SUBJECT: MILITARY JUSTICE -- AND JUSTICE REFORM--

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MEXICO 002353 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/31/2028 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM MX SUBJECT: SUBJECT: MILITARY JUSTICE -- AND JUSTICE REFORM-- GRIND SLOWLY REF: A. (A) MEXICO 2112 ¶B. (B) MEXICO 2337 ¶1. (C) Summary: Stung like most Mexicans by the U.S. Senate's (now abandoned) dictate that it divest itself of prosecutorial authority over soldiers accused of human rights abuses, Mexico's military remains reluctant to cede this territory to civilian prosecutors. Procedures are in place to investigate and prosecute soldiers convicted of crimes against civilians, which will hopefully be strengthened by the military's new Human Rights Directorate. Current practices make for slow going in investigating and prosecuting soldiers, however. There are good arguments for updating the military's code of justice and sharing prosecutorial authority with civilians, and civilian and military officials are slowly contemplating how best to do so. End Summary ¶2. (SBU) By its own account, SEDENA acts aggressively when a high profile allegation surfaces, locking down the unit involved, sending in a team of investigators and making arrests when appropriate. Both SEDENA and Mexico's National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) conduct parallel investigations of allegations against soldiers, say officers who have briefed the Embassy' Defense AttachQ's Office. Both determine whether a case merits further action. For CNDH, this takes the form of official recommendations, which, if accepted by SEDENA legally bind it to pursue a case. SEDENA forwards serious cases to a military magistrate who initiates a formal criminal investigation and prosecution, as appropriate. ¶3. (SBU) In practice, however, military cases tend to proceed slowly. The military code of justice says that prosecutors have 128 days to bring an investigation and prosecution to conclusion. This is more often than not honored in the breach. For example, 19 soldiers were detained nearly a year ago after a family of five was killed in at a military checkpoint in Sinaloa. The case has yet to be tried. Similarly, no discernible progress has been made in the investigation into abuse allegations related to May 2007 military operations in Michoac n to which the military committed itself last fall. Combined with a lack of transparency (as noted in Mexico 2337),the protracted period between the time a case is raised with the military and resolved contributes to the widespread belief here that soldiers are not held accountable by their officers for criminal activities they may commit. ¶4. (U) The military's leading role in carrying out President Calderon's counter narcotics strategy has put this issue in high relief, both domestically and internationally. In February 2008, during a visit to Mexico, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, argued, "If the Mexican Army carries out civil or police functions, it should be held accountable to a civil authority." Arbour did not specify what she meant by "accountable." Reforms in the Offing? ¶5. (SBU) Even before the U.S. Senate weighed in, there had been calls in recent months for the military to turn over prosecutions of soldiers accused of crimes involving civilians. Leftist opposition legislators in both houses of Mexico's congress offered bills this past year to allow civilian courts to prosecute soldiers in human rights cases. The proponents of such reforms cite Mexico's 1917 constitution which states that "whenever a civilian is implicated in a military crime or violation, the respective civil authority shall deal with the case." (However, legal experts tell us this clause was looked at twice in the 1930s and 1940s by Mexico's Supreme Court, which issued contradictory rulings.) ¶6. (C) Neither initiative is likely to go far under the present circumstances. Congressional staff contacts say both measures were stalled earlier this year. Even opposition PRD legislators who support the legislation told us they believe the public outcry here over the U.S. Senate's Merida Initiative language calling for the military to transfer prosecutorial authority in human rights cases set back their party's efforts to reform military justice. ¶7. (C) SEDENA told our DATT that it already has the discretion to transfer cases to a civilian judge if they "are extremely severe or involve offenses by soldiers in off-duty status." It did so in one high profile 2006 case involving 20 members of the Mexican Army who allegedly raped 13 women in Coahuila. Three soldiers were prosecuted in a civilian MEXICO 00002353 002 OF 002 court and sentenced to between 21 and 41 years in prison. A military tribunal found six other soldiers criminally responsible for abandoning their post, and handed down sentences ranging from 1.5 to two years in prison. ¶8. (C) SRE's Undersecretary for North America, Carlos Rico, told WHA/MEX Office Director that Secretary of Defense Galvan Galvan had agreed to allow civilian courts to try military personnel accused of human rights violation -- regardless of whether they had been committed on or off duty. Rico maintained that many cases had already been transferred. Rico emphasized that Galvan Galvan was exercising discretionary authority he had to order such transfers but that a future Secretary of Defense could decide not to exercise this authority. (Comment: we have asked contacts in the Attorney General's office, as well as independent security analysts how many cases the military has turned over to civilians; they believe very few have. End comment.) ¶9. (C) The military is reluctant to divest itself of prosecutions because it believes the present civilian system is less efficient and more corrupt than its own. Carlos Rico cited the widespread concern that civilian courts often proved more lenient than the military courts when it came to sentencing. Senior officers have told Embassy contacts that if the military maintains its current high-profile counter narcotics role, it is particularly reluctant to turn senior military officials accused of corruption or collusion with the cartels. It believes such officers would be better able manipulate civilian courts and circumvent justice. 10 (C) Sigrid Arzt, Technical Secretary of the National Security Council (protect),remarked that the presidency was looking at institutionalizing an automatic transfer of military personnel to civilian courts in human rights cases but said this possibility was still only in the deliberative phase. ¶11. (SBU) Comment If military justice grinds slowly, the same can be said of Mexico's civilian justice system. The civilian criminal code calls for a maximum of six months between the time an individual is charged and detained for serious offenses and his or her trial concludes. In fact, many serious crimes such as homicide can take five to six years to resolve. Inefficient Mexican justice is an endemic problem and not confined to the military. However, SEDENA's reluctance to engage the public on rights issues and meaningfully discuss the status of cases lends to the perception that soldiers remain uniquely above the law here. ¶12. (SBU) On June 17, President Calderon signed into law major justice reform legislation that will, among other things, move Mexico to a system of oral trials and help expedite and improve the administration of justice here overall. As the performance bar is raised across the board, military men will likely become more confident in civilian courts, may consider updates to the military code of justice and ultimately establish a division of labor that is more in line with international norms. This will likely be a slow process, as will the opening up of the institution to dialogue with civil society on human rights. In the meantime, further incidents will undoubtedly occur and the military will remain the focus of the intense scrutiny within the local and international human rights community. End Comment. Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and the North American Partnership Blog at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / BASSETT