Mexico's Future Shrouded by Ongoing Drug War: Will Pena's Strategy Prevail? Sarah Carlson - The International
go to original February 19, 2013

A civilian's view of the drug war in Mexico. (Luis Guillermo Pineda Rodas)

As drug wars continue to ravage Mexico, President Enrique Peña Nieto signed The General Victims Act on January 9, 2013 that will trace and compensate innocent victims of the “War on Drugs”. The bill was approved by Congress in April 2012 under the Calderón administration, though implementation was delayed due to objections by former president Felipe Calderón that the bill was too vague, presenting the possibility of it being unconstitutional and difficult to implement.

Calderón’s veto registered criticism from human rights activists who rallied for victim recognitions and reparations. The bill, which remains unchanged, was signed by Nieto with assurances that the contents would be specified to remove vagueness before implementation, but Nieto insisted that putting the law on the books was imperative.

The law consists of a fund intended to allocate up to $70,000 per victim to family members. With an estimated 70,000 drug war victims, the law is a multimillion dollar commitment. Of the 70,000 victims, approximately 9,000 are unidentified bodies, making victim compensation that much more difficult. Also included are provisions for the creation of a victim database, so that more accurate records may be established.

Yet while The General Victims Law is widely supported by human rights groups, problems remain and the law fails to establish any new mechanisms for fighting the drug cartels. Instead, the law is yet another reminder that the long-waged “War on Drugs” persists, and continues to be a resource drain on both the Mexican and American governments.

Read the whole story at The International

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