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SYSTEMIC INJUSTICE:

Torture, “Disappearance,” and Extrajudicial Execution in Mexico

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Copyright © January 1999 by Human Rights Watch.
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
ISBN #1-56432-198-3
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 98-83148
 

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

  • Torture, “Disappearances,” and Extrajudicial Executions
  • Human Rights Deficiencies in Mexico’s Justice System
  • Shades of Justice
  • The Mexican Government’s Approach to Human Rights
  • Recommendations

  • II. PERSISTENT VIOLATIONS IN A CHANGING MEXICO

  • The Government’s Approach to Human Rights Violations
  • The Government’s Response to Human Rights Criticism
  • The National Human Rights Commission
  • The National Human Rights Program

  • III. HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN MEXICO

  • Mexico’s Justice System
  • Investigating Crimes and Prosecuting Criminals
  • The Public Defender’s Office and “Person of Confidence”
  • Human Rights Protections Under Mexican Law
  •     Constitutional and procedural guarantees
  •     The importance of individual and procedural guarantees
  • Human Rights Deficiencies in Mexican Law and Legal Precedent
  • Responsibility for Ensuring the Protection of Human Rights
  • Judicial Reforms in Mexico

  • IV. MEXICO’S INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS OBLIGATIONS

  • Torture
  • “Disappearance”
  • Extrajudicial Execution
  • Violations of Procedural Guarantees
  • Responsibility to Ensure the Full Exercise of Human Rights and an Effective Remedy for Violations
  • Rehabilitation for and Compensation to Victims of Violations
  • International Standards on Police Actions and Use of Force
  • Federal Responsibility for Violations by State or Local Authorities

  • V. TORTURE AND EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTION IN

  • Juan Lorenzo Rodríguez Osuna
  • José Alfredo Ponce Reyes
  • Erick Cárdenas Esqueda
  • The National Human Rights Commission in Tamaulipas
  •     Police and torture
  •     Medical exams
  •     Prosecutors and torture
  •     Additional cases documented by the CNDH

  • VI. TORTURE AND EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTION IN

  • The Loxicha Region: Abuses in the Search for EPR Suspects
  •     Illegal detention, forced confession, and torture
  •     Extrajudicial execution
  • The National Human Rights Commission in Oaxaca
  • Additional Cases Documented by the CNDH

  • VII. “DISAPPEARANCES” AND THE JUSTICE SYSTEM

  • Alejandro Hodoyán
  • Fausto Soto Miller
  • “Disappearance” and the Failure of the Morelos State Justice System
  • The Suspected “Disappearance” of Verber, Verber, and Beltrán

  • VIII. IMPUNITY AND PUNISHMENT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN MEXICO

  • Shades of Justice
  • Overcoming Obstacles in Human Rights Cases
  • Cases Deemed Successful by the PGR
  •     Torture and execution victim Rafael Toledo Nolasco
  •     Extrajudicial execution victim José Soto Medina
  •     Torture victim Donaciano Tapia Villalobos
  •     Torture victim Juan Antonio García Carrillo
  •     Torture-murder victim Agustín Rodríguez Tapia
  • Cases Deemed Successful by the Foreign Ministry
  •     Torture of José Pedro Luis Huerta Galiote
  •     Torture of Omar Carreño Munóz, Luis Alberto Chávez Sarabia, Francisco Javier Reyes Guzmán, and José de Jesús López Bogarin in Sinaloa
  •     Torture of Evangelina Arias de Bravo
  • Success and Failure in Two Cases Handled by NGOs
  •     Eduardo Garci Crespo
  •     Manuel Manríquez
  • Human Rights Commission of the Federal District

  • IX. THE ROLE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

  • United States Human Rights Policy Toward Mexico
  •     Policies and assistance
  •     Human rights concerns with U.S. assistance to Mexico
  • The European Union
  • The United Nations and the Organization of American States

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    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

    Joel Solomon, research director for the Americas, researched and wrote this report, drawing on information gathered during fact-finding missions to Mexico City and the states of Baja California, Oaxaca, and Tamaulipas between September 1996 and June 1998. Deputy Director for the Americas Anne Manuel, Program Director Cynthia Brown, and Associate Counsel Joanne Mariner edited the manuscript. Human Rights Watch General Counsel Wilder Tayler and Americas division Director José Miguel Vivanco also reviewed the text. We are grateful to Human Rights Watch Americas division Advisory Board members Profs. Alejandro Garro and Paul Chevigny for providing valuable comments on this report. We also owe thanks to Prof. Herman Schwartz for his helpful comments on a very early draft. We are indebted to Víctor Brenes, Marisol López, Pilar Noriega, Digna Ochoa, and Salvador Tinajero, who kindly took the time to review the first three chapters of this report, and to Prof. Miguel Sarre, for his valuable observations on chapter three.

    The author would particularly like to thank the many people, both victims and their family members, who shared their painful experiences during interviews. Their courage in the face of injustice animates this report.

    Human Rights Watch gratefully recognizes the invaluable support of our Mexican colleagues. From the inception of this project in 1996, Mexican human rights groups have given important feedback on the scope and goals of the report. In addition, they aided tremendously in our field work, generously sharing their contacts, files, and expertise. We owe special thanks to the Reynosa, Tamaulipas-based Center for Border Studies and Promotion of Human Rights and the Tijuana, Baja California-based Binational Center for Human Rights. In Oaxaca, defense lawyer Israel Ochoa helped with cases. The following Mexico City-based groups, listed in alphabetical order, also provided crucial support: the “All Rights for All” Network of Civil Human Rights Organizations, Christian Action to Abolish Torture, the Fray Francisco de Vitoria Center for Human Rights, the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights, and the Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Center for Human Rights. In Washington, DC, the Center for Justice and International Law provided important feedback and case-related support.

    We would also like to thank the many state and federal government officials who took the time to meet with and provide information to us.

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