Mexico’s Roman Catholic bishops have joined in the growing criticism of a drug war that has captured top kingpins but done little to stem gang violence.
The Mexican Council of Bishops said in a report released on Monday that the presence of thousands of troops on the streets and a corrupt judicial system raise human rights concerns.
They said too many suspects are paraded in front of the media before being charged and urged the government to speed up police reforms so that thousands of troops now leading the drug war can return to their barracks.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Since taking office in 2006, Mexican President Felipe Calderon has deployed tens of thousands of troops to drug trafficking hotspots across the country, vowing to wrest back territory from brutal cartels. Gang violence has since increased and become more vicious, with beheadings and shootouts occurring daily. More than 15,000 people have died in violence tied to the drug trade in the past three years.
The report comes in the wake of the massacre of 15 people in the border city of Ciudad Juarez that provoked widespread criticism of Calderon’s drug war strategy. Most of those killed were students with no known ties to drug gangs, and investigators say the gunmen may have been acting on mistaken information.
A crowd jeered Calderon last week during a visit to Ciudad Juarez, where 2,600 people were killed last year. He pledged to spend more on social programs in the city, but he vowed not to remove soldiers from the streets.
The government deployed 400 more federal police to Ciudad Juarez over the weekend. Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna said on Monday a special unit investigating kidnappings and extortion would also be sent to the city.
The bishops said Calderon’s nationwide military deployment initially had widespread public support, but they warned that the troop presence must be temporary.
“As time passed, the participation of the armed forces in the fight against organized crime has created uncertainty in the population,” the report said. “The armed forces have the obligation to respect human rights.”
International human rights groups have accused soldiers of arbitrary killings and other abuses in the drug war.
The bishops said few suspected criminals are brought to justice because of police corruption and inefficiency. At the same time, the report said some tactics lend themselves to jailing innocent people.
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