'Fear Paralyzes You': Judges Admit to Feeling the Heat from Mexican Criminal Groups Camilla Harrison-Allen - Insight Crime
go to original November 25, 2016

Federal judge Vicente Antonio Bermudez Zacarias, whose court handled some cases related to drug cartels, was killed in October near Mexico City. (Tres PM)

Judges in Mexico have opened up about the intimidation they face from criminal groups, illustrating the importance of protective measures to shield the country's justice system and ensure judicial integrity and impartiality.

The recent killing of federal judge Vicente Antonio Bermúdez Zacarías has sparked fear among other judicial officials and served as a reminder that organized crime groups hold significant power. Bermúdez Zacarías was handling the extradition proceedings of drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.

"Fear paralyzes you," one Mexican judge who wished to remain anonymous told El País. "I have taken and continue to take precaution. You have to always put the brakes on, tell them no. But when situations like the assassination of Judge Bermúdez happen, you realize that you have to be even more prudent."

The judge added that the most serious threat he faces comes from criminal defense lawyers. Another federal judge, who also asked to remain anonymous, echoed that sentiment.

"The lawyers are the ones transmitting the threat to you, almost always indirectly, they call it a 'suggestion,'" the federal judge told El País.

This dynamic has contributed to widespread impunity for serious crimes in Mexico. More than 90 percent of murders go unsolved, an alarming statistic that shows major shortcomings in the justice system as a whole.

"The judge are doomed to keep themselves in mediocrity and [show] discretion in order to maintain stability," said Armando Ismael Maitre, president of the Mexican Association for Imparting Justice (Asociación Mexicana de Impartidores de Justicia).

It is relatively uncommon for organized crime groups to target federal judges in Mexico. Bermúdez is only the sixth federal judge murdered in Mexico over the last 16 years. However, violence and intimidation is much more common against local judges.

Read the rest at Insight Crime

Related: Don’t Blame Mexican Judges for Freeing Criminals - Poorly Trained Investigators and Prosecutors are at Fault, Say NGOs (Mexico News Daily)

InSight Crime is a foundation dedicated to the study of the principal threat to national and citizen security in Latin America and the Caribbean: organized crime. We seek to deepen and inform the debate about organized crime in the Americas by providing the general public with regular reporting, analysis and investigation on the subject and on state efforts to combat it.

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