By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – A new report confirms that the leading cause of death for young people in Mexico is violence.  The country has been fighting drug cartels, drug violence, prostitution rings, and human trafficking issues for about four years and nothing has improved.  Men and women of all ages are subject to daily violence stemming from drug cartels and the government alike.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Mexico has been involved in a drug war since 2007.  In 2008 and 2009, deaths among young people rose 150%.  Young people are defined as those individuals between the ages of 15 and 29.  Violence is now the leading cause of death, surpassing car accidents. 

Mexico’s government database on deaths shows astonishing numbers.  The Los Angeles Times reports that 1,638 young people died in 2008 due to suspected drug-related attacks.  This number rose to 2,511 in 2009 and 3,741 in 2010.  By no means are the young people targeted in particular.  CNN reports that in the past four and a half years, tens of thousands of people have been killed due to violence in the country.  BBC News puts this number at an estimated 40,000 since 2006 when President Calderon took office.

The most hard hit areas, accounting for half of the total homicides are Chihuahua, Baja California, Guerrero, Sinaloa and the state of Mexico (bordering Mexico City), reported the Los Angeles Times.

One of the major problems is that the drug cartels are so well armed.  It makes violence easy when the gangs have automatic weapons and protective armor.  American dollars largely fuel the success of the drug cartels.  Because there is such profitability for illegal drugs in the United States, billions of dollars go straight into the cartels’ pockets.  Not only does the United States provide the funding, but also, many of the weapons themselves were made in the U.S. and smuggled over the border.

It should also be noted that these are often not accidental deaths.  BBC News reports that the attacks are gruesome and it is common to find mass graves containing dozens of bodies.  Families are taken out one member at a time.  Even though thousands of troops and police have been deployed, violence has gotten progressively worse.  BBC News also reports that many police are corrupt and further escalate the violence.

Interestingly, Mexican citizens between the ages of 15 and 19 years old are the group most approving of torture and the death penalty against suspected cartel criminals, according to the Los Angeles Times.  Mexico’s drug war wages on, attempting to decrease the number of violence-related and drug-related deaths among young people and other citizens.

For more information, please visit:

MySanAntonio.com — Defeating Cartels Serves U.S. Interests — 13 Sept. 2011

The Los Angeles Times — More Mexico Youths Die From Violence Than Car Wrecks, Report Says — 12 Sept. 2011

CNN World — Tales From Mexico’s Drug Wars, WikiLeaks Style — 11 Sept. 2011

BBC News — Q&A: Mexico’s Drug-Related Violence — 26 Aug. 2011

By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States – With September 21 quickly approaching, Troy Anthony Davis’s friends and family are doing all that they can to halt his execution.  Forty-two year old Davis has been on death row since 1991 for allegedly killing off-duty police officer, Mark MacPhail.  Since his trial, seven of the nine witnesses have recanted their guilty statements, admitting they are not sure who killed MacPhail.  Now, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other human rights groups are lobbying to delay and vacate Davis’s death sentence, scheduled for September 21, 2011.

On August 18, 1989, Officer MacPhail went to assist Michael Young, a homeless man who was being attacked in the parking lot of a Greyhound Bus Terminal/Burger King Restaurant, according to Savannah Now News.  When he got to Young’s side, MacPhail was shot twice with a .38-caliber pistol, once in the heart and once in the face.  MacPhail died from those injuries.

Troy Davis was subsequently tried in the Chatham County Superior Court.  According to Savannah News Now, it took the jury only two hours to convict Davis of the murder and recommend the death penalty. 

There is no physical evidence linking Davis to the crime.  Police never even found the murder weapon.  Nine witnesses testified against Davis, stating that he was guilty.  Seven of the nine witnesses have since recanted their statements, saying that they are not sure who killed MacPhail.  Furthermore, three witnesses now say that another man, Sylvester “Redd” Coles has confessed to the crime, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  Davis still maintains his innocence.

Amnesty International reports that since 1991, when Davis was first put on death row, more than 90 prisoners have been released from death row around the United States.  In fact, a number of states have recently acted to abolish the death penalty including New Jersey, New Mexico, and Illinois.

Some believe that there are racial undertones playing a significant role in this case; Davis is an African American man, MacPhail a white cop.  Human Rights Watch disapproves of the death penalty in general, for its inherent cruelty and finality.  Amnesty International’s USA researcher, Rob Freer said, “Given the doubts that persist in this case, the Board cannot in good conscience allow this execution to go ahead.”

Davis’s friends and family have created a website to keep the public informed of his struggle.  The website is entitled: “Troy Anthony Davis: An Innocent Man Facing Execution in Georgia.”  On the website, readers can find letters from celebrities and political figures supporting his cause.

In 2007, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole pardoned Davis less than 24 hours from execution because there needs to be “no doubt as to the guilt of the accused,” according to Amnesty International.  In 2008, the Supreme Court granted Davis a stay of execution just two hours before he was scheduled to be put to death.  The Court mandated that the federal district court look at the case again; the district court held that Davis “failed to show his actual innocence,” according to CNN.

After a federal hearing last year, Judge William Moore ruled that “Mr. Davis is not innocent” and that he has not shown “by clear and convincing evidence that no reasonable juror would have convicted him in the light of new evidence,” according to Amnesty International.  Furthermore, Judge Moore said that Davis’s evidence was “too general” and provided “[nothing] more than smoke and mirrors,” according to CNN.

Troy Davis’s most recent appeal was to the United States Supreme Court.  Davis requested more time to prove his “actual innocence” as reported by CNN.  The Supreme Court however, refused his request without comment.

According to CNN, many prominent figures have supported Davis’s cause, including former President Jimmy Carter, actress Susan Sarandon, Pope Benedict XVI, and former Archbishop Desmond Tutu.  All of these figures have rallied to help Davis get a new trial.

The State Board of Pardons and Paroles has already scheduled an appointment for September 19 to give Davis’s legal team one last chance at delaying the execution, reported Savannah Now News.  Without a grant of clemency, the state of Georgia will execute Troy Davis on September 21, 2011.

For more information, please visit:

Amnesty International — Georgia Sets Execution Date for Troy Davis — 8 Sept. 2011

SavannahNow.com — Troy Davis Execution Date Set for Sept. 21 — 8 Sept. 2011

Atlanta Journal Constitution — Parole Board to Again Hear Troy Anthony Davis Case — 7 Sept. 2011

CNN.com — Human Rights Group Protests Imminent Execution of Georgia Man — 7 Sept. 2011

Human Rights Watch — Letter from HRW to Georgia Governor, Sonnie Perdue and Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles — 20 Oct. 2008

By Ryan T. Elliott                                                                                                        Impunity Watch Reporter, North America/Oceania

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad–Over the years, Trinidad has earned a reputation as one of the most prosperous countries in the Caribbean due to its large petroleum and natural gas production, international business investment, and growth rate per capita.   But, as of late, Trinidad is making headlines not for its economic prosperity, but as a country trying to deal with a dramatic increase in violent crime.  Trinidadian Prime Minister Kamla Perad-Bissessar has declared a state of emergency due to the country’s extensive crime wave.

In a formal statement reported by the Trinidad Express, Prime Minister Perad-Bissessar declared that “The entire nation has been rocked with the recent tragic news of the spate of murders over the past few days.  The situation has reached proportions which the government must respond to in the most definitive manner possible.”  Accordingly, a strict 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew has been imposed, which started on August 21st in Port of Spain and includes major towns and cities.  The emergency grants special powers to the police and army, including making searches and issuing arrests.  5,000 military members will be assisting in the implementation of the curfew.

The previous minister refused to declare a state of emergency due to rising violent crime because he believed that it might worry investors and hurt the growing economy.  However, last year the murder rate was 36 per 100,000.  For a country of only 1.3 million people, that rate is substantially higher than other countries.  It is nearly seven times the rate of murders experienced in the United States, for example.  Due to the recent swell in violent crime, Trinidad is expected to have an increase in its murder rate from the previous year.

Many recognize Trinidad as a transshipment point for South American drugs headed to the U.S. and Europe. Authorities advised Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar that Trinidad’s increase in murders was due, in part, to the discovery of large drug hauls including one seizure of cocaine valued in excess of twenty million dollars. When that amount of money disappears from the drug trade, it does not happen without consequences.

Trinidad may be imitating Jamaica’s response to gang violence.  In May of 2010, Jamaica was forced to impose a similar state of emergency for nearly two months.  As a result, the government of Jamaica detained a number of criminals, reducing the murder rate by more than 40%.  While the success of Trinidad’s measures remains to be seen, the assertive measures have already achieved some impressive and promising results.  According to a telephone interview with the New York Times, foreign minister, Surujrattan Rambachan stated that killings stemming from the drug trade have slowed dramatically and enabled authorities to arrest 58 gang leaders.

Residents of Trinidad are supportive of the measures; however, some remain skeptical because of the limitations being placed on their rights and liberties.  While the government of Trinidad and Tobago insists that this aggressive strategy is necessary in order to prevent the nation from being held ransom by gang violence, the Prime Minister is “confident that they will recognise and appreciate the need to protect them and bring the current crime surge affecting them under control.”

For more information please visit:

Taking on the gangs — August 27, 2011

Trinidad and Tobago Declares Emergency Over Drug Crimes — August 24, 2011

State of emergency an inevitable response — August 22, 2011

Breaking News: State of Emergency Declared — August 21, 2011

By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador  – El Salvador’s Supreme Court has refused to arrest nine men who voluntarily admitted to killing six Jesuit priests in 1989.  The Court said that without a formal extradition request from Spain, the men would not be arrested, according to the Associated Press.  Judge Eloy Velasco indicted 20 former soldiers to be tried in Spain under “universal jurisdiction,” reserved for those crimes that are so grave they can be tried anywhere.

El Salvador underwent a civil war from 1980-1992 between guerillas and U.S.-backed Salvadoran soldiers.  On November 16, 1989, Salvadoran soldiers shot six priests, their housekeeper, and the housekeeper’s 15-year-old daughter.  Over 70,000 deaths and 8,000 disappearances are a result of El Salvador’s civil war. 

The right-wing sector and military in El Salvador considered the priests allies to the guerillas because of their criticism of human rights abuses throughout the country.  However, 12,000 documents given to Judge Velasco show that the crime was premeditated, reported Latin America Press.

In May, Spain issued arrest warrants for the men through Interpol under the authority of universal jurisdiction.  This principle allows crimes that are so egregious to be prosecuted in countries other than where the crime took place.  In this case, Judge Velasco wants to prosecute the men in Madrid, Spain, rather than El Salvador.  Five of the priests were Spanish, and one was Salvadoran.

According to Latin America Press, in 1991, four officials and five soldiers went on trial for the crime.  Two of them were found guilty but were released shortly thereafter under the 1993 Amnesty Law.  The Supreme Court has previously denied the re-opening of this case, stating that the statute of limitations has already passed.

Another man involved in the killings is former Salvadoran military officer, Inocente Orlando Montano who had been living in Massachusetts.  As reported by The New York Times, Montano appeared in United States District Court in Boston on August 23 for immigration violations.  Upon his arrest, Spain can now seek extradition to Madrid.

A handful of conservative sector personnel have applauded El Salvador’s Supreme Court for refusing the extradition and protecting these men.  Many however, feel outraged and want to see these men brought to justice.  Ima Guirola from the Women’s Studies Institute told Latin America Press, “The ruling shows that impunity is institutionalized in the country.”  Furthermore, Ramon Villalta of the Social Initiative for Democracy told Latin America Press, “I believe that impunity has been a characteristic of El Salvador for years.”

The men who turned themselves in did so because they knew the Salvadoran government would protect them, according to Latin America Press.  The fight will continue between El Salvador and Spain as to whether the men will be extradited or not.

For more information, please visit:

Latin America Press — Impunity Rules in Jesuits’ Murder Case — 1 Sept. 2011

BBC News — Spain Pushes El Salvador Jesuit Murders Case — 25 Aug. 2011

The Associated Press — Spain Seeks El Salvador Clarification on Suspects — 25 Aug. 2011

The New York Times — Salvadoran Tied to Killings Faces Immigration Charge — 23 Aug. 2011