Report Cites Abuses by Mexican Military

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.

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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. In some instances, civilian law enforcement authorities have been impeded because the military delayed the release of information, the report said.

“We need armed forces that do not tolerate some of their members violating fundamental rights without consequences,” José Luis Soberanes, president of the commission, said Friday.

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The military, which has generally defended its rights record, did not immediately respond to the report.

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