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MEXIDATA . INFO
Column 090505 Brewer

Monday, September 5, 2005

Requiem with impunity — Mexico’s victims

By Jerry Brewer

Many diverse and humbled victims of Mexico’s border

atrocities cry out from their graves for justice. Families
and friends are left to grieve, pursue answers, and seek
closure. A governing nation’s legislature is empowered
to act on behalf of its people. But will deaf ears regain a
sympathetic ear for humanity?

The legacy of President Vicente Fox is approaching its

twilight hours, battered by critics who accuse him of
failing to achieve major reforms he promised when he
took office. As for Fox, he is quick to showcase his
efforts to promote Mexico’s developing democracy.

Is this a fair assessment?

The incredible numbers of killings throughout Mexico

have included people from all walks of life — and not
just fellow criminals, statistics that would outrage any
free nation. This attributed to the drug cartels. When
you place into the equation the sophisticated weaponry
and strategies utilized by the ruthless assassins,
anarchy comes to mind. The violence against women
alone is epidemic.

And these acts demonstrate profound deficiencies in

justice and the security system’s ability to cope with the
needs and rights of a nation.

Some argue that Fox has made progress and blame an

“opposition-dominated Congress.” A highly critical
report issued by Amnesty International, concerning the
handling of femicide in Ciudad Juarez, prompted Fox to
take action. He appointed a special commissioner and
a special prosecutor to address the issues.

As well, the President sent federal troops to Nuevo

Laredo and other border cities, in what some describe
as a knee-jerk response to the area’s violence and
mayhem. It is clear Fox knows the problems, and he
has shown some intestinal fortitude to respond.
However where is the quality control of these actions?
Too, there is a huge gap between promises and action,
and actual delivered substance.

Where is the deadlock in achieving results? The quality

of the investigations in the Juarez murders is a
profound issue. The integrity of the criminal
proceedings brought against a number of those
arrested in connection with some of the crimes was
suspect. Are these failures due to incompetence,
indifference, negligence — or an inability to perform?

The shootings and murders throughout Mexico demand

professional crime scene attention and competent
direction in the investigations. Human life is valued and
each death requires a systematic approach in
competent investigation and identifying those
responsible. With this comes the need for professional
evidence collection, forensic processing, and
prosecutorial liaison that would hopefully lead to
convictions and result in extended incarceration.
Without this you have a virtual Mecca for homicidal
mania.

The creation of the Special Prosecutor’s Office in 1998,

to investigate the murders of women in Juarez and the
State of Chihuahua, failed to achieve the expectations
for much needed changes. Adding further insult to
injury, many of the victim’s families claimed they were
treated “very despicably” by the previous Chihuahua
administration. They felt that authorities, in public
statements, displayed open discrimination against the
women and their families.

In many of the statements the women themselves were

blamed for their own fatal circumstances, this
supposedly due to the way they dressed or because
they worked in bars at night. Motives such as Satanism
rituals, pornographic films, and trafficking of human
organs were also discussed.

The bottom line of this rhetoric is that since the late

1980s it is believed that approximately 500 women
have been murdered in the state of Chihuahua. Many
have simply disappeared. FBI profilers believe that
serial killers are responsible for at least 30 of the
deaths since 1993, whereas Chihuahua officials were
quick to reject the findings.

In Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, investigations into

kidnappings of 44 people point to police collusion
according to Mexican federal prosecutors. As well,
several Nuevo Laredo police officers were arrested after
they opened fire on federal agents sent by Fox to halt
drug violence in the area.

The next Mexican president will face a monumental and

unprecedented task, with the eyes of the world
watching closely. And the Mexican people will demand
a leader with concrete proposals and actions in mind,
and not just empty promises they have heard many
times before.

A human rights platform for women to be free from

gender violence must be adopted. The dignity of
victims and the rights of the family must be recognized
to obtain truth and justice. Plus legal and constitutional
reforms must be priorities, along with a coordinated
common agenda with the states as it relates to
restructuring law enforcement and jurisdictions.

And this all must be confronted with urgency.

——————————
Jerry Brewer, the Vice President of Criminal Justice
International Associates, a global risk mitigation firm
headquartered in Miami, Florida, is also a columnist with
MexiData.info. He can be reached via e-mail at
Cjiaincusa@aol.com, and jbrewer@cjiausa.org.