Plan Mexico is Back in Congress
Posted by Kristin Bricker - February 26, 2009 at 4:06 am
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Human Rights Conditions
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However, the FY 2009 bill that funds Plan Mexico contains one potentially significant difference from the 2008 bill: whereas the 2008 bill says that 15% of funds will be withheld "until the Secretary of State reports in writing to the Committees on Appropriations that the Government of Mexico is" complying with the human rights conditions, the 2009 bill says that 15% of the funds will be withheld "until the Secretary of State reports in writing to the Committees on Appropriations that the Government of Mexico is continuing to" comply with the human rights conditions. The addition of the two words "continuing to" seems to give the Mexican government a pass on the 2008 conditions, which, as previously stated, the Secretary of State has not determined it has fulfilled. The Mexican government cannot possibly "continue to" comply with human rights conditions it never complied with in the first place.
The Mexican government seems to have significant difficulties with the last two human rights conditions: that military and federal police be tried in civilian courts and that testimony obtained under torture not be used in criminal cases. In November, Narco News published a translation of a Proceso article that documented that the three suspects arrested in the Morelia Independence Day grenade attack were tortured, either by a drug cartel or by the Mexican government. The men claim they were tortured into confessing to throwing the fragmentation grenades into a crowd of civilians. The government has not explained how the men were inured.
More:
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/kristin-bricker/2009/02/plan-mexico-back-congress