REPORT: MEXICO SECURITY FORCES ABUSE JUARENSES

Juarez residents are caught between drug violence and human-rights
violations by Mexico's security forces, according to a report released
Tuesday by the Washington Office on Latin America, or WOLA, and the
Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez Human Rights Center, known as Center Prodh.

The report, "Abused and Afraid in Ciudad Juarez," focuses on
human-rights violations during Joint Operation Chihuahua.

The report cites five cases that involved alleged acts of torture,
disappearance and sexual harassment of women by Mexican soldiers who
were deployed to Juarez for the operation that began in March 2008.

"Ciudad Juarez is a glaring example of the damaging consequences of
increasing the military's interaction with civilians in the context of
counter-drug operations," said Luis Arriaga, the director of Center
Prodh. "Human-rights violations are rampant because these soldiers are
not punished for the abuses they commit."

The Chihuahua Human Rights Commission, a government agency, reported
in September 2009 that it had received more than 1,450 complaints of
alleged violations by security forces during Joint Operation
Chihuahua, the report said.

The complaints against soldiers include arbitrary detentions, torture,
disappearances of people and sexually molesting women.

Although the Mexican Federal Police has taken over the crackdown
against the cartels in Juarez, residents are also voicing complaints
against federal officers for similar abuses.

Maureen Meyer, WOLA associate for Mexico and Central America and the
report's main author, said, "We want to give voice to victims of
human-rights violations by Mexican security forces.

"Civilians in Chihuahua are not only afraid of the drug traffickers,
they are also often afraid of the security forces that are meant to
protect them."

Mexican military officials said they are trying to do a better job of
policing the military.

In September, the U.S. State Department recommended to Congress that
15 percent of the money set aside for the Merida Initiative to help
Mexico, $26 million, be withheld until Mexico does more to prevent and
prosecute human-rights abuses by its security forces.

The same U.S. State Department report also recommended that Congress
release $36 million in Merida funds that were previously withheld
because of human-rights concerns.