Human Rights and Civil Society

CNDH releases report amid prison violence and instability

Senator David Monreal Ávila. Photo: Wikipedia.
Senator David Monreal Ávila. Photo: Wikipedia.

01/26/14 (written by gomeznathalie) — The Mexican penitentiary system has been in the news lately, with reports coming out the past few months with claims of ‘self-governance’ in prisons, prison attacks and corruption, and U.S. interrogations of Mexican inmates.

A report released November 19, 2013 by the Mexican National Commission of Human Rights (Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos, CNDH) addressed the issue of ‘self-governance’ by the inmate population in Mexican prisons. The speculation of ‘self-governance’ has raised considerable concerns; concerns that were brought to light by Mexican Senator David Monreal Ávila of the Labor Party (Partido del Trabajo, PT). Citing the CNDH report, “The National Diagnostic Prison Overview 2012” (“Diagnóstico Nacional de Supervisión Penitenciaria 2012”), Ávila warned officials that 65 of Mexico’s 101 overpopulated prisons were found to be ‘self-governed’ by its inmates, which he claims reflects a loss of control on the part of the authorities. According to Ávila and the CNDH, the incidence of violence and control of a significant part of the penitentiary system by the prison population have increased significantly in recent years, demonstrating a high rate of defection and corruption, particularly in the states of Nuevo León, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas.

Photo: Mexico's National Human Rights Commission (CNDH).
Photo: Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission (CNDH).

Additionally, the CNDH reported that there were 52 registered violent incidents among prisons in 2011, 73 in 2012, and 119 by October of 2013, some of which may have occurred as a result of the penitentiary system’s overpopulation, according to news source Red Política. Ávila added that the prisons’ most affected by such a lack of inmate control are those located in states that have been plagued by drug-related violence in recent years. Senator Ávila urged that Mexico’s Interior Ministry (Secretaría de Gobernación, SEGOB) implement measures to protect the human rights of prisoners against the violent acts occurring within these prisons stemming from corruption and ‘self-governance.’ Such an incident occurred on January 3, 2014 in a Guerrero prison in Iguala when nine individuals were killed during a violent encounter between six armed men and prison officials. The office of the state attorney general (Procuraduría General de Justicia del Estado, PGJE) confirmed through a press release that five of the deceased victims were the assailants, while the other four were prison inmates. The armed group entered the prison and approached a prison guard claiming to be part of the public service with the authority to detain an inmate held inside the prison. The six assailants subsequently opened fire on the inmates, causing a violent encounter between the assailants, inmates, and prison officials. The director of the prison, Juan Pablo Roldán Minero, has been apprehended and is under investigation for the attack.

The CNDH publication and recent prison attack come amidst reports by media outlets Univisión and El Universal on possible ties that were formed between the Mexican government and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) during Operation Cleansing (Operacion Limpieza), which began in 2008. According to the reports, the Office of the Attorney General in Mexico (Procuraduría General de la República, PGR) under former President Felipe Calderón (2006-2012) allowed the DEA to unlawfully interrogate its prisoners in an effort to identify officials who had received funds from drug cartels. The Univisión article cites a case involving the ex-coordinator of the Assistant Attorney General’s Office for Special Investigations on Organized Crime (Subprocuraduría Especializada en Investigación de Delincuencia Organizada, SEIDO), Miguel Colorado, who was accused of drug related crimes and organized crime. Colorado maintains that the DEA visited him in April 2009—when the operation was in full effect—at the prison where he was being held in Puente Grande, Jalisco, with the intention of persuading him to become a protected witness, a proposal he rejected given that he maintains his innocence. Records held by Mexican authorities corroborate Colorado’s account of the meeting, confirming that among those who visited him were DEA special agents Stephen May, Gregory Garza, and ex-coordinator of the SEIDO, Martín Marín Colín. Colorado claims that he suffered psychological abuse and torture inflicted by the DEA who sought to pressure him to accept their offer, adding that Martín Marín Colín and the other DEA agents had definitively abused their authority in their official capacities. Mexican defense attorney Juan Velázquez echoed Colorado’s statements, and highlighted that according to Mexican law only an agent of the public ministry or a judge has the authority to interrogate a prisoner, including those going through a process of extradition.

This is not the first time criticism has been leveled at Mexico’s prison system. It has long been known for problems of underperforming, weak oversight, overpopulation, and prison breaks, among other issues.

Sources:

“Diagnóstico Nacional de Supervisión Penitenciaria 2012.” Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos. November 19, 2013.

Contreras, Ezequiel F. “Grupo armado irrumpe en penal de Guerrero; nueve muertos.” Proceso. January 3, 2014.

Morales, Alberto. “Cárceles en México se gobiernan solas: Monreal.” Red Política. January 4, 2014.

Gómora, Doris. “Tuvo DEA puertas abiertas con FCH.” El Universal. January 6, 2014.

“PGR habría avalado interrogatorios de la DEA en cárceles mexicana.” Univisión. January 7, 2014.

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