Opposition Party Senators Propose Amnesty for Mexico Self-Defense Forces Kyra Gurney - InSight Crime
go to original September 25, 2014

Senator Javier Corral (R) and supporters presenting the amnesty proposal (salvadorvega.mx)

Senators in Mexico have proposed an initiative to create a law granting amnesty to imprisoned vigilantes including vigilante leader Jose Manuel Mireles, but the conditions for amnesty suggest the proposal is politically motivated.

Thirteen senators from opposition parties proposed creating an amnesty law that would benefit over 380 vigilantes detained in the state of Michoacan, reported El Universal. The amnesty would apply to members of Michoacan's self-defense groups accused of committing crimes between February 24, 2013 -- which the senators consider to be the date in which the self-defense groups first appeared -- and September 1, 2014, reported CNN.

In order to be eligible for amnesty, vigilantes would have to meet several conditions, including having been arrested between March 7, 2013 and September 1, 2014, and having joined self-defense groups in order to protect their families and communities from criminal organizations.

According to CNN, the initiative is based on the argument that the imprisoned vigilantes were detained for political reasons or without sufficient evidence.  

InSight Crime Analysis

The conditions for amnesty and the fact that the proposal was written by senators from opposition parties suggest the initiative is politically motivated and could be designed to discredit the government's policies towards self-defense groups.

The dates listed in the proposal appear to have been chosen specifically to guarantee the freedom of vigilante leader Jose Manuel Mireles, who was arrested on June 27 and has been a vocal critic of the government's security strategy in Michoacan and its policy towards vigilante forces.

Read the rest at InSight Crime

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