New Report: Abused and Afraid in Ciudad Juarez

10/05/10
Latin America and the Caribbean
Counternarcotics, Violence

The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and the Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez Human Rights Center (Center Prodh) released a new report today on human rights violations in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The report, "Abused and Afraid in Ciudad Juarez: An Analysis of Human Rights Violations by the Military in Mexico," focuses on human rights violations that occurred in Ciudad Juarez in the context of Joint Operation Chihuahua, which began in March 2008, and reviews the drug policies adopted by the Mexican government, with support from the U.S. government, to address the security crisis in Mexico. Here are a few statistics from the report:

  • As of June 2010, roughly 23,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence since the beginning of President Felipe Calderón's administration in 2006.
  • In 2009 alone, more than 8,200 drug-related murders were reported. By June 2010, 6,200 people had been killed so far in the year.
  • More than half of the drug-related killings have occurred in the states of Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Guerrero, and Baja California, but drug violence has touched upon every Mexican state and the Federal District in the past 3 1/2 years.
  • Since December 2006, SEDENA (Mexico's Department of Defense) has acknowledged it has received a total of 3,981 complaints of human rights abuses filed before the National Commission (prior to June 2010).
  • It is estimated that only 25% of crimes in Mexico are reported and only 2% result in a sentence.
  • In the introduction of the report, the authors write, "This report gives voice to some of the victims of the war against organized crime in Mexico: in particular, individuals who have been abused by the very security forces who are supposed to protect them." Five cases are described in the report involving acts of torture, forced disappearance and sexual harassment of women by Mexican soldiers deployed in Ciudad Juarez. Here is one of the cases:

    In August 2008, Roberto drove down the road to the company in Ciudad Juarez where he had worked on the night shift for 25 years. Before he got to work he was stopped at a military checkpoint. The soldiers took him out of his car, inspected it, and in a violent manner asked him questions. What was he doing out in his car at this hour? Where was he going? Why was he nervous? Although he tried to answer in the best way possible, the fear of what had happened to many other people in Ciudad Juarez made him nervous. After the soldiers searched the car, they showed him a packet of drugs [that Roberto did not recognize] and began another interrogation. Where did he get the drugs? Who had sold them to him? Roberto was not able to answer. He had never used drugs, bought or sold them — he was simply going to work. Roberto was blindfolded, tied by the wrists and taken to an unknown location, that he experienced only by sounds, hard footsteps that came and went, questions from the soldiers, violent blows, and the screams of others being tortured. After three days of interrogations and beatings, they released him with a warning: "If anyone asks you what happened to you, tell them that you were kidnapped. Remember that we know where your family lives."

    "Abused and Afraid in Ciudad Juarez" concludes with this:

    While institutional strengthening has been part of the Mexican government's security strategy, the central element has clearly been the deployment of military-led security forces in counter-drug operations. This focus has failed to decreased drug-related violence in Mexico, while also resulting in a dramatic increase inhuman rights abuses.

    And offers the following recommendations:

    1. Effectively withdraw the military from public security tasks;
    2. Guarantee that human rights violations committed by members of the armed forces are investigated and prosecuted by civilian authorities;
    3. Strengthen Mexico's civil judicial system - the government needs to increase its efforts to implement fully the reforms passed in 2008 and enact measures to address the historic challenges in the system (such as corruption, lack of transparency and weak judicial institutions);
    4. Development of new systems of internal and external controls, or strengthening existing systems in the police corps, particularly at the state and local levels, are essential so that police officers receive a clear message that they will be sanctioned for any criminal behavior, including human rights abuses.

    Read the press release here. Download the report in English or Spanish.