As government officials announced on September 27, a military judge has issued arrest orders against Brig. Gen. Mario Arturo Acosta Chaparro and Gen. Francisco Quirós Hermosillo, both of whom are currently in jail on drug charges, as well as (Ret.) Maj. Francisco Barquin. The three officers face homicide charges involving 143 people who “disappeared” while in army custody during the 1970s.
“By charging these officers, the Mexican army has taken an important step toward acknowledging its role in past abuses,” said José Miguel Vivanco, executive director of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch. “However, cases of this sort really belong in civilian courts.”
The Mexican justice system currently leaves the task of investigating and prosecuting army abuses to military authorities. Because of this arrangement, serious violations go unpunished. A major flaw in the military justice system is its lack of transparency, which bars civilians from monitoring the progress of investigations. Another serious problem is its subordination to the military as an institution, and its lack of accountability to civilian authorities.
In 2001, Human Rights Watch published a report, “Military Injustice: Mexico’s Failure to Punish Army Abuses,” that examined the problem of army human rights violations in the state of Guerrero. Despite credible evidence of abuses committed by soldiers, cases languished without effective action being taken.
Although the current military attorney general insists that his office is committed to investigating abuses, its ability to do so is greatly undermined by a widespread fear of the army that inhibits civilian victims and witnesses from providing information to military authorities. Civilians who have pressed for investigations into alleged abuses have reported suffering reprisals.
