Report cites torture, killings by Mexican military

The National Human Rights Commission on July 11 accused the Mexican military of wrongfully killing eight civilians at roadblocks, torturing witnesses and allowing soldiers accused of rights violations to escape prosecution during its continuing campaign against drug cartels. In a lengthy report, commission investigators documented a case of soldiers jamming splinters beneath the fingernails and toenails of a witness and forcibly injecting alcohol down his throat. The man had been mistaken for a drug dealer operating in the hills near the border south of Phoenix, the report said. In another case, soldiers stormed a house in the western village of Uruapan and allegedly tortured two suspects by stabbing their genitals with electric cattle prods. Other suspects were held at military facilities, forced to undress and barred from communicating with lawyers or family. Most of the abuses have gone unpunished, the report said. For instance, no action has been taken against soldiers suspected of shooting dead four civilians at a roadblock in the central state of Sinaloa, the report said. The commission's report held the military's top brass to be as responsible for the violations as the low- and mid-ranking soldiers accused of committing the actual offenses. "We need armed forces that do not tolerate some of their members violating fundamental rights without consequences," said José Luis Soberanes, president of the commission. The military, which has generally defended its rights record, did not immediately respond to the report. More than 980 rights complaints -- 75 percent of which are connected to the anti-narcotics operations -- have been filed against the military since President Felipe Calderón took office in 2006. Mexico is soon to receive over $400 million from the US to aid their counter-narcotics operations.