International

HRW assures that Sheinbaum “inherited a crisis” from López Obrador due to “extreme violence” in Mexico

The international organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday that the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, “inherited a crisis” from her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024), due to the “extreme violence” of criminal groups and “abuses” of the State.

HRW in its annual report on Mexico, the association maintained that Sheinbaum, “who took office in October, inherited a human rights crisis created by the extreme violence of organized crime groups and widespread abuses committed by state agents with almost total impunity.”

“His predecessor, López Obrador, made little progress to face these challenges,” he said.

In addition, he warned that Congress approved constitutional reforms in September, the last month of López Obrador’s presidency, which expand the role of the military in public security and “radically” transform the Judiciary, which could “perpetuate abuses and seriously undermine the rule of law.”

The New York-based group said that the homicide rate “fell slightly for the third consecutive year” in 2023, to 24.9 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 25.9 the previous year, but six cities had rates above 100 in 2022.

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Two out of three murders are committed by organized crime and, in the same proportion, firearms are used, of which 70% “arrive in Mexico through smuggling from the United States”.

Despite the “slight” reduction in homicides, “the number of reports of disappearances has increased,” said the association, which reported a total of more than 115,000 people missing in September, based on official figures.

“Many could have been killed and buried in the almost 5,700 clandestine graves that activists and authorities have discovered. Around 53,000 human remains were stored, waiting to be identified by the end of 2022,” the report noted.

HRW criticized López Obrador’s constitutional reform in September to remove the ban on soldiers from performing non-military functions in peacetime, give the Ministry of Defense control of the National Guard and empower the Executive to “deploy indefinitely” the Armed Forces.

In the last month of the previous government there were 232,761 soldiers, sailors and national guards deployed in the country, according to the report, which cited the death of almost 5,700 people in Army operations from 2007 to July 2024.

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“The military has obstructed investigations and criminal proceedings into human rights violations committed in the past,” HRW said.

The document also cited the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which in 2023 pointed out that “it remains a widespread practice in Mexico and is too often the catalyst for mistreatment, torture, enforced disappearance and arbitrary executions.”

About 37% of those in prison that year were not convicted of any crime and more than 20% of those in pre-trial detention had been in this situation for more than two years.

HRW also documented almost 830,000 arrests of migrants between January and July 2024, “the highest figure ever recorded,” while in the north of the country the Mexican authorities arrest about 10,000 a month, including some with an appointment in the United States, and send them to the south by bus.

Although there was a record of more than 140,000 asylum seekers in 2023, “the highest figure in history,” the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid (Comar) resolved less than 26,000 requests.

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On the other hand, the association reiterated that “Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists and human rights defenders.”

Based on figures from the organization Article 19, there were 3,408 attacks or threats against journalists, 46 journalists killed and four missing from December 1, 2018 to March 31, 2024.

And in 2023, there were 14 murders of human rights defenders, according to the Cherry Committee, and 18 of environmental defenders, according to Global Witness.

International

Ecuador oil spill worsens as containment dam collapses

The collapse of a containment dam holding back part of the 25,000+ barrels of oil spilled from a pipeline rupture nearly two weeks ago has worsened the environmental crisis in northwestern Ecuador, contaminating rivers and Pacific beaches.

The Ecuadorian government attributed the March 13 pipeline rupture—which led to the spill of 25,116 barrels of crude—to an act of sabotage. The spill affected three rivers and disrupted water supplies for several communities, according to authorities.

On Tuesday, due to heavy rains that have been falling since January, a containment dam on the Caple River collapsed. The Caple connects to other waterways in Esmeraldas Province, a coastal region bordering Colombia, state-owned Petroecuador said in a statement on Wednesday.

Seven containment barriers were installed in the Viche River, where crews worked to remove oil-contaminated debris. Additional absorbent materials were deployed in Caple, Viche, and Esmeraldas Rivers, which flow into the Pacific Ocean.

Authorities are also working to protect a wildlife refuge home to more than 250 species, including otters, howler monkeys, armadillos, frigatebirds, and pelicans.

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“This has been a total disaster,” said Ronald Ruiz, a leader in the Cube community, where the dam was located. He explained that the harsh winter rains caused river levels to rise, bringing debris that broke the containment barriersthat were holding the accumulated oil for extraction.

International

Federal court blocks Trump’s use of Enemy Alien Act for deportations

A federal appeals court upheld the block on former President Donald Trump’s use of the Enemy Alien Act on Wednesday, preventing him from using the law to expedite deportations of alleged members of the transnational criminal group Tren de Aragua.

With a 2-1 ruling, a panel from the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed previous decisions by two lower court judges, maintaining the legal standoff between the White House and the judiciary.

On March 14, Trump invoked the 1798 Enemy Alien Act, a law traditionally used during wartime, to deport hundreds of Venezuelans whom he accused of belonging to Tren de Aragua, a criminal organization that originated in Venezuelan prisons.

The centuries-old law grants the president the power to detain, restrict, and expel foreign nationals from a country engaged in a “declared war” or an “invasion or predatory incursion” against the United States, following a public proclamation.

Central America

Kristi Noem in Latin America: Talks with Bukele on expulsions and security policies

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem arrived in El Salvador on Wednesday for a meeting with President Nayib Bukele. In a post on the social media platform X, she stated that her goal is to increase deportation flights and expel foreign nationals who have committed crimes in the United States.

El Salvador is the first stop on Noem’s three-nation tour of Latin America this week. On Thursday, she will travel to Colombia to meet with President Gustavo Petro, and on Friday, she will visit Mexico, where she is scheduled to meet with President Claudia Sheinbaum.

After arriving in El Salvador, Noem, along with Gustavo Villatoro, El Salvador’s Minister of Justice and Security, visited the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot)—the megaprison built under Bukele’s administration, designed to house 40,000 inmates. Noem said she wanted to “see firsthand the detention center where the worst criminals are held.”

Cecot is considered the largest prison in the Americas and a key symbol of Bukele’s controversial crackdown on crime.

According to the Salvadoran government, the prison—located about 70 kilometers from San Salvador—houses members of gangs such as MS-13 and Barrio 18, who have been convicted of serious crimes. The facility also holds the 238 Venezuelans deported from the United States on March 15, in an unprecedented transfer that has drawn criticism from Venezuela’s government and international human rights organizations.