Mexican soldiers shot two children in April in their family's vehicle, and apparently altered the crime scene to try to blame the deaths on drug cartel gunmen, Mexico's National Human Rights Commission said Wednesday.
The conclusions of the governmental commission represent one of the strongest condemnations to date of the Mexican army.
While soldiers have frequently been accused of human rights abuses since the army took on a leading role in fighting drug cartels in late 2006, the report suggests the military also engaged in an elaborate cover-up in the deaths of the boys, aged 5 and 9.
The Defense Department press office said it had no immediate comment.
After the boys' mother said soldiers shot her sons with rifles, the army said in late April that its own study concluded the boys were killed by fragments from a self-propelled grenade of a type it doesn't use.
The rights commission's president, Raul Plascencia, said the Defense Department's study ''is unfounded and does not agree with the evidence.''
Thirteen members of the family were traveling in the vehicle April 3 in an area where the Defense Department said soldiers were pursing a convoy of gunmen in the northern state of Tamaulipas. It said the family got caught in crossfire during the confrontation, in which five other members of the family were wounded.
Plascencia said the evidence suggests additional rounds were later fired into the family's vehicle to make it look more like a crossfire incident. The army -- which immediately took charge of the scene of the shooting -- also apparently planted two vehicles at the scene that witness said had not been there at the time of the shooting, he said.
The evidence suggests ''an arbitrary use of public force,'' Plascencia said.
The commission formally recommended that authorities reinvestigate the case, punish those responsible and submit soldiers to periodic psychological tests. The recommendations are not binding.
Tamaulipas has been the scene of bloody battles between drug cartels and security forces. Such violence has cost more than 23,000 lives nationwide since President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006 and launched an offensive against the cartels.
Calderon has said the army is putting greater attention on ensuring troops respect human rights. But critics say the army should not be involved in law enforcement tasks and complain the current system allows soldiers to be investigated and tried in military courts, rather than civilian ones.
Plascencia said the commission has received 34 complaints of military abuses of civilians so far in 2010.
Mexican army is just as bad as any other cartel. Just as ruthless and disrespectful of basic human rights. What kind of coward shoots a child?
ReplyDeleteIt was wrong and they need to be accountable. Fear is the biggest factor when you can longer tell who is good or bad on both sides. How do you fix something like that. any suggestions.
ReplyDeletePinche CALDERON NO VALES TRES CACAUATES!!!
ReplyDeleteES UN MENDIGO HIPÓCRITA!!
Necesita cuidar su gente y no meterse en los asuntos de los EEUU.
ES UN RATERO COMO TODOS LOS DE MAS PRESIDENTES!!!
The agency that investigated (CDHN)is run by people who are not armed and are not protected by any federal agency. That being said they are open to pressure from outside influences to taint the outcome of this event by the cartels. It is well known in the northern cities that the Narcos use these vehicles, suv´s to transport their sicarios in groups of 4 - 6. It is also common knowledge that the father of this family was known to brag about his freindship with known underworld figures. He was following a convoy of cartel vehicles closely in a black tahoe with tinted windows because they were freinds of his, and when you dance with the devil, do not complain that you got burned, when you chose to attend a party in hell.
ReplyDeleteThe people that attended the funerals were questionable characters to say the least, and the source of their wealth is also questionable.
The family of the unfortunate minors do not have the means to bury them in the place they did - who paid for this?? Or as the saying in spanish QUIEN POMPO??
So who do they blame, the brave soldiers who are defending the Mexican State against organized crime, the only ones that have been able to confront these powerfull cartels, while all of the cartels family members and other people who are part of their infrastructure are engaging in a smear campaign against the defenders of Mexico.
VIVA EL EJERCITO MEXICANO , VIVA MEXICO!!!
MM38
All the anti-government and anti-military haters are crying.....if it is a coverup it is wrong and those responsible should be made accountable...there are going to be continued mistakes and injustices.....remember this is a war and situations like this will continue to happen...and remember who set the standard for this type of violence it was not Calderon, the government, or military it was the "Pinche" Drug Cartels...
ReplyDeletethe father of the kids its a lower mid-class person or poor person definied by his own wife in comments do it by themeselves in interviews at tv, but in mexico you need to have a very, very good job (or money)to have a new suv like the father of the kids (chevy tahoe) someone say´s you need to be rich or "narco" to afford it also is one of the favorites for the drug smugglers..
ReplyDeletecomment posted in blogdelnarco for someone who knows rhe family of the kids:
Que digan la verdad!!
para ke se hacen pendejos los papas de los niños no decia el viejo pendejo ke el era compadre del Z40, varias veces lo anduvieron correteando en la colonia aki todos sabiamos ke el bato se movia y la pinche vieja ya pa ke les llora si bien ke se sirvio de lo ke el viejo sacaba de lo ke trabajaba ella misma dijo a ki en la colonia ke iban con la caravana porke aki los habian hechado en corrida los soldados y no tuvieron de otra ke irse junto con ellos asi ke ya sabian a lo ke le iban tirando viejo estupido por andar de lambehuevos arriesgo a su familia y alli estan los resultados ahora fijence tambien donde los enterraron en el panteon jardin ese panteon cuesta un huevo los terrenitos y ellos se hacen ke son de bajos recursos ke vayan a dar lastima a otra parte ke no sean pendejos aki los vecinos no los quieren ya ni les hablan por lo mismo. pinche bola de arrastrados por no kerer trabajar bien no me alegro porke finalmente los niños son los mas inocentes ahora carguen con el dolor y el remordimiento en sus cochinas conciencias porke ellos eran los unikos inocentes ahora si andan bien surrados porke el ejercito los tiene bien checados y tienen miedo ke les den un levanton pero es porke a ellos no los hacen pendejos como a la demas gente!!! pudranse en su dolor y todos los ke andan en eso asi les va a ir y si kieren a su familia no la arriesguen a menos ke no tengan ni perro ke les ladre.
***tell the thruth
why the parents of the kids make themeselves such an assholes, the stupid old man(kid´s father) tells to everyone, he was "compadre"(very good friend) of the Z40(miguel angel treviño leader of the Z´s) sometimes he was pursued here in the town, here every one knows that he was in the "bussines", why does the fkn bitch(kids mother) cries? if she served very well from the bussines of his oldman, she said here in the neighborhood, that they where with the caravan(convoy of Z´s) because here(in the neighborhood) the soldiers where tryn to catch them and they have no choice and run away with them(the convoy) because they know(the soldiers) what does the stupid oldmam do it, for being a ball-licker put his family on risk and there are the results, and check where does the kids where buried, in Panteon Jardin, that graveyard almost cost your balls(a lot of money) the space of soil, and they say they´re a poor family, go somewhere else where someone else feel sorry for you, don´t make themeselves an asshole´s, here no one of the neightbors want them or speak them for the same. fuckin pieces of slither´s for not working right. i don´t feel happy because finally the kids are the most innocents. now charge with the pain and the remorse of your filthy conscience, because them(the kids) where the only innocents. Now they are shitting on his pants because the army have them in his eye all the time, and they are afraid of being hijacked, because they can´t make them stupids(the army) like the other people!!! Rot in your pain and everyone who are in that bussines, that´s how it´s gonna happen to you and if you love your family don´t put them on risk. unless you don´t have even a dog who bark´s to you
Omg
ReplyDeleteSure are a lot of apologists for the Mexican military and government writing to Borderland Beat! The US government arms these thugs and they repress everybody EXCEPT the cartels. They simply feed into the cartels much the same way the US puppet government has done exactly the same in Colombia.
ReplyDeleteThe US government is not only supplying arms to the mexican military, it is also indirectly supplying arms to the cartels. The majority of grenades and colt ar-15´s that are being utililized were manufactured in the late 60´s. These weapons have been upgraded, but the serial no´s are easy to look up. These weapons are in excellent condition and have probably been in US military warehouses for the past 30 years and are now finding there way into the hands of the drug lords and co. This is a result of leaks and philfering on behalf of US military personnel.
ReplyDeleteOf course the US military will not admit to any of this but check the matricula (serial numbers) of these weapons and seeh what comes out. All governments are dirty, and all push their own agenda-regardless of truth or fairness.
MM38