“Abu Ghraib would be a kindergarten compared to the military camp here in Ciudad Juarez.”
"Abu Ghraib sería un jardín de infancia en comparación con el campamento militar en Ciudad Juárez".
-Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson, ombudsman for the Chihuahua State Human Rights Commission-
Some Accuse Mexican Army Of Abuse In Juarez
by Jason Beaubien
by Jason Beaubien
Thousands of Mexican soldiers have been sent to Ciudad Juarez in an effort to stop drug-related violence in the city.In the Mexican border city of Juarez, thousands of army troops have taken over control of the local police force in an effort to win back the city's streets from violent drug cartels.
Local officials say the surge over the last two weeks has dramatically reduced the number of drug-related executions. But human rights groups say the military has been abusing detainees suspected of having ties to organized crime.
The Scene On The Border
As you come over the Bridge of the Americas from El Paso, Texas, into Juarez, Mexican soldiers with automatic weapons man a security checkpoint. They flag down SUVs and rummage through the vehicles looking for drugs, guns and money.
The army is now in charge of security in Mexico's most violent city.
It patrols the streets, runs the police department and oversees the jails.
Juarez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz says this is not martial law. He calls it a collaboration between the army and the city.
"We have to work to implement it, have to get many things straightened out," he says. "But at the end of the day, it's going to be a very helpful way to get crime down in our city,"
More than 2,000 people have died in Juarez since the beginning of 2008 as two of the nation's most powerful drug cartels battle for control of smuggling routes into El Paso. The gangs have gunned down their rivals, police officers and prosecutors in broad daylight.
While the thousands of additional troops haven't eliminated executions entirely, the murder tally has fallen from about 10 a day in February to only one or two a day since the extra soldiers arrived.
Allegations Of Torture, Beatings
But Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson, the ombudsman for the Chihuahua State Human Rights Commission, says the military shouldn't be in charge of security in Juarez. And he says the first wave of soldiers who arrived a year ago have tortured and even killed criminal suspects.
"We have registered 160 cases of abuse committed by the military here in Ciudad Juarez," Hickerson says. "And the majority of those cases were of torture."
Hickerson says that when the soldiers arrived more than a year ago, the new troops tried to quickly gather intelligence on the local cartels by beating information out of suspects.
"Abu Ghraib would be a kindergarten compared to the military camp here in Ciudad Juarez," he said, referring to the notorious U.S. military prison in Iraq.
One Man's Story
A used car dealer who doesn't want his name used out of fear for his safety says he was held naked, blindfolded and handcuffed at the base for four days late last year. He says he was beaten along with dozens of other people who were being detained in a building there. He says the soldiers demanded that they confess to working for the drug cartels.
He fled to El Paso as soon as they let him go.
He says at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. on his first day of detention, someone named El Tigre, or the Tiger, took over the interrogation and pulled a plastic bag tight over his head.
"I tried to rip the bag with my mouth but I couldn't," he says. "And at that moment I couldn't breath. When he realized I couldn't keep going, he released me. El Tigre told me, 'Now you're going to talk because you're going to talk.'"
The car dealer says he was arrested after selling a car to two men from out of town who the army claimed were cartel hit men. When he insisted that he was just a businessman, he says, the soldiers threw him naked, handcuffed and soaked in water into a cold storage freezer. Other detainees, he says, were being shocked with electricity.
Hickerson at the Human Rights Commission says this man's account of the military interrogations matches the stories of other detainees.
Local officials say the surge over the last two weeks has dramatically reduced the number of drug-related executions. But human rights groups say the military has been abusing detainees suspected of having ties to organized crime.
The Scene On The Border
As you come over the Bridge of the Americas from El Paso, Texas, into Juarez, Mexican soldiers with automatic weapons man a security checkpoint. They flag down SUVs and rummage through the vehicles looking for drugs, guns and money.
The army is now in charge of security in Mexico's most violent city.
It patrols the streets, runs the police department and oversees the jails.
Juarez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz says this is not martial law. He calls it a collaboration between the army and the city.
"We have to work to implement it, have to get many things straightened out," he says. "But at the end of the day, it's going to be a very helpful way to get crime down in our city,"
More than 2,000 people have died in Juarez since the beginning of 2008 as two of the nation's most powerful drug cartels battle for control of smuggling routes into El Paso. The gangs have gunned down their rivals, police officers and prosecutors in broad daylight.
While the thousands of additional troops haven't eliminated executions entirely, the murder tally has fallen from about 10 a day in February to only one or two a day since the extra soldiers arrived.
Allegations Of Torture, Beatings
But Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson, the ombudsman for the Chihuahua State Human Rights Commission, says the military shouldn't be in charge of security in Juarez. And he says the first wave of soldiers who arrived a year ago have tortured and even killed criminal suspects.
"We have registered 160 cases of abuse committed by the military here in Ciudad Juarez," Hickerson says. "And the majority of those cases were of torture."
Hickerson says that when the soldiers arrived more than a year ago, the new troops tried to quickly gather intelligence on the local cartels by beating information out of suspects.
"Abu Ghraib would be a kindergarten compared to the military camp here in Ciudad Juarez," he said, referring to the notorious U.S. military prison in Iraq.
One Man's Story
A used car dealer who doesn't want his name used out of fear for his safety says he was held naked, blindfolded and handcuffed at the base for four days late last year. He says he was beaten along with dozens of other people who were being detained in a building there. He says the soldiers demanded that they confess to working for the drug cartels.
He fled to El Paso as soon as they let him go.
He says at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. on his first day of detention, someone named El Tigre, or the Tiger, took over the interrogation and pulled a plastic bag tight over his head.
"I tried to rip the bag with my mouth but I couldn't," he says. "And at that moment I couldn't breath. When he realized I couldn't keep going, he released me. El Tigre told me, 'Now you're going to talk because you're going to talk.'"
The car dealer says he was arrested after selling a car to two men from out of town who the army claimed were cartel hit men. When he insisted that he was just a businessman, he says, the soldiers threw him naked, handcuffed and soaked in water into a cold storage freezer. Other detainees, he says, were being shocked with electricity.
Hickerson at the Human Rights Commission says this man's account of the military interrogations matches the stories of other detainees.
Algunos acusan a Ejército Mexicano de abusos en Juárez
by Jason Beaubien
En la ciudad fronteriza mexicana de Juárez, miles de tropas del ejército han tomado el control de la policía local en un esfuerzo por recuperar las calles de la ciudad de violentos carteles de la droga.Los funcionarios locales dicen que el aumento en las últimas dos semanas ha reducido drásticamente el número de ejecuciones relacionadas con las drogas. Pero los grupos de derechos humanos dicen que los militares han abusado de los detenidos sospechosos de tener vínculos con la delincuencia organizada.
La escena en la frontera
Como ustedes ven el Puente de las Américas de El Paso Texas, en Juárez México soldados con armas automáticas tienen un punto de control. Con una bandera señalan y buscan a través de los vehículos en busca de drogas, armas y dinero.El ejército está ahora a cargo de la seguridad en la ciudad mas violenta de MexicoQue patrulla las calles, recorre el departamento de policía y supervisa las cárceles.El Alcalde de Juárez José Reyes Ferriz dice que esta no es la ley marcial. Él lo llama la colaboración entre el ejército y la ciudad."Tenemos que trabajar para implementarlo, tenemos que conseguir enderezar muchas cosas", dice. "Pero al final del día, va a ser una manera muy provechosa de conseguir bajar el crimen en nuestra ciudad,"Más de 2000 personas han muerto en Ciudad Juárez desde principios de 2008 cuando dos de los más poderosos carteles de la droga pelean por el control de rutas de contrabando en El Paso. Las bandas han asesinado a sus rivales, los agentes de policía y fiscales a plena luz del día.Mientras que los miles de tropas adicionales no han eliminado totalmente las ejecuciones, el recuento de asesinatos se ha reducido de unos 10 por día en febrero a sólo uno o dos al día cuando llegaron los soldados.
Denuncias de tortura, palizas
Sin embargo, Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson, el Defensor del Pueblo para el Estado de Chihuahua de la Comisión de Derechos Humanos, dice que los militares no deben estar a cargo de la seguridad en Juárez. Y dice la primera ola de soldados que llegaron hace un año han torturado y aun matado a los sospechosos."Hemos registrado 160 casos de abusos cometidos por los militares aquí en Ciudad Juárez", dice Hickerson. "Y la mayoría de los casos son de tortura."Hickerson dice que cuando los soldados llegaron hace más de un año, las tropas trataron rápidamente de reunir informacion de inteligencia sobre los cárteles por golpes a los sospechosos."Abu Ghraib sería un jardín de infancia en comparación con el campamento militar en Ciudad Juárez", dijo, refiriéndose a la tristemente célebre prisión militar de EE.UU. en Iraq.
La historia de un hombre
Un distribuidor de coches usados que no quiere que su nombre sea utilizado por temor por su seguridad dice que fue sujetado desnudo, con los ojos vendados y esposado en la base militar por cuatro días a finales del año pasado. Él dice que fue golpeado junto con docenas de otras personas que estaban detenidas en un edificio. Él dice que los soldados exigieron que confesara que trabajan para los cárteles de la droga.Huyó a El Paso, tan pronto como lo dejaron ir.Él dice que a las 4 am o 5 am del primer día de su detención, alguien llamado El Tigre, o el Tigre, se encargó del interrogatorio y jaló una bolsa de plástico fuerte sobre su cabeza."Traté de rasgar la bolsa con mi boca, pero no pude", dice. "Y en ese momento no podía respirar. Cuando se dio cuenta de que no podía seguir adelante, me soltó. El Tigre me dijo: 'Ahora vas a hablar, porque tú vas a hablar".El distribuidor de coche dice que fue detenido después de vender un coche a dos hombres de fuera de la ciudad que el ejército alegó fueron sicarios del cártel. Cuando insistió en que era un hombre de negocios, dice, los soldados lo arrojaron desnudo, esposado y empapado en agua en un congelador de almacenamiento en frío. Otros detenidos, dice, fueron asustados con la electricidad.Hickerson en la Comisión de Derechos Humanos dice que el relato de este hombre de los interrogatorios de los militares coincide con los relatos de otros detenidos.
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