·· •· ME$ A-GE REF'ERS NCS NO A-79 Dat e l h$s airgraE1 responQs to reference A requiring report 'i' J l ilwtt 'il l Xiq1hta in eo1 U1tries receiving security l $iis'l emce Headings correspond to Ref A• s suggested ·t @litte · i· ' ' • A pattern of human rights violations in Mexi · a'f a iU fo 1 separate areas 2S facto lack of guaran· $ 't _ · · tees to deta nEles during the period immediately follow i _ - · al It i n- bot common criminal and political cases f · ' · •wti®l praoticed on imprisoned u s cit l zens by • fei llcQW in1 1ates given supervisory responsibility and by · p n-t on guarl ls1 GOM action against political terrorists an4 itelatively minor governmental harassment against i ' · · _ egal · pol itiaa1 opposition There is no effective lega _ or adm nistr aU ve constraint against these kinds of · • -- l ·· l v tolat tona eru ept notification of arrest and immediate • •· ·· - · ¢ Onaular access in the case of aliens an area in which N vv · •·•·' •·· · · o · we ha l 'e thken vigorous action concerning U s citizens _ -1fi · Among inte rna•tional organizations only Amnesty ·1 International has taken an interest in human rights i _ - i in -Mexico and described Mexico rather accurately in a brief section fits 1974-1975 report u s security assistance should not reasonably be related to human rights violations in Mexico but we can expect interest in the assistance provided Mexico under the FAA for nar· jsuOGS 9 1' o OltlTRH'l UTION cotics enforcement We expect that our position can be I i e1 ss1 -11 A't'ION draft CON FSmithj• coN HRGaither draft DEA R 1EYman subs draft FCJ'AM 09•323 11•72 _ · -· ' •• · __ -- ' MEXICO A- 79 Page 2 successfully defended against accusations that our assistance can be associated with human rights violations Mexico is not exemplary in the human rights field but we do not feel that the patterns of viol ations which do occur should place it amon9 those countries where a ' consistent pattern of gro11s violations exists END SUMMARY Important Ordinary Legal Gt1arantees Chapter I of the Mexican Cc nstitution Articles r-29 establishes as individual s uarantees to be enjoyed by every person in the Unitec Mexican States all the internationally recognized human rights Reference B describes the Mexican writ of amparo and the practice of jurisprudencia two additional means by which the individual citizen may prot ect himself a9 ainst arbitra Y governmental decisions There is not now in effect in Mexico a state of energency or siege but Article 29 of the Mexican Constitution does mi ke provision for a temporary suspension of individual guarantees To the best of our knowledge Article 29 has never been invoked Actual Practice of Government Regarding HuMan P ights As pointed out in Reference B Mexico's systerr of or e party rule· has given the e ecutive branch 0£ its government a certain flexibility in the degree tc- which it adheres to human rights guarantees We belie •e that the kind of human rights violations which occur in · lexicc do form patterns but doubt that exico qualifies as a country where a consistent pattern of r rcss violations occurs Torture Cruel Inhuman or Dearadinc Trcatrent or Punishment Torture and other similar ·iolaticns of hur u riqhts frequently occur i1'llllediately after arrest durin police interrogation before the individual is c0r sic ned r ermitted attorney's counsel or in the case of ar alien consular access The pattern aprears t be that re-lice officials have little to discourage their use • f i hysicci abuse to force a detainee to cooperate full with his interrogators These violations occur in all ir ds cf instances both in normal criminal arrests ar d in r-cli tically motivated detentions ln January 1975 an elderly member of the Mexican Communist Part · died w lilc in police custody probably as a result of police interrogation See Ref F Al though the G vernr ent of W '' i ' '' ' -- ' MEXICO A- 79 Page 3 Mexico clearly does not condone this officially or publicly it just as clearly tolerates the abuse so long as it does not result in embarrassing public disclosures It undoubtdy is also limited in its ability to change this centuries old pattern To our knowledge no administrative controls inhibit such practices except consular access when it is gained in the case of an alien Criminal sanctions exist but have not constituted an effective deterrent To the best of our knowledge in the past year there occurred only one instance in which police officials were discharged and prosecuted for abuses of this nature Conditions in Mexican prisc ns are often deplorable but we would not term treat r 1ent or punishment ir human or degrading in most instances The r 1ayor system by which inmates are given supervisory responsibility over fellow imr ates includinc the power to extort does result in a pattern of abuse but thes e violations of human rights are probahly ' J ncr relative to those described in the precedin parac rapt Arbitrary Arrest Detention Incarceration ·it out Trial Reference C is a still acc lr lte descriptic cf _ o behavior under this headin J there does 't exist a consistent pattern of qross viclations o t s kind The GOM deleted in mid-1970 articles frcr th -enal code concerning previously abused authority t - arrest persons engaging in criMe f 11 social Cissi - i it i ' 11 • Pemms arrested during the l 'assive stm lent c erc st raticr s of 1968 had all been released l y r -id-19 1 l-'E • ar net aware of anyone presently incarcerated ir 'ex cc w c- can properly be termed a political prisc er·· ' he lust such person agrarian leader narc t ar - ·s r iJ • 1 - · · • a released in November 19 Abuses continue to occur ho • e't er in t •c · - -n · s · · e GOM will occasionally detai 1 persons belt -- c·in ti « political opposition roups 11nd questior t cr rec n alleqed illegal activities They are usuallr released without charges Two 01oposition unregistered rarties Mexican Party of Workers 11nct rarty of Socialist 1 c rkersl have complaineC constantly - f this kind cf 1urassr ier t The editors of a rac1ically leftist newspa -er • ere detained in a military camp for nea 1 ly three weei s in September 197 4 without being char ed itl' a - y er ir e m t' • p n ' I '•• MEXICO A- 79 Page 1 their offices were ransacked and their newspaper closed down without any judicial authority A second pattern exists in GOM handling of terrorist activity We believe the Goverr1ment has little quall ls in acting to destroy opponents who use terrorism as a tactic Reference D describes what we believe to be an example of this kind of activity GOM action against terrorists probably includes the· full range of human rights violations GOM Condonation of Violations As indicated abovc some parts cf the Gm obvious - · privately condone violations of human rights against detainees of all kinds durin9 pclice interrogatior against terrorists and to a lesser and milder degree against political opposition 11 dministrative ccr trc s if they exist appear inadequate Criminal sar ctic s are rarely applied although this has happened tr e case of aliens consular access as soon as oss tle after detention appears to be tr e best rer edy ·c violations of this kind 1974-1975 Amnesty International Report The Embassy received fro1 1 the Departr ent ir e ter i er 1975 a copy of a section of this re ·ort deal ir 9 · it Mexico pages 7 4-75 • We be 1 ie •e d e re ort cc r rect · focuses on the de facto absence cf i ro edura 9uaract e and would qualily its findings in only a l 'ir cr a • c know of no current prisoners whc are visitly •r1 - c - c• -s of conscience 11 the report iM llies that er a e c We are unaware of any r ther interr ntir -r t' l n 1 - l 4 - - taking an interest in hurrar ric_ ts ir c - 1c U s Diplomatic stef•S Embass_y effoits to discc urnc vic atic s u - _•· 1·--· --· t observance of hur ian rights Lave ccr sisted r1 ---a · - our protesting violations aqninst r - c tiic s e Embassy has filed written Fr otests c ·ic-1atic s ··· - 1 ferent kinds with the Mexican fcrei n 0ffic r -r n - - ir· ber • of occasions during 1975 Oral protests to t c tt r ey _ - ·· eije·ra L · t6• the Undersecretary of the- I - teric•r - - · isc-r- _- ·officials and- other bureaucratic perscn · el Lr ·e tee · _ _ ·· ··· - 1nl'lUmeraPle · P major and l lore ccncre te ef 'crt tc ' -rc cte t t- · - - · _ ObSE rv ance ·- ha been- Our insistence c1 t e · 1 ·t t cf 1 •• j l_ · 1t 1 f' i ficat i on r · ·r of arrest of a r s ·-- citizen ar Z - · t • MEXICO A-79 Page 5 • of consular access Although compliance with directives of the Mexican Attorney General to observe these rights has been spotty there has been some improvement We do not believe that the $100 000 of training provided the Mexican military through-scholarships and educational grants can in any reasonable way be connected with violations of human rights in Mexico A more serious problem arises with regard to assistance gr'anted Mexico for narcotics control although reference A did not require reports on countries receiving such assistance we believe a brief discussion of this issue is worthwhile Mexico is currently the largest recipient of FAJ• funds designated for narcotics control activities • Fortunately none of the equipment and training provided can reasonably be connected to the type of violations which occur in Mexico since the bulk of the equipment has been helicopters and the training has been for pilots • The USG has not provided individual agent training since 973 A connection between USG el'lphasis on narcotics ccr trcl and human rights violations can arise in two ways however One is the presence of u s Drug Enforcel'lent Aqents in Mexico and their occasional participation i the interrogation process usually as interpreters 7c sa eguard against any possible abuses arisin9 in this fasl inn the Embassy drew up a detailed set of guiJelines 'er DEA operations in Mexico which we understand has bee - adcptec as a model elsewhere in this hemisphere hese are contained in reference E A second connection has been raised by GC ic a s themselves and is either a deliberate ob usc ti' · -r a mis conception which is prcbably sl ared b · ar · - -r cm s with relatives imprisoned in Mexico est s c -i · ctl · stated by Mexican Ambassador to tlw l n ite f tates de ' lcc _ i Mexicans believe the United Sta tern s 10uld c m se betwe c soft treatment for u s citizens arrested a - d l ette r enforcement action ' 'his of ·course implies c rr ctl that u s concern for the rights l' citize-ns r • e ur de · Mexican law can be equated with sc ft or s -'ec 1l treat --er t but it is a therni Mexicans have seized U C'n a - c i - c oubtecE · is appealing to the families of wany citizer s ii 1e ican jails It has also been sounded by several Curnalistic --'--- ----- •• •• • •_h _ - • · - ' '• - MEXICO A- 79 Page 6 treatments of the priscner problem There is one grain of truth in the connection however Many of ttie human rights vic lations which occur in Mexico are the result c f pervasive cultural and legal attitudes typical of lesser developed countries and which will be overcome onfy as the country gradually modernizes Thus to the'extent that our emphasis on na rcotics enforcement results in more narcotics arres ts instances of human rfghts violations will probably increase Only by a perverse logic can this cc rrelation become a justification for changing our priority emphasis on narcotics en florcement and we need not be defensive about this result of this emphasis but we should recognize that a tenuous connection exists · • TH0 •1t'SON