Torture and Other Abuses During the 1995 Crackdown on Alleged Zapatistas

In February 1995, Pres. Zedillo ordered a crackdown on the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN). As the Mexican army fought to regain territory in which the Zapatistas had operated since January 1994, federal and state police worked in tandem to arrest men and women accused of leading or supporting the Zapatistas. On February 8 and 9, officials detained more than 20 alleged EZLN members in three states and the Federal District. During the operation, they committed serious violations of Mexican and international human rights standards, including torture, the extraction of confessions by force, and the disregard of due-process guarantees.