HomeNewsBriefMexican Govt Commission Confirms Army Massacre
BRIEF

Mexican Govt Commission Confirms Army Massacre

HUMAN RIGHTS / 22 OCT 2014 BY DAVID GAGNE EN

Mexico's National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) has determined that the army summarily executed 15 of the 22 suspects killed in a warehouse in June this year, confirming another case of grave human rights abuse by the security forces, a month after the disappearance of 43 students.

In a report released (pdf) on October 21, the commission determined that seven victims were killed in a shootout with the army, and that another 12 victims -- including two minors -- were executed. Three others had been moved from their initial positions, indicating they were also executed. The CNDH found that the crime scene had been altered "very probably with the intention of feigning that the deaths had occurred in a context of confrontation."

The CNDH also found that personnel from Mexico State's Attorney General's Office tortured and sexually harassed two female survivors of the incident and subjected a third to inhumane treatment.

The report was based on information from federal, state and municipal authorities; witness testimony; visits to the area where the incident occurred; and photographs of the crime scene. 

Eight members of the military -- one lieutenant and seven solders -- have been arrested so far in connection to the June 30 massacre. The army initially claimed that the dead were killed in confrontation after opening fire on soldiers at a warehouse in the town of Tlatlaya, in Mexico State, and that the soldiers rescued three women who were being held hostage there.

InSight Crime Analysis

The CNDH report confirms the widely-held suspicion that not all the deaths were the result of a shootout, as the authorities initially claimed, but that some victims were summarily executed by soldiers. There has been a great deal of international pressure to resolve the case, and the CNDH's revelations are an important step in this direction.

SEE ALSO: Mexico News and Profiles

However, it remains to be seen what actions the Mexican government will take to follow the CNDH's report, a major concern given Mexico's history of impunity for abuses by the military. While the CNDH can make recommendations on actions that the authorities should take, it does not itself have the power to go further than investigating and documenting abuses.

InSight Crime has been tracking deaths of criminal suspects in Mexico at the hands of the security forces for some years, noting the disproportionate ratio of suspects killed to officials killed, which points to a long-standing practice of extrajudicial executions.

Abuses by the security forces are currently the topic of fierce debate in Mexico. In September, 43 students went missing during a protest in Iguala, Guerrero, and local police are accused of handing some of the students to the Guerreros Unidos gang for execution.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

FEATURED / 16 MAR 2023

The Northeast Cartel has established almost complete dominance of criminal economies in Mexico's border city of Nuevo Laredo.

ELITES AND CRIME / 11 NOV 2021

The disgraced former governor of Chihuahua, César Duarte, may soon be on a flight home. A US judge approved his…

COCAINE / 8 JUL 2021

A US investigation has shed light on the alleged participation of Guatemalan soldiers in a cocaine smuggling network linked to…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Paraguay Election Coverage Draws Attention 

5 MAY 2023

InSight Crime looked at the various anti-organized crime policies proposed by the candidates in Paraguay’s presidential election, which was won on April 30 by Santiago Peña. Our pre-election coverage was cited…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in OAS, CARICOM Reports

28 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s work was cited nine times in a new report by the Organization of American States (OAS) titled “The Impact of Organized Crime on Women,…