacked; I don’t appear in the picture.” They planted a gun, two knives, and a ski mask.

Back in Palenque, they brought him before the Public Prosecutor (MP). “In the report, the MP and experts had already written a document. They didn’t let me make a statement, they just threatened me that if I didn’t sign they would hit me, so I signed the papers out of fear.”

By Hermann Bellinghausen

Translation by Michael Kane, Americas Program 

Congress: Warrantless arrests, even for serious crimes

La Jornada: (Original translation by the Americas Program)

The Justice Committee of the Chamber of Deputies tightened its draft opinion on the new Federal Criminal Procedure Code, which will be voted on today, by expanding the catalog of serious crimes that do not require a warrant to arrest suspects. It also added new powers for agents who are infiltrating organized crime.

After a two week period that opened the legislation for commentary, the committee chaired by Humberto Benítez Treviño (PRI) dismissed the request by the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity to approve President Felipe Calderón’s initiative to allow any authority to carry out arrests, searches, and seizures, legalizing the army and vavy’s operations.

The document, which will be discussed in the committee this afternoon, adds that in addition to serious crimes in which a person caught in the act or under reasonable suspicion can be arrested, other crimes with an “average penalty of five years or more” will also be considered under the new legislation.

Asked about the range of offenses that it covers, Deputy Jaime Cárdenas Gracia (PT) thought it dangerous because it deals with virtually all crimes contained in Articles 193 and 194 of the current code, and probably any kind, because the trend is to increase penalties.

So far, the crimes which allow for warrantless arrests under the wording of the draft opinion are: homicide, rape, kidnapping, trafficking, and violent crimes in which weapons or explosives were used.

In addition, piracy, terrorism, genocide, escape from custody, attacks on communication infrastructure, assaults on roads or highways, injury, robbery, theft or improper use of oil or its derivatives, larceny, vehicle theft, forced disappearances, treason, espionage, sabotage, corruption of minors, child pornography, sex tourism, pandering, child abuse, and crimes against public health are included.

More additions to the bill include: torture, trafficking of undocumented immigrants, smuggling, tax evasion, diversion or obstruction of justice, counterfeiting and forgery, crimes against the national wealth and consumption, rape, habitual sale of stolen goods, crimes against the environment, copyright violations, and possession of weapons used excluively by the army, navy, or air force.

It also allows undercover agents to intervene in organized crime’s commercial traffic: they can assume positions in the infiltrated organization, enter and participate in meetings with members, and, if necessary, carry out transactions with them.

As part of their investigations, they may request operations against organized crime. Their participation will be reviewed every six months, and if it is determined that no progress is being made, the undercover operations will be cancelled.

The commission tried to refine the investigation of persons, property, and cars by requiring that authorities inform the person of the reasons and evidence for the investigation and that they will be informed of the legal consequences should they refuse it. See Spanish original


Translation by Michael Kane, Americas Program

Week's Top Articles on Mexico: Mar. 23-30, 2012

In Human Rights and Rule of Law News, the big announcement is that the race is on. Today is the official opening day of the Mexican presidential campaigns. The three major candidates, Enrique Peña Nieto (PRI), Josefina Vázquez Mota and Andrés Manuel López Obrador are holding major rallies to launch their campaigns and seeking to reach supporters and the large block of voters who still poll "undecided". Mexican government officials are taking measures to protect the elections from organized crime, while analysts warn that local elections are most at risk.

The week also saw more reports and discussion on human rights violations, in this case against Mexicans on the border, journalists and anti-mining activists.

In Drug War News, as part of the elections, party leaders are already jostling to take credit for what's right and blame someone else for what's wrong. President Calderon said in a speech that drug war violence and chaos existed before and he just took the bull by the horns. An Army General echoed this line, throwing the blame on former President Vicente Fox, also of the National Action Party.

Statistics on drug war deaths are never precise, but this week there was some confusion when the Mexican daily La Jornada ran a front-page article reporting that U.S. Secretary of Defense Panetta used the staggering figure of 150,000. The Mexican Armed Forces later clarified that the figure applied to the entire Western Hemisphere, although the clarification left more questions than answers. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Martin Dempsey also weighed in on military strategy in the region this week.

Articles

Human Rights and Rule of Law News

Mexico opposition eyes return as campaign opens 

AFP: Mexico officially launched its general election campaign Friday, with the main opposition party favored to regain the power it lost in 2000 after 71 years of rule... With over 50,000 people killed and mounting violence, PAN candidate Josefina Vazquez Mota, 51, will have to overcome deep public skepticism that the brutal offensive has dented the influence and wealth of drug cartels. Read more.

Valdés: unsafe areas are obstacle to the electoral process

La Jornada: (translation Americas MexicoBlog) Leonardo Valdés, president of the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) warned the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) and the Special Prosecutor for the Investigation of Electoral Crimes (Fepade) that the existence of public insecurity, as well as legal loopholes, were the main obstacles to the electoral process. Read more.

Mexico’s vanquished ruling party, once the ‘perfect dictatorship,’ poised for comeback

TheAssociated Press. PRI candidate Enrique Pena Nieto starts the 90-day campaign, set by electoral law, with more than a 10-point lead in most polls over Josefina Vazquez Mota of the now-governing National Action Party, or PAN. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party, known as the PRD, trails in third. Read more.

Analysis: Drug gang menace overshadows Mexican election

Reuters: Rather than handing on a safer Mexico to his successor, Calderon's offensive against the cartels has laid bare the limits of the state's power against organized crime. Read more.

Journalists Urge Mexico to Investigate Attacks on Media 

Fox News Latino: The Committee to Protect Journalists issued a statement Tuesday condemning recent attacks on a newspaper and television station in Mexico and demanding prosecution of the perpetrators. Both incidents took place in the northern border state of Tamaulipas, a battleground for warring drug cartels. Read more.

Human rights group accuses U.S. of abuses along Mexico border 

Reuters: U.S. policing along the Mexico border discriminates against Hispanics and Native Americans and contributes to the deaths of illegal immigrants, according to a study by the human rights group Amnesty International USA. Read more.

The "fifth power": Transnational mining

La Jornada: (translation: Americas MexicoBlog): "So far this year, the Ocotlán Valley United Peoples Coalition (CPUVO) has reported two crimes and accuses the mining company, in conjunction with the San José del Progreso local government, of using armed groups against opponents of the mine... beyond the investigations required to arrest and prosecute the masterminds and perpetrators of these crimes, it's urgent that we look into the devastating effects of the policy of granting mining concessions without regard to the territorial rights of the peoples. Read more.

Drug War News

General Lozano Espinosa: Fox bequeathed a country taken over by organized crime

La Jornada: (translation Americas MexicoBlog): Felipe Calderón Hinojosa inherited a country taken over by organized crime from Vicente Fox Quesada, in which a large number of the almost 2 million 500 towns "were imprisoned by crime and many mayors could not carry out their responsibilities... Therefore the Mexican Army had to step in to confront this phenomenon," said General Genaro Fausto Lozano Espinosa, commander of the 5th Military Regiment, based in Guadalajara... Read more.    

United States: Mexican police, heavily infiltrated by narcotraffickers

El Universal: (translation: Americas MexicoBlog): The state and local police in Mexico are heavily infiltrated by organized crime, said the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs William Brownfield on Thursday. Read more.

Head of US Armed Forces Discusses Combating Transnational Organized Crime 

American Forces Press Service: Transnational organized crime is not specifically mentioned in the new defense strategy, but leaders understand the threat, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said at U.S. Southern Command today. Read more.  

Panetta Declares 150,000 Deaths (give or take) in Mexico's Drug War 

Americas MexicoBlog: The Mexican daily La Jornada headlined "150,000 Deaths in Mexico for Narco-Violence: Panetta". The paper notes that the US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta made the statement at the first meeting of defense chiefs from Canada, the United States and Mexico, held in Ottawa on Mar. 27. Where did this figure come from? Read more.  

The government distributes 200 million pesos belonging to El Chapo

El Universal: (Translation: Americas MexicoBlog): More than 15 million dollars belonging to the Sinaloa Cartel, led by Joaquí­n "El Chapo" Guzmán, as well as jewelry and property seized by the Army in November of last year, will be distributed among federal agencies after the Attorney General of the Republic (PGR) labelled them abandoned to the federal government when no one claimed it as their rightful property. Read more.

'Colombia Drug Lords Tried to Turn in Sinaloa Cartel Boss Chapo Guzman' 

Plaza Pública. Costa Rican Alejandro Jimenez Gonzalez, alias "El Palidejo", had 16 reasons to feel afraid. Jailed in Guatemala, accused of planning the killing of Argentine singer Facundo Cabral (July 9 2011), Jimenez could become involved in a drug trafficking and money laundering trial against 16 defendants in a Brooklyn, New York court. The accused belong to gang the Rastrojos, and their leaders, brothers Javier Antonio and Luis Enrique Calle Serna, are identified as the people who planned to protect Jimenez when he arrived in Colombia, according to the president of that country, Juan Manuel Santos. Palidejo was arrested nearly two weeks ago off the Colombian Pacific coast, where he'd arrived via boat from Panama. Days later, he was extradited to Guatemala for the Cabral case. (Translation of excerpts by Insight Crime).  Read more.  

Look for scores more articles on the blog. Enjoy the weekend!  Posted by the NEW  Americas Program's Mexicoblog blog team: Laura Carlsen, Mikael Rojas, Michael Kane and Brenda Salas.

Mexico opposition eyes return as campaign opens

The race is on! Today is the official opening day of the Mexican presidential campaigns. The three major candidates, Enrique Peña Nieto (PRI), Josefina Vázquez Mota and Andrés Manuel López Obrador will hold major rallies to launch their campaigns and seek to reach supporters and the large block of voters who still poll "undecided".

AFP  Mexico officially launched its general election campaign Friday, with the main opposition party favored to regain the power it lost in 2000 after 71 years of rule.

President Felipe Calderon, of the conservative National Action Party (PAN), is not eligible for a second term but his war on drug traffickers launched after he took office in December 2006 will be at the center of the debate.

With over 50,000 people killed and mounting violence, PAN candidate Josefina Vazquez Mota, 51, will have to overcome deep public skepticism that the brutal offensive has dented the influence and wealth of drug cartels.  Read more

Journalists Urge Mexico to Investigate Attacks on Media

Fox News Latino  The Committee to Protect Journalists issued a statement Tuesday condemning recent attacks on a newspaper and television station in Mexico and demanding prosecution of the perpetrators.  Both incidents took place in the northern border state of Tamaulipas, a battleground for warring drug cartels.

The first attack took place March 19, when a car bomb exploded outside the offices of Expreso newspaper in Ciudad Victoria, leaving five passersby injured.

Two days ago, an unidentified assailant hurled a grenade at the Televisa television studios in Matamoros, just across the border from Brownsville, Texas. Read more

Human rights group accuses U.S. of abuses along Mexico border

Reuters U.S. policing along the Mexico border discriminates against Hispanics and Native Americans and contributes to the deaths of illegal immigrants, according to a study by the human rights group Amnesty International USA.
 
The report, titled "In Hostile Terrain: Human Rights Violations in Immigration Enforcement in the U.S. Southwest," identifies what it says are systemic failures of federal, state and local authorities to enforce immigration laws without discrimination.

"Communities living along the U.S.-Mexico border, particularly Latinos, individuals perceived to be of Latino origin and indigenous communities, are disproportionately affected by a range of immigration-control measures, resulting in a pattern of human rights violations," the study said.

The U.S. government has tightened security along the nearly 2,000-mile border with Mexico in recent years, adding additional fencing, surveillance technologies and Border Patrol agents. The federal government also has partnered with some state and local police forces to give officers immigration-enforcement powers.  Read more

Full Report from Amnesty International here:

IN HOSTILE TERRAIN: HUMAN RIGHTS ... - Amnesty International 
www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/.../en/.../amr510182012en.pdf

The "fifth power": Transnational mining

In this opinion piece in the Mexican daily La Jornada, Magdalena Gómez, a lawyer and expert on indigenous rights, takes a critical look at the power of transnational mining companies in Mexico, in the wake of the murders of two anti-mine community leaders in Oaxaca.

La Jornada  In our country we have a formal system based on the division of three powers that coexists with, supports and/or is complicit with powers outside the constitution like the power duopoly of the mass media--identified as the “fourth power”--and an extremely powerful “fifth power”: transnational capital, found mainly in mining companies that have in recent years been granted concessions covering nearly a quarter of national territory.

All this is cloaked in the logic of the free market, which apparently embodies the free exercise of liberties and in which potentially, and very abstractly, we all have rights. Luigi Ferrajoli has shown in his most recent book, Poderes salvajes (Savage Powers), how these real powers have dominated the model of democratic constitutionalism that formally governs in our countries.

Today it is clear that the neoliberal model has strengthened these powers and has seriously distorted so-called nation states that, rather than protecting and guaranteeing fundamental freedoms, have become subsidiaries of big capital. But we’re not talking about mere speculative tendencies; throughout the country we see the negative impact of extreme extractivism, to the detriment of the territory of indigenous peoples, who from long ago have historically resisted the plunder but who now face the greatest threat to their continued existence.

One of the most recent examples is the Zapotec community of San José del Progreso, Ocotlán. The community lives in an environment of tension and divisiveness caused by the activities of the  Minera Cuzcatlan beginning in 2008. Minera Cuzcatlan is a subsidiary of Fortuna Silver Mines (part of a group of Canadian mining companies known as The Gold Group). So far this year, the Ocotlán Valley United Peoples Coalition (CPUVO) has reported two crimes and accuses the mining company, in conjunction with the San José del Progreso local government, of using armed groups against opponents of the mine.

Bernardo Mendez Vasquez was killed and Abigail Sanchez Vasquez was seriously injured in an ambush on Jan. 18, 2012. Last March 15, Bernardo Vasquez Sanchez, leader of the CPUVO, an organization that has challenged the granting of mining concessions without consultation in indigenous territories in the Ocotlán Valley, was shot dead. Rosalinda Dionisio Sanchez and Andres Vasquez Sanchez were seriously injured in that attack. So far there has been no justice for these crimes: in the first case, the arrest of one of the perpetrators was announced just five days after the second crime took place. We have already heard the usual arguments that attribute the attacks to rifts in the community—and they do exist--but no one stops to analyze that these divisions are promoted by the alliances forged by the mining companies.

The truth is that, beyond the investigations required to arrest and prosecute the masterminds and perpetrators of these crimes, it’s urgent that we look into the devastating effects of the policy of granting mining concessions without regard to the territorial rights of the peoples.

The outlook is very grave and peaceful, rights-based principles are being attacked over and over again. Until the fallacy that transnational corporations are simply private actors is rejected and what has been called “the architecture of impunity” is deconstructed, peoples’ rights will be impossible to guarantee in the face of the reality of governments subjugated to transnational capital.

The United Nations has spent more than two decades debating, holding meetings, and issuing governing principles to examine the relationship between indigenous peoples and extractive industries from a human rights perspective, focusing on three main issues: a) processes for consultation between all parties; b) the ways in which the benefits from economic activities are shared with indigenous peoples; and c) the means to resolve disputes. This approach fails to focus on binding rules that encourage the application of international human rights standards. Instead, they follow the logic of so-called “soft law” or non-rights. In the most recent report of the ad hoc rapporteur John Ruggie, this spirit is reflected in the quote by Amartya Sen that “we shouldn’t hold on to illusions and it is better to deal with the injustices that can be remedied.” The idea that global markets can be made compatible with human rights continues to prevail. That’s how the fifth power works. Yet its very existence is never discussed at election time.

Would that be too much to ask? Read more

(Translation by Michael Kane, Americas Program)

Study: 80 percent of murders unpunished in Mexico

Associated Press: "Four out of five homicides go unpunished in Mexico, in part because prosecutors and police focus on less serious cases that are easier to solve, a Mexican think tank's report said Monday.

That leads to extreme situations like the northern border state of Chihuahua, where researchers found 96.4 percent of killings go unpunished, based on comparisons of the annual rates for murders and convictions in 2010. That compares to what the study calls an unenviably high nationwide average of around 80 percent." read more

Guards Foil Attempted Prison Escape in Mexico

Hispanically Speaking News: "Police and guards foiled an attempt by inmates to escape from a prison in Culiacan, the capital of the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa, over the weekend, state officials said, adding that a police officer was wounded in the incident.

The inmates were spotted by guards early Sunday as they tried to make their way to the perimeter wall, the Sinaloa Public Safety Secretariat said.

Guards fired warning shots in the air and forced the inmates to return to the cell block that they had escaped from by cutting through a metal screen." read more

Week's Top Articles about Human Rights and the Rule of Law: Mar. 16-22, 2012

Human Rights and Rule of Law News in Mexico was highlighted by speculation that Felipe Calderon will flee the country at the end of his presidency. Facing a war crimes law suit in the International Criminal Court and fears that he will be targeted by vengeful drug cartels, reports claim that that he may be seeking asylum abroad after his term ends. 


Some LGBT members in Mexico believe that attacks against that community may be increasing as a result of Pope Benedict's upcoming visit to the country. The investigation into transgender activist Agnes Torres' death continues as five have been arrested. The case has also drawn condemnation from the Interamerican Commission on Human Rights. 

While a wave of attacks against the LGBT community has struck the country in recent weeks, other activists and civil society members have also come under fire. An opponent of a silver mine in Oaxaca was ambushed and assassinated on his way home in Santa Lucía Ocotlán. Journalists in the northern state of Tamaulipas were also sent a stern message after a car bomb exploded in the parking lot of El Expreso.    

Articles 

Hague Court analyzing lawsuit against Calderon
Animal Politico: "Contrary to what predicted by President Calderon, the International Criminal Court (ICC) did not dismiss the claim that a group of 23 thousand Mexicans placed against him for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. read more

Calderon may plan to flee Mexico when his term ends  
Proceso: "President Felipe Calderon may fear being killed when his term ends and may plan to flee Mexico, Dolia Estevez, a correspondent for U.S. news MVS, revealed. read more

Papal visit increases attacks against the LGBT community
La Jornada: The recent attacks against members of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community come two years after this group received the right to marry members of the same sex, but above all, these acts are occurring in the context of the upcoming visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Mexico. Jaime Lopez Vela, coordinator of Agenda LGBT, warned that the visit has led to an increase in the climate of homophobia in the country. read more

InterAmerican Commission condemns murder of activist Agnes Torres 
Proceso: "The InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has condemned the murder of transgender activist, Agnes Torres Sulca, whose body bore signs of torture when it was discovered on Saturday, March 10 in a ravine in Puebla. read more

Five people arrested for murder of Agnes Torres
CNN Mexico: "Five people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the murder of transgender activist, Agnes Torres Hernandez, according to a statement issued Friday by authorities in Puebla. The body of Agnes, an activist for the rights of transsexual people, was found March 10 in a ravine in the town of Atlixco. She was 28. read more

Alleged murderers of Agnes Torres are presented; her boyfriend is a fugitive 
Milenio: "The reason that five young men, including her boyfriend, who is a fugitive from justice, killed Agnes Torres Hernandez, 28 year old political activist for transsexual and transgender rights, was the theft of her car, a Volkswagen Golf, the Attorney General of Puebla said, while he did not discard that it was a hate crime. read more

Oaxaca activist killed in ambush
La Jornada: The main opponent of the operation of a silver mine in the indigenous community of San José del Progreso and the leader of the United Peoples Coordinator in the Ocotlán Valley, Bernardo Vázquez Sánchez, was killed in an ambush in Santa Lucía Ocotlán, confirmed the Attorney General of Oaxaca (PGJO). read more

Car bomb explodes in parking lot of Tamaulipas newspaper
La Jornada: "A car bomb exploded in the parking lot of the newspaper El Expreso, in Ciudad Victoria, the capital of the state of Tamaulipas, in northeast Mexico, damaging six vehicles of workers at the newspaper. No injuries were reported. According to military sources in the capital of Tamaulipas, the explosion occurred around 8:15 PM on Monday," read more

Rule of Law: Mexico Court Says Convicted French Kidnapper's Rights Violated

Wall Street Journal: "A French woman convicted of kidnapping in Mexico could get a new trial after Mexico's Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that her constitutional rights were violated by police who staged her arrest for television cameras.

But justices also ruled that Florence Cassez, 37 years old, would have to stay in prison until the court comes up with a legal formula to review her case.

The Cassez case is one of Mexico's most explosive criminal cases in decades and is seen as an overall trial of Mexico's legal system, widely regarded as opaque, and riddled with corruption and practices like torture which defy the rule of law." read more

Rule of Law: Calderon urges approval of security laws

El Milenio- President Felipe Calderon urged legislators to “evaluate, discuss, and pass laws that strengthen the rule of law” and claimed that “it’s time for the profound transformations that we need and that the citizens are calling for.”

While commemorating the 206th birthday of Benito Juarez Garcia, the head of the Executive branch commented on bills that are still pending approval—such as the Unified Police Command Law and the Law Against Money Laundering.

The first of these initiatives would “permit the reduction of the number of police agencies from more than 2,000 to 32 more trustworthy, strong, and effective agencies.” The second “is indispensable for dismantling the financial capacity of organized crime.”

During the speech on the Mariano Patio of the Palacio Nacional, the president reminded the audience that Juarez “persisted in the construction of a country of laws and justice” Spanish original

Translation: Mikael Rojas