The 212-page report “Neither Rights Nor Security: Killings, Torture, and Disappearances in Mexico’s ‘War on Drugs,’” examines the human rights consequences of President Felipe Calderón’s approach to confronting Mexico’s powerful drug cartels. Through in-depth research in five of Mexico’s most violent states, Human Rights Watch found evidence that strongly suggests the participation of security forces in more than 170 cases of torture, 39 “disappearances,” and 24 extrajudicial killings since Calderón took office in December 2006.
Instead of reducing violence, Mexico’s ‘war on drugs’ has resulted in a dramatic increase in killings, torture, and other appalling abuses by security forces, which only make the climate of lawlessness and fear worse in many parts of the country.
Among those at fault:
Human Rights Watch found that a wide array of justice officials are implicated in human rights violations. They include judges who admit evidence that was likely to have been obtained through torture, prosecutors who obtain “confessions” from defendants who are being held incommunicado on military bases, and medical experts who omit or play down signs of physical injuries when they examine detainees.
In other news, a federal audit of the Secure Border Initiative's plans to build a $1.5 billion fence along the southern border gives the project poor reviews. Not only is the cost uncertain, there's no evidence it will work.
The report, produced by the Government Accountability Office, says the DHS’ Customs and Border Protection, the agency tasked with implementing the plan, “has not yet demonstrated the effectiveness and suitability of its new approach for deploying surveillance technology in Arizona.”
This is an open thread, all topics welcome.
