For information regarding the security environment in other areas of Mexico, please reference the OSAC Crime and Safety Reports from the following Consular Districts: Tijuana, Nogales, Hermosillo, Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, Monterrey, Guadalajara, and Merida. Crime Rating: Critical Crime Threats Crime varies widely. Criminal groups became increasingly involved in the illegal timber trade in Chihuahua, which accounted for 70 percent of the wood consumed in the country. Media outlets reported authorities tortured and sexually abused Ravelo. Land conflicts, social and ethnic violence, or local political disputes caused other incidents. Victims relatives and civil society continued to criticize handling of the original investigation by the Attorney Generals Office, noting there had been no convictions related to the disappearances of the 43 students. According to the Interior Secretariat, between 2018 and July assailants killed seven journalists and two defenders under protection of the mechanism. Observers noted that it also increased the likelihood of work-related illness and injury. In most cases the law requires detainees to appear before a judge for a custody hearing within 48 hours of arrest, during which authorities must produce sufficient evidence to justify continued detention. The law criminalizes sharing, distributing, and publishing intimate sexual content (including photographs, audio, and videos) featuring individuals who have not explicitly given their consent, with penalties of up to six years in prison. INEGI found that 53 percent of women of reproductive age used modern contraception in 2018 (the most recent study). Global AIDS Coordinator and Global Health Diplomacy, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Special Representative for Syria Engagement, U.S. Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Office of the U.S. In 2019 the Federal Police was disbanded, and in May 2020 all remaining assets and personnel transferred to the National Guard. In July 2020 the Supreme Court agreed to analyze the case but as of August 23 had not issued a ruling. In July unknown assailants abducted and killed Aranza Ramos in the state of Sonora. The government, in conjunction with international organizations, made efforts to promote the safe, voluntary return, resettlement, or local integration of IDPs. Libel/Slander Laws: There are no federal criminal laws against defamation, libel, or slander; however, eight states have criminal laws on these acts. In-person classes resumed in October 2021, but with limited . During the electoral process the INE received 147 complaints of gender-based political violence, a significant increase from the 47 complaints it received during the 2017-2018 electoral process. Federal law prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, as well as the admission of confessions obtained through illicit means as evidence in court. The CNDH may take on cases from state-level commissions if it receives a complaint that the state commission has not adequately investigated the case. In July the Prosecutor Generals Office arrested seven members, including the leader, of the Tamayo human smuggling organization. Here then is a recap of key crime and anti-crime events and developments in Mexico in 2020, and of the bleak prospects for 2021. The 45,000-person Jewish community experienced low levels of anti-Semitism. In July the CNB reported it had recovered more than 1,100 pounds of charred human remains from La Bartolina, Tamaulipas, a clandestine cremation site found in 2017. Authorities accused the suspects of smuggling 20 to 80 migrants per day through Baja California into the United States for more than a decade. During the COVID-19 pandemic, indigenous persons faced additional hardships in accessing educational services. It is also a criminal offense in all states. The government continued to pursue the extradition of Tomas Zeron from Israel. Last Update: Reissued with updates to health information. OSAC's public-private partnership currently consists of over 5,400 organization and 18,000 individual members. 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. There were some complaints of illegal searches or illegal destruction of private property. Failure to register births could result in the denial of public services such as education or health care. 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. Office of the Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology, Office of the U.S. There were credible reports that members of security forces committed some abuses. Indigenous persons generally had limited access to health care and education services. | OSAC is a partnership . The government deployed hundreds of security forces to contain the caravan. According to a 2019 National Child Labor Survey, the number of children ages five to 17 in child labor, including in hazardous household work, was 3.3 million, or approximately 11.5 percent of children in the country. Sexual Harassment: Federal law prohibits sexual harassment and provides for fines from 250 to 5,000 times the minimum daily wage, but the law was not effectively enforced. such as having witnessed the commission of a crime; in a 2018 report, the domestic think tank Mexico . Twelve states have laws restricting public demonstrations. OSAC membership includes 5,400+ member organizations and 18,000+ individual members from corporate, non-profit, academic, and faith-based groups of every size, all with overseas operations and personnel who are exposed to ever-evolving security issues. Investigations, prosecutions, and convictions for the crime of forced disappearance were rare. Children constituted 19 percent of irregular migrant flows identified by authorities; 30 percent of them were unaccompanied. On August 3, Ravelo died from his injuries. Safe Catch Tuna Net Worth 2020, Tesla Battery Repair Cost, Tjibaou Cultural Centre, Stephen Curry Son Disability, Eric Jefferson Doubling Down With The Derricos, Patiala House Court Case Status By Name . The NGO also reported the existence of multiple unregistered private institutions without licenses operating as orphanages. Child, Early, and Forced Marriage: The legal minimum marriage age is 18. This announcement was also reshared on the local news outlet, MyParisTexas. The CABs operate under a tripartite system with government, worker, and employer representatives, with worker representation on the CABs selected based on majority representation, which was held by entrenched nondemocratic unions that sign protection contracts with complicit employers to secure low wages. The OSAC app offers many of these tools and reports that are provided on the website. Most National Guard personnel are seconded from the army and navy and have the option to return to their services after five years. 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. February 27, 2023 alexandra bonefas scott No Comments . Politicians publicly discredited and criticized such journalists, however. Workers argued that the protectionist union holding the collective bargaining agreement pressured workers to legitimize the agreement, offered bribes, and tampered with ballots. The Federal Center and the new federal labor courts are designed to handle all matters related to collective bargaining agreements, but until the Federal Center establishes its offices in all the states, labor disputes in states without a Federal Center presence are to be handled by the CABs. Mexico has relied heavily on the military to control drugs and fight organized crime, leading to widespread human rights violations. 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. 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. 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 . 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. The Mexico 2017 Crime and Safety Report for Mexico City by the US Department of State's Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) indicates that crimes such as armed robberies, kidnappings, car thefts, credit card fraud and residential theft are "daily concerns" (US 24 Feb. 2017). The federal government and states continued to implement the law on forced disappearances. Some detainees complained of a lack of access to family members and to counsel after police held persons incommunicado for several days and made arrests arbitrarily without a warrant. Although authorities generally maintained effective control over the security forces, there were instances in which security force elements acted independently of civilian control. 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. The law prohibits employers from intervening in union affairs or interfering with union activities, including through implicit or explicit reprisals against workers. The CABs were widely alleged to administer these elections with a bias against new, independent unions. The government generally exempted accompanying adults from detention to preserve family unity. Ecuador 2019 Crime & Safety Report: Guayaquil The current U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory at the date of this report's publication assesses Ecuador at Level 1, indicating travelers should exercise normal precautions. A 2019 constitutional amendment grants the president the authority to use the armed forces to protect internal and national security through 2024. The National Population Council estimated that in 2020 and 2021, a total of 1,172,000 women had limited access to contraceptives due to COVID-19. Nationwide the CNB reported the exhumation of the remains of at least 3,025 persons in 1,749 clandestine graves between December 1, 2018, and June 30. In addition to criminal libel and defamation laws, civil law defines moral damage as similar to defamation concerning harm to a persons feelings, affections, beliefs, dignity, honor, reputation, and privacy, according to the NGO Committee to Protect Journalists. On October 1, a judge sentenced Fidel Figueroa, mayor of Zacualpan, state of Mexico, to 236 years in prison for murder. 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. As of July, 39 percent of active unions under local jurisdiction had registered required amendments to their amended statutes to incorporate new secret ballot and gender equity requirements with the CABs. Defendants have the right to attend the hearings and to challenge the evidence or testimony presented. As a result the number of pretrial detainees increased 25 percent since 2018, and pretrial detainees comprised 40 percent of all prisoners, according to government figures. Media monopolies, especially in small markets, at times constrained freedom of expression. Most indigenous persons lived in marginalized communities, and the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionally affected these communities, according to the OHCHR. The law provides for the right of indigenous persons to elect representatives to local office according to uses and customs law (see section 6, Indigenous Peoples) rather than federal and state electoral law. On August 31, the government suspended the two agents for inappropriate conduct. The government did not restrict or disrupt access to the internet or block or filter online content. The law mandates the creation of a public registry of companies supplying specialized services to verify only registered companies fulfilling tax and administrative requirements may supply those services. > INDUSTRY REPORTING: Expert staff research issues affecting the private . Between January and April the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Electoral Crimes in the Attorney Generals Office initiated 14 investigations related to gender-based political violence against women. Between January 1 and August 4, it received 4,119 reports of missing persons and located 3,805 alive and 277 deceased. Some areas of Mexico have increased risk of crime and kidnapping. A cartel war has transformed once-tranquil Guanajuato into one of Mexico's deadliest states. The Secretariat of National Defense and Secretariat of the Navy also play a role in domestic security, particularly in combating organized criminal groups. Documentation supporting a persons identity and origin was lacking. 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. Most formal-sector workers (70 percent) received between one and three times the minimum wage. In June a federal judge sentenced Juan Francisco Picos Barrueto to 32 years in prison for the 2017 murder of journalist Javier Valdez Cardenas. Security forces responded by killing four suspects and arresting 25. Wage and Hour Laws: The tripartite National Minimum Wage Commission is responsible for establishing minimum salaries. Across the criminal justice system, many actors lacked the necessary training and capacity to carry out their duties fairly and consistently in line with the principle of equal justice. September had the highest incident rate, with an average of 84 women killed in each month. State and federal prosecutors are independent of the executive branch and have the final authority to investigate and prosecute security force abuses. The law mandates that all discrimination cases, including sexual harassment, bypass formerly mandatory conciliation and proceed directly to the labor courts. 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. In July 2020 legislators approved a law making all judicial sentences public. The U.S. government has limited ability to provide . They were vulnerable to abuse from staff members, other patients, or guests at facilities where there was inadequate supervision. Between January and June, state authorities opened 10,458 new rape investigations. Defendants have the right to free assistance of an interpreter, if needed, although interpretation and translation services for indigenous languages were not always available. The NGO Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights identified 15 incidents between January and July of mass forced internal displacement (defined as the displacement of at least 10 families or 50 individuals) due to violence. There were numerous instances of criminal armed groups extorting, threatening, or kidnapping asylum seekers and other migrants. In March the government amended federal labor law to define the minimum wage as the lowest cash amount a worker receives for services rendered during a workday and stipulated it should never be below the inflation rate. 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. Do not travel to the Colombian border area in the Loreto Region because of crime, or the area in central Peru known as the Valley of the Rivers Apurimac, Ene, and Mantaro (VRAEM) because of crime and terrorism. Some public officials blocked critical journalists and media from following their social media accounts. State labor inspectors, however, reported finding evidence of child labor, particularly in agricultural establishments. These included low wages, contentious labor management, long work hours, unjustified dismissals, a lack of social security benefits, unsafe workplaces, and no freedom of association. In addition, Consular Messages, Travel Warnings, and Travel Alerts are also available. Individual employees or unions may complain directly to inspectors or safety and health officials. As of August 16, authorities had not arrested any suspects. According to the NGO, institutional staff in Baja California reported that four children with disabilities died within days of each other with no known investigations. Civil society and families of the disappeared stated the governments actions to prevent and respond to disappearances were largely inadequate to address the scale of the problem. On February 19, a constitutional reform eliminated presidential immunity for corruption and other crimes. Observers from grassroots labor rights groups, international NGOs, and multinational apparel brands reported that employers in export-oriented supply chains increasingly used hiring methods that lessened job security. The government rarely investigated cases of alleged abusive and fraudulent recruitment practices. Nongovernmental Impact: Organized criminal groups exercised a grave influence over media outlets and reporters, threatening individuals who published critical views of crime groups. In cases involving organized crime, the law allows authorities to hold suspects up to 96 hours before requiring them to seek judicial review. Enforcement, however, was inconsistent across the states. Concerns persisted regarding organized criminal groups use of physical violence in retaliation for information posted online, which exposed journalists, bloggers, and social media users to the same level of violence faced by traditional journalists. 03 / Select Countries You can add more than one country or area. by . Security experts said government candidate protection programs, which did not cover all those eligible, had a negligible impact on curbing political violence. Zeron led the investigation of the case by the former criminal investigations unit in the Attorney Generals Office at the time of the students disappearances. With no access to schools or child care, many workers took their children to work in the fields. The board identified 3,286 homes in five states for relocation before completion of the construction project. The current U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory at the date of this report's publication assesses Peru at Level 2, showing travelers should exercise increased caution. Womens rights activists supported the law as critical to combat the increasingly prevalent problem of online sexual harassment. Five states have laws that restrict the publishing of political caricatures or memes. These laws were seldom applied. A Mexico City municipal law provides increased penalties for hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Recent Elections: International observers considered the midterm elections (legislative, gubernatorial, and local) to be generally free and fair, with only minor reports of irregularities. The Interior Secretariat registered 224 verbal and physical attacks against journalists in 2020 and a total of 1,052 between 2015 and 2020, 41 percent of which the secretariat attributed to public servants. Penalties for violations of the law were commensurate with those for other similar laws. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) 2016 survey, 18 percent of women ages 15 and older reported having experienced physical violence at the hands of their current or most recent partner, and 6.5 percent reported having experienced sexual violence. The government did not effectively enforce the law. All OSAC products and services are always completely free of charge. NGOs stated authorities failed to investigate torture allegations adequately. In July an arrangement was reached on a course of remediation, which included a new collective bargaining agreement legitimization vote under the supervision of the STPS, with observers from the National Electoral Institute and the International Labor Organization. Government Human Rights Bodies: The CNDH is a semiautonomous federal agency created by the government and funded by the legislature to monitor and act on human rights abuses. In May voting in prisons occurred for the first time in the countrys modern history after the Federal Electoral Tribunal ruled prisoners in pretrial detention had the right to vote. All states have their own human rights commissions. As in 2020, NGOs in Campeche and Yucatan submitted multiple civil injunctions against the project citing a lack of transparency regarding environmental impact assessments and adverse effects on indigenous cultural heritage. Penalties for law violations regarding occupational safety and health regulations were commensurate with those for other similar laws but were rarely enforced. The presidential cabinet had 19 secretariats, and as of August women headed seven. There were no reports of political prisoners or detainees. Safety Tips for Travelers . The federal government created a National System for the Search of Missing Persons as required by law, but as of August it had not established the required National Forensic Data Bank. Defendants may not be compelled to testify or confess guilt. The UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) documented cases in the states of Mexico and Chiapas in which detainees remained in pretrial detention for more than 12 years. In August Baja California and Yucatan passed laws banning LGBTQI+ conversion therapy. The list named at least 50 persons linked to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, politicians from every party, as well as journalists, lawyers, activists, prosecutors, diplomats, judges, and academics. There were reports of journalists practicing self-censorship due to threats from criminal groups and government officials. The Federal Center, however, estimated that only 10 to 15 percent of those collective bargaining agreements would undergo a legitimization vote because the worksite where the agreement was valid had closed, the work for which the agreement was negotiated had concluded, or the contract was a protection contract held by a nonrepresentative union. Censorship or Content Restrictions: Human rights groups reported that some state and local governments censored media. The education system provided education for students with disabilities nationwide. The 27,751 calls to the hotline in May were the most since the creation of the hotline. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, a. Sexual Exploitation of Children: The law prohibits the commercial sexual exploitation of children, and authorities generally enforced the law. On June 19, a dispute between factions of the Gulf cartel killed 15 persons in the state of Tamaulipas. The state search commission paused all search efforts between May and June due to increased levels of insecurity for family search collectives, according to civil society groups. Use this as a starting point to plan your trip to Mexico and you can be sure you'll have a safe and enjoyable time. 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. Social programs to combat child labor did not address all sectors where child labor occurred. The increase in domestic violence cases that began during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic continued. Write by: . Mexico is a multiparty federal republic with an elected president and bicameral legislature. Migrants were also recruited by criminal organizations to conduct illicit activities. State search collectives reported being victims, at times fatal, of attacks, threats, and other acts of harassment. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Section 1. Investigations continued into the 2014 disappearances of 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College in Iguala, Guerrero. In August 2020 a federal judge sentenced Juan Carlos El Larry Moreno Ochoa to 50 years in prison for killing Breach. Public buildings and facilities often did not comply with the law requiring access for persons with disabilities. Horrio de atendimento: Segunda - Sexta das 17h s 21h. Organized criminal groups were implicated in numerous killings, acting with impunity and at times in collusion with corrupt federal, state, local, and security officials. Figueroa collaborated with criminal organizations to kidnap the prosecutor general of Ixtapan de la Sal, state of Mexico, and others in 2019, resulting in the death of one of the prosecutor generals bodyguards. Additionally, some indigenous students did not receive the breakfasts and lunches normally included in the full-time school meal program, according to a UNESCO study. The government has an established procedure for determining refugee status and providing protections. A 2016 ruling by the Supreme Court removed the cap on fines for moral damages, leaving journalists vulnerable to exorbitant fines. 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. 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. On January 11, the government ended migratory detention for children. According to the Mexican Commission for the Promotion of Human Rights, from 2006 to 2020, federal authorities issued 27 sentences for torture. Freedom Houses 2021 Freedom on the Net report categorized the countrys internet as partly free, noting concerns regarding online manipulation tactics, potential for politicized content removals, high levels of violence against digital reporters, and investigations surrounding abusive surveillance practices. In April authorities arrested 30 members of the navy and charged them with forced disappearances in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, in 2018. In October 2020 authorities announced they would release Brenda Quevedo Cruz, who had been in prison without trial since 2007. 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. The state commissions are funded by state legislatures and are semiautonomous. Between January and June, the commission registered that 115,534 women received attention in Justice Centers for Women throughout the country, a 19 percent increase over the same period in 2020. Sometimes family members arranged marriages for girls younger than 18. Of the 32 states, 29 stipulate similar penalties, although sentences were often more lenient. The previous platform lacked interconnectivity between states and failed to connect family members effectively to the remains of their missing relatives. The new wage applied to all sectors and allowed an earner to reach or exceed the poverty line. In June authorities sentenced Quintana Roo police officer Miguel Mora Olvera to five years in prison for his role in torturing Cacho. Authorities arrested Mario Reyes and Gladis Cruz in connection with the killing. COMARs budget increased modestly in recent years but was not commensurate with the growth in refugee claims in the country. Not all public defenders were qualified, however, and often the state public defender system was understaffed. Between January and May there were an additional 20 complaints of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment against the National Guard, 20 against the army, and 11 against the National Migration Institute. The National Guard and state and municipal police are responsible for enforcing the law and maintaining order.