Posted on 09/21/2007 2:00:49 PM PDT by BradtotheBone
MEXICO CITY — A government-run human rights commission accused soldiers of rape and torture today and recommended the army be pulled out of Mexico's nationwide drug war.
The report by the National Human Rights Commission is the first official document to back up long-standing allegations of human rights abuses by soldiers ordered by President Felipe Calderon to retake large swaths of territory controlled by powerful drug cartels.
Military officials declined to comment on the report, saying any response to the allegations would come in a press statement.
Calderon ordered the nationwide crackdown shortly after taking office on Dec. 1, and has said the war against drug trafficking is his top priority. Calderon's office said they were reviewing the report.
Jose Luis Soberanes, the commission's president, said his staff was able to document four cases of abuse.
The first case was from 2006, before Calderon took office. The commission said soldiers allegedly raped 14 women in a small town in the state of Coahuila.
The second, in early May of this year, soldiers responding to an ambush in the western state of Michoacan allegedly entered homes without warrants, stole money and property, tied residents up and threatened them with death if they didn't provide information. The soldiers allegedly submerged at least one person in a well, sexually abused two children and raped two teenage girls.
In the third case, also in early May in Michoacan, Soberanes said soldiers rounded up and tortured at least seven adults and one child in a small town that was the site of a shootout with suspected drug traffickers. Many of the victims reported having bags placed over their heads while they were beaten.
The fourth case has already been widely reported. On June 1, soldiers opened fire on a pickup truck packed with people, killing two women and three children.
Soldiers said the truck failed to slow for a highway checkpoint, but the commission said investigators found no evidence of a checkpoint. In fact, Soberanes said, the soldiers appeared to be simply camping alongside a dark road when they opened fire on the vehicle.
He added that seven of the 19 soldiers at the campsite showed signs of having consumed alcohol or drugs.
I am feeling so good about the fact that our vigilant media will cover this heinous outrage on the part of the troops...
Wait, there weren’t U.S. Marines?
Never mind.
As long as they didn't force prisoners to wear panties on their heads, what's the big deal?
Beats shooting buffalo from a train window. /sarc
Maybe the MSM will carry this on the evening news and actually DEMONIZE Mexico for a change. That and their crappy economy that’s causing a mass exodus.
Where the hell is Murtha when we need him?
Ping!
If you want on, or off this S. Texas/Mexico ping list, please FReepMail me.
This is the way they treat their own people, in their own country! That ought to scare any one knowing awol Mexican military is all over this country in gangs and in our parks and forests growing dope!
This is also the same Mexican Military that your government is telling you is helping US fight drugs and border crime!
Top priority???? Calderon's pants are on fire.
Like his predecessor Fox, his main priority is shipping Mexico's poor out of Mexico ASAP for the good ol' American taxpayers to pay for. He knows the President of the United States is still rolling out the red carpet for them.
Guess that according to the media a Conservative must be in charge of Mexico otherwise this story would not see the light of day if a Leftist was in charge.
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