Military Is Systematically Hiding Figures of Civilian Casualties in Mexico's War on Drugs teleSUR
go to original December 5, 2016

An investigation showed that for the last four years, the Mexican army won't give figures of civilians killed by them (Red Pepper)

Since President Enrique Peña Nieto took office in Mexico, the army has stopped reporting on the number of civilian deaths at the hands of the military, according to an investigation by local media outlet Animal Politico.

"They don't mention dead civilians anymore, they've disappeared from official speech and there's simply no way of exactly knowing those figures," report Animal Politico. Since the beginning of Peña Nieto's administration, which began in December 2012, the military has refrained from informing the public about these figures, it claims.

The latest official statistic provided by the military states that between 2006 when Mexico's drug war began up until August 2012, 3,000 people were killed by the military including 56 civilians who were not involved in drug trafficking.

When asked about compensation provided to the families of victims, the army acknowledged it had provided compensation to the families of 12 victims between 2008 and 2011, but left out figures for the current administration.

From the Peña Nieto administration, the military does however recognize 32 payments between 2013 and 2014 amounting to US$7.8 million, according to Animal Politico.

But this figure fails to take into account a a raft of abuses, such as the 22 people who were killed on June 30, 2014, in Tlatlaya, State of Mexico, 15 of whom were executed. The military personnel involved in the incident were not charged with any crime.

Read the rest at teleSUR

Related: UN Representative for the Office on Drugs and Crime in Mexico Says Security Must be Handled by Civilians, Not Armed Forces (The News)

Related: 32 Bodies, 9 Severed Heads Discovered in Mass Graves in Mexico (teleSUR)

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!