osac crime and safety report: mexico
Enforcement, however, was inconsistent across the states. In June a federal judge sentenced Juan Francisco Picos Barrueto to 32 years in prison for the 2017 murder of journalist Javier Valdez Cardenas. Violence and Harassment: Journalists were killed or subjected to physical and cyberattacks, harassment, and intimidation (especially by state agents and transnational criminal organizations) in response to their reporting. Barriers to accessing contraceptives stemmed from lack of knowledge, poverty, lack of access to health services, and sexual violence from family members, strangers, or friends. Federal government funding for womens shelters for the year was the same as in 2020. As of June, 58 percent of women in federal prison and 51 percent in municipal and state prisons were in pretrial detention, while 42 percent of men in the federal and local judicial system were in pretrial detention, according to a report from the Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection. Federal law provides citizens the ability to choose their government through free and fair periodic elections held by secret ballot and based on universal and equal suffrage. OSAC has developed into an enormously successful joint venture, with U.S. companies and organizations receiving the tools they need to cope with security issues in a . Federal funding assisted the operation of more than 69 shelters, external attention centers, emergency houses, and transition houses. Is Merida Mexico Safe? Your 2023 Guide by a Local - Mexico Travel Secrets A forensic doctor at the Yucatan Prosecutor Generals Office confirmed that he had suffered sexual abuse. Media outlets reported authorities tortured and sexually abused Ravelo. A 2019 CNDH poll found six of every 10 members of the LGBTQI+ community reported experiencing discrimination in the past 12 months, and more than half suffered hate speech and physical aggression. As of August there were no developments in the case regarding the abduction and killing of seven-year-old Fatima Aldrighetti Anton. The law provides for freedom of expression, including for members of the press and other media, and the government generally respected this right. Between 2017 and August the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Crimes against Journalists, a unit in the Prosecutor Generals Office, charged 136 public servants for crimes against journalists. The same tribunal rejected registration challenges from four other parties, including former president Felipe Calderons Free Mexico Party, which the INE argued did not produce sufficient evidence of the origin of some funding it received. The increase in domestic violence cases that began during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic continued. OSAC 2021-N-0016, Standard for Initial Response at Scenes by Law Enforcement (added September 7, 2021 and sent to ASB for further development and publication). The STPS is responsible for carrying out child labor inspections and refers cases of child labor to the Prosecutor Generals Office for sanctions. Mexico is a multiparty federal republic with an elected president and bicameral legislature. Southern states reported the lowest access to skilled health care during pregnancy due to geographic, financial, and cultural barriers. Political parties nominated more female candidates for public office in the midterm elections than ever before, including half of their candidates for governor in the 15 races up for election. Libel/Slander Laws: There are no federal criminal laws against defamation, libel, or slander; however, eight states have criminal laws on these acts. The Puebla state government sued the news outlet E-Consulta seven times due to its reporting. The law provides for eight paid public holidays and one week of paid annual leave after completing one year of work. The CNDH reported indigenous women were among the most vulnerable groups in society. Civil society groups claimed police routinely subjected LGBTQI+ persons to mistreatment while in custody. Journalists could criticize the government and discuss matters of general interest with no restrictions. The government continued to pursue the extradition of Tomas Zeron from Israel. Police occasionally failed to provide impoverished detainees access to counsel during arrests and investigations as provided for by law, although the right to public defense during trial was generally respected. In July the Mexico City Prosecutor Generals Office issued the fourth arrest warrant for Roemer. News reports indicated poor working conditions in some factories. As of July 13, a total of 3,501 prisoners had contracted COVID-19 and 75,162 had received vaccines, according to the CNDH. San Luis Potos, second most dangerous city in Mexico The CNDHs 2020 National Diagnostic of Penitentiary Supervision reported that state prisons were understaffed and suffered from poor sanitary conditions as well as a lack of separation between those sentenced and those awaiting trial. See the Department of States Trafficking in Persons Report at https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report/. The State Department's Mexico Crime and Safety Report for Merida (OSAC) details that there is very little to no narco-related crime threat in Merida. All states have additional laws against discrimination. Lozoya accused high-level politicians representing multiple parties of complicity in his corrupt acts and was acting as a states witness in trials against them. The government rarely investigated cases of alleged abusive and fraudulent recruitment practices. Three states have state-level IDP laws, but the country does not have a federal internal displacement law, which created challenges in resource allocation and interagency governmental coordination. On August 8, self-proclaimed members of Cartel Jalisco New Generation released a video showing a group of armed men threatening to kill journalist Azucena Uresti for reporting on self-defense groups fighting the cartel in Michoacan. In July the Prosecutor Generals Office arrested seven members, including the leader, of the Tamayo human smuggling organization. osac mexico 2019 crime and safety report - Toyology The guidelines allow internet service providers to deny access to certain applications, content, and services based on commercial criteria, in breach of their obligations to protect neutrality. Bail is available for most crimes, except for those involving organized crime and a limited number of other offenses. The Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System reported 23,907 domestic violence cases in May, an all-time monthly record. Women were more likely to experience discrimination in wages, working hours, and benefits. According to INEGIs 2016 National Survey on the Dynamics of Household Relationships, 22 percent of working women reported experiencing labor discrimination within the previous 12 months. If you are traveling for university-related purposes to an area on the University Travel Warning List, you need to follow the instructions below to gain university approval. A warrant for arrest is not required if an official has direct evidence regarding a persons involvement in a crime, such as having witnessed the commission of a crime; in a 2018 report, the domestic think tank Mexico Evalua determined that 90 percent of all arrests fell under this category. The CNDH headquarters are located in Mexico City. Inspectors generally were permitted to examine the informal sector only in response to complaints. The law establishes a requirement to observe parity in the designation of public officials at every level (federal, state, local) in all three branches of government. Documentation supporting a persons identity and origin was lacking. In April authorities arrested 30 members of the navy and charged them with forced disappearances in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, in 2018. Relatives of victims wait in anguish for news after a shooting July 1 at a drug rehabilitation center . The government worked with UNHCR to improve access to refugee status and the procedure to determine refugee status, reception conditions for vulnerable migrants and refugee applicants, and integration in local communities (including access to school, work, and other social services) for those approved for refugee and complementary protection status. Communities and NGOs representing indigenous groups criticized the government for failing to consult indigenous communities adequately when making decisions regarding extractive industry and natural resource development projects on indigenous lands. On the OSAC Registry. On February 19, a constitutional reform eliminated presidential immunity for corruption and other crimes. As a result other unions, including a new union formed by workers after the vote, gained the right to seek representation rights and negotiate a new agreement. A cartel war has transformed once-tranquil Guanajuato into one of Mexico's deadliest states. The midterm elections, the largest in the countrys history due to the record number of more than 20,000 offices up for election, had a 52 percent turnout, a record for a nonpresidential election. Occupational Safety and Health: The law requires employers to observe occupational safety and health regulations, issued jointly by the STPS and Institute for Social Security. Day laborers and their children were the primary victims of forced and child labor in the agricultural sector, particularly in the production of chili peppers and tomatoes. Penalties were commensurate with other similar laws but were rarely enforced. In May 2020 a constitutional amendment established the disability pension as a constitutional right, prioritizing children, indigenous, and Afro-Mexican persons with disabilities younger than age 64 who lived in poverty. This requirement was not followed in all cases, particularly in remote areas of the country. The federal government and states continued to implement the law on forced disappearances. Dominican Republic Travel Advisory In July the Supreme Court ruled that authorities at all levels must investigate enforced disappearances, search for disappeared persons, and inform victims of the process. Everything you need to know about human rights in Mexico - Amnesty According to the Interior Secretariat, between 2018 and July assailants killed seven journalists and two defenders under protection of the mechanism. While on average informal workers earned less than the minimum wage, in some areas, such as near the northern border, informal employment could pay more than formal employment in the manufacturing sector. Nongovernmental Impact: Organized criminal groups exercised a grave influence over media outlets and reporters, threatening individuals who published critical views of crime groups. The constitution and law prohibit discrimination with respect to employment or occupation. On July 21, Merida, Yucatan, municipal police detained Jose Eduardo Ravelo Echeverria. osac mexico 2020 crime and safety report - stmatthewsbc.org This decision prevented a protection union from attempting to stop the strike by filing a challenge to the Mineros Unions control of the existing collective bargaining agreement at the San Martin mine in Sombrerete, Zacatecas. In February the Attorney Generals Office arrested former Puebla governor Mario Marin and charged him with torturing journalist Lydia Cacho, who exposed Marin and several business leaders involvement in a child sex trafficking ring in 2005. As of October the Special Unit for the Investigation and Litigation of the Ayotzinapa case had arrested more than 80 suspects, including army captain Jose Martinez Crespo, an Iguala municipal police officer, and the Iguala municipal police chief. Freedom of expression advocacy groups reported the government, despite reductions in its advertising budgets, continued to have a strong financial impact and influence on the largest media companies. The law provides time limits and conditions on pretrial detention, but federal authorities sometimes failed to comply with them since caseloads far exceeded the capacity of the federal judicial system. Labor inspections focused on the formal sector, leaving informal workers with no labor law protection. VFelbabBrown. For example, the office issued three arrest warrants in the case of the August 2020 killing of Juan Nelcio Espinosa, an independent journalist in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, who died while in police custody. According to civil society, libel and defamation proceedings tripled from 11 cases in 2019 to 33 cases in 2020. NGOs alleged that provisions in laws threatened the privacy of internet users by forcing telecommunication companies to retain data for two years, providing real-time geolocation data to police, and allowing authorities to obtain metadata from private communications companies without a court order. Mexico has relied heavily on the military to control drugs and fight organized crime, leading to widespread human rights violations. In March 2020 a federal judge issued an arrest warrant for Zeron on charges related to his conduct of the investigation, including torturing alleged perpetrators to force confessions, conducting forced disappearances, altering the crime scene, manipulating evidence, and failing to perform his duties. It was created in 2019 to bring together national and international forensic experts to help identify 37,000 unidentified remains held in government facilities, coordinate implementation of the general law on forced disappearances, and allocate resources to state search commissions. There were 600 federal labor inspectors to cover the entire country; 60 percent of state level labor authorities had fewer than 10 inspectors. This represented an increase of 11 percent of children from the 2017 INEGI survey. Between January and July COMAR processed approximately 25,000 cases. High levels of impunity, including for killings or attacks on journalists, resulted in self-censorship and reduced freedom of expression and the press. Federal law provides for freedom of internal movement, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights. Office of the Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology, Office of the U.S. In April authorities arrested and prosecuted Alexis Rafael Valadez Vazquez under the new law for publishing intimate photographs of women online, without their consent, to extort them. Emergency contraception was available, including for survivors of sexual assault. The CNDH noted significant understaffing at all levels in federal prisons, which affected access to programs, activities, medical services, and opportunities to report possible human rights abuses. See the Department of States International Religious Freedom Report at https://www.state.gov/religiousfreedomreport/. Federal law sets six eight-hour days and 48 hours per week as the legal workweek. This mass displacement elevated the groups risk of malnutrition and health maladies. Also in June a federal judge sentenced the former mayor of Chinipas, Chihuahua, Hugo Amed Schultz Alcaraz, to eight years in prison for his role in the 2017 murder of Miroslava Breach, a prominent La Jornada newspaper correspondent who reported on organized crime and corruption. Local commentators pointed to the electoral authorities quick and transparent publishing of results as increasing citizen trust in the electoral and democratic system. osac mexico 2020 crime and safety report In July 2020 authorities extradited Lozoya, former director of PEMEX, the state-owned petroleum company, from Spain. Reproductive Rights: There were no confirmed reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization on the part of government authorities. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) was created in 1985 under the Federal Advisory Committee Act to promote security cooperation between American private-sector interests worldwide and the U.S. Department of State. Sexual Exploitation of Children: The law prohibits the commercial sexual exploitation of children, and authorities generally enforced the law. NGOs reported that acts of excessive use of force and arbitrary detention occurred against female protesters, especially those protesting gender-based violence. OSAC has developed into an enormously successful joint venture, with U.S. companies and organizations receiving the tools they need to cope with security issues in a . Journalists in Iguala, Guerrero, received anonymous messages through social networks, such as Facebook and WhatsApp, threatening them and their families, according to civil society. The CNDH may call on government authorities to impose administrative sanctions or pursue criminal charges against officials, but it is not authorized to impose penalties or legal sanctions. Penalties for law violations regarding occupational safety and health regulations were commensurate with those for other similar laws but were rarely enforced. In addition to a more impartial and streamlined judicial process for labor disputes, the reforms transfer the registration of unions and collective bargaining agreements from the CABs to a new independent Federal Conciliation and Labor Registration Center. Indigenous persons generally had limited access to health care and education services. osac crime and safety reports osac crime and safety reports. Mexico is a multiparty federal republic with an elected president and bicameral legislature. As of July, 94 percent of active unions under federal jurisdiction had registered their amended statutes with the Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS), but only 39 percent of active unions under local jurisdiction had registered their amendments with the CABs. The CNB reported that during that period, of the 3,025 bodies exhumed, authorities identified 1,153 and returned 822 to their families. Drug traffickers involved in illegal logging recruited and kidnapped indigenous persons and children in isolated or displaced communities, withheld their wages, forced them to conduct illicit activities, and often threatened death if they tried to leave. According to advocacy groups, no information was available concerning the criteria through which the government chooses media outlets for public advertising. Also see the Department of Labors Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/findings/ as well as the Department of Labors List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods. Penalties for law violations regarding hours and minimum wage were commensurate with those for other similar laws but were rarely enforced. Google received more removal requests from government agents in 2020 than in any other year except 2014. joseph testa obituary, ivo graham ludo graham relationship, family picture poses for 5 adults, rsl care enterprise agreement 2015, . The CNDH did not report on the merits of the complaints. Country Summary: Violent crime - such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery - is widespread and common in Mexico. Subcontracting is allowed if it is used to perform specialized services unrelated to the main economic activity of businesses or public institutions. The procedure known in Spanish as arraigo (a constitutionally permitted form of pretrial detention employed during the investigative phase of a criminal case before probable cause is fully established) allows, with a judges approval, for certain suspects to be detained prior to filing formal charges. Authorities declared 10 political parties eligible to participate in the midterm elections. On January 14, community leaders went to the municipal headquarters of Ayutla de los Libres, Guerrero, to urge revocation of Protestant families local property rights for refusing to participate in the construction and servicing of the local Catholic church. The government continued its efforts to strengthen freedom of association protections, promote union democracy, and improve the ability of workers to bargain collectively. Nonetheless, discrimination was common against racial and ethnic minorities, including Black, Afro-Mexican, and indigenous groups. Overseas Security Advisory Council - U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Spain If the relevant authority accepts a CNDH recommendation, the CNDH is required to follow up with the authority to verify that it is carrying out the recommendation. Calls included reports of relationship aggression, sexual assault, sexual harassment, rape, and intrafamily violence. Overseas Security Advisory Council - U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Canada