Amnesty International Calls on Mexican Authorities to Investigate Human Rights Abuses

12/08/2009 - Amnesty International has released a report that documents crimes against human rights committed by Mexico's military forces. The military, according to Amnesty International, has violated human rights numerous times during operations against organized crime and drug cartels.

The report focuses on five cases of severe human rights abuses perpetrated by the military against 35 individuals in Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, and Baja California. The human rights violations detailed in the report all occurred between October 2008 and August 2009.

According to Kerrie Howard, the deputy director of Amnesty International's Americas programme, "The cases that we have been able to investigate are truly shocking. But what is more shocking is that we know that this is only the tip of the iceberg. We are able to go into specific detail on a number of cases whilst the government continues to deny that there are cases of human rights abuses that need to be investigated."

Included among the human rights violations are extrajudicial killings, torture, and arbitrary detentions.

Amnesty International has called on the Mexican authorities to investigate the human rights abuses committed by members of the military, which has become evermore involved in police action due to conflicts between drug cartels. It is estimated that over 6000 people died as a result of the armed conflict between drug cartels and the Mexican government in 2008.

The rise in drug related violence poses serious problems for the government of Mexico, but Kerrie Howard argues that "the severity of a crisis should not be used as a pretext for turning a blind eye when abuses are committed."