U.S. Warns of Continuing Human Rights Violations in Mexico
In its report, the U.S. State Department warned that Mexico's police, military, and other government officials were involved in credible acts of unlawful or arbitrary killings, as well as enforced disappearances, torture, and degrading treatment.
The U.S. State Department warned that elements of Mexico's police, military, and other government officials were involved in credible acts of unlawful or arbitrary killings, as well as the forced disappearance of persons, torture, and degrading treatment.
In the chapter dedicated to Mexico, the annual human rights report 2021 argues that in the Mexican case these problems persisted throughout the previous year, along with harsh and potentially deadly prison conditions, arbitrary arrest or detention; restrictions on freedom of expression and the media, including violence against journalists.
"Acts of corruption, insufficient investigation and accountability for gender-based violence, including, but not limited to, domestic and intimate partner violence; crimes involving violence or threats of violence against persons with disabilities; and crimes involving violence or threats of violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex persons," were listed in the report.
The State Department noted that impunity and extremely low prosecution rates continued to be a problem for all crimes, including human rights abuses and corruption. "There were reports that some government agents were complicit with international organized criminal gangs, and prosecution and conviction rates were low for these abuses," it noted.
Elements of organized crime, including local and transnational gangs and drug traffickers, were significant perpetrators of violent crime and committed acts of homicide, torture, kidnapping, extortion, human trafficking, bribery, intimidation, and other threats, "resulting in high levels of violence and exploitation, particularly directed at vulnerable groups. The government investigated and prosecuted some of these crimes, but the vast majority remained uninvestigated and unprosecuted."
