The Mexican army has carried out numerous forced disappearances, tortured suspected drug traffickers, and conducted illegal raids during ramped up anti-drug efforts which began in December 2006, the Washington Post reports this morning. Human rights groups say the violations extend from Northern to Southern Mexico. In the state of Guerrero, the paper writes that “residents recounted how soldiers seeking information last month stuck needles under the fingernails of a disabled 37-year-old farmer, jabbed a knife into the back of his 13-year-old nephew, fired on a pastor, and stole food, milk, clothing and medication.” Meanwhile, in Tijuana, court documents and interviews reveal that “two dozen policemen who were arrested on drug charges in March alleged that, to extract confessions, soldiers beat them, held plastic bags over their heads until some lost consciousness, strapped their feet to a ceiling while dunking their heads in water and applied electric shocks.” Mexican officials have responded to these charges, saying they are “isolated” incidents and that stories are exaggerated by traffickers as a form of propaganda against security forces. For its part, the U.S. has warned in the past that it could suspend more than $100 million in anti-drug aid that it currently provides to Mexico if allegations human rights abuses are confirmed. Under the 2007 Mérida Initiative, 15% of the total $1.4 billion program cannot be released until the Sec. of State indicates that Mexico has made progress in protecting human rights. The State Dept.’s Mérida report is expected in the coming weeks, and one official working on the report says Mexico’s record thus far has been “a mixed bag.” The National Human Rights Commission in Mexico is currently investigating the Guerrero and Tijuana cases but has been overwhelmed with nearly 2,000 other complaints just this year. Thus far, the monitoring body “documented 26 cases of abuse, 17 of which involved torture, including asphyxiation and the application of electric shocks to the genitals of drug suspects,” the Post writes.
In other news on violence in Mexico, the LA Times also reports today on the murder of anti-crime activist Benjamin LeBaron and his brother-in-law in a small farming town in the state of Chihuahua. Initial reports say it appears the two were the targets of an organized crime hit as a note left with their bodies said the killings were “retribution for the capture of 25 drug suspects in a neighboring town.” LeBaron, a U.S. citizen, had led a protest demonstration last May in Chihuahua, denouncing kidnappings in the country after his teenage brother was abducted. “Public complaints carry a lot of risk. People who dare to do so are exposed to just what happened to this man,” said a fellow anti-crime activist.
The AP in the Miami Herald reports on the increasingly difficult public health situation for indigenous peoples in Peru. In particular, the AP says inadequate healthcare is being provided to pregnant indigenous women in the Peruvian highlands and jungle areas—this according to an Amnesty International researcher in the region. “Health services for pregnant women in Peru are like a lottery. If you are poor and indigenous, the chances are you will always lose. The fact that so many women are dying from preventable causes is a human rights violation,” said Amnesty’s Nuria Garcia in a statement released this week. Amnesty added that a survey 2007 survey in found only 36 percent of women in the poorest sectors of society gave birth in a health institution. While the health ministry has attempted to address the situation through expanding its outreach to indigenous areas, health professionals and women consulted by the human rights organization reported that efforts “are not being effectively implemented.”
From Argentina, the New York Times reports on the reshuffling of President Cristina Kirchner’s cabinet. A week after her wing of the Peronist party suffered a defeat in midterm elections, her cabinet chief and economy minister were on their way out. The Times writes that “Mrs. Kirchner replaced Sergio Massa, the cabinet chief, with Justice Minister Aníbal Fernández late Tuesday. She named Amado Boudou, the head of social security, as economy minister, replacing Carlos Fernández, who had been in the job 14 months. Julio Alak, the general manager of Aerolíneas Argentinas, took over as justice minister.” Left in place, however, were a number of ministers and top government advisors who, the paper says, are key figures in carrying out the economic strategy devised by Kirchner’s husband, ex-President Nestor Kirchner. Andres Oppenheimer of the MH comments on the changes in his column today, saying the length of an economy minister’s tenure in Argentina and around Latin America should added to the list of economic indicators measuring a given country’s “reliability” for foreign investors.
Finally, the latest on the situation in Honduras as negotiations, mediated by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, begin today. The AP says expectations are low for the talks. Ousted President Manuel Zelaya continues to insist he will attend in order to negotiate his return to power while coup leaders maintain his return is non-negotiable. The uncertainty of the talks’ outcome was echoed by Arias himself. “In two days there could be a solution or it could be that in two months there is no solution,” the Costa Rican president said Wednesday. Arias also penned an opinion piece in the Washington Post this morning. He writes that “The recent coup d'état in Honduras, which has embroiled that country in a constitutional crisis, has provided a sad reminder that despite the progress our region has made, the errors of our past are still all too close.” In particular, Arias attacks the region for increases in military spending [Arias has long advocated that Central America be a “demilitarized region”]. “We should recognize that such events are not random acts. They are the result of systematic errors and missteps that many of us have been warning about for decades. They are the price we pay for one of our region's greatest follies: its reckless military spending…[the crisis] shows what happens when our governments divert to their militaries resources that could be used to strengthen their democratic institutions, to build a culture of respect for human rights and to increase their levels of human development.” Latin American military expenditures have doubled over the last five years while only Colombia still finds itself in an armed conflict. An editorial in the Post, per usual, brings Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez into the Honduran equation. The paper credits President Obama with “dealing a defeat to the populist authoritarianism that Mr. Chávez and Mr. Zelaya represent,” while at the same time recommending Zelaya be reinstated as president. In the MH, former U.S. Latin America hand in the White House and State Dept., Otto Reich, attempts to defend himself from charges that he helped orchestrate the Honduran coup. Mel Zelaya has been threatened a lawsuit against Reich since April on charges of “defamation.” And, for a bit of humor in difficult times, read the Huffington Post’s “Top 10 Reasons the U.S. isn’t Getting its Panties in a Bunch over Honduras.” My favorite: “Condoning Zelaya's mustache would set a dangerous precedent, which would have a domino effect that could spread beyond Latin America. The specter of facial hair already haunts the faces of Raul Castro and Lula. Can we really afford to lose another country to a mustached leader?”
Lastly, two other notes of interest in papers today, both from Venezuela. Caracas mayor Antonio Ledezma has ended a five-day hunger strike after the OAS Sec. General José Miguel Insulza agreed to discuss the on-going dispute between the mayor’s office and the government of Hugo Chávez. Chávez is accused of usurping the opposition mayor’s power by restricting his funds and other authorities. And Sec. of State Hillary Clinton added to her Latin America agenda this week a meeting with Globovision’s general director, Alberto Federico Ravell, and the news station’s main anchor, Leopoldo Castillo. “It was incredible that the same day she met with ousted Honduran President Zelaya she also met with representatives from a television channel that is seen by Chávez as part of the opposition,” Ravell remarked. “That sends a clear message,” he told the Miami Herald, adding that respecting the rule of law must include freedom of the press.
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