Mexican Military Human Rights Violations in Juárez

A new report jointly put together by the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and the Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez Human Rights Center (Center Prodh) discovered that human rights violations occurred in Ciudad Juárez, México as part of the government’s Joint Operation Chihuahua, which started in 2008.

Five cases highlighted in the report, entitled “Abused and Afraid in Ciudad Juárez: An Analysis of Human Rights Violations by the Military in Mexico,” detail torture, disappearances, and sexual harassment on the part of Mexican soliders in Juárez.

The five cases are just scratching the surface of problems that have arisen in Juárez since 2008.  According to a press release, “The Human Rights Commission of the state of Chihuahua reported in September 2009 that it had received more than 1,450 complaints of violations committed by the security forces during Joint Operation Chihuahua. According to ‘Abused and Afraid’ these complaints may just be the tip of the iceberg, since many abuses are never even reported.”