osac crime and safety report: mexico

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the MORENA party coalition won the presidential election in generally free and fair multiparty elections in 2018. Most of these complaints were against authorities in the Prosecutor Generals Office, National Guard, Interior Secretariat, and the armed forces. Efforts focused on implementation of the 2019 labor law reform that transformed the labor justice system. The government made efforts to prevent, investigate, and punish acts of disappearance involving government agents. On the OSAC Registry. Penalties for violations of the law were commensurate with those for other similar laws. Yet, the 2022 outlook for both the rule of law and public safety in Mexico and meaningful U.S.-Mexico security cooperation remains bleak. Pretrial Detention: Lengthy pretrial detention was a problem, and authorities did not always promptly release those detained unlawfully. Journalists could criticize the government and discuss matters of general interest with no restrictions. The army and the navy have human rights units to create protocols and training. Last Update: Reissued with updates to health information. The federal government and states continued to implement the law on forced disappearances. 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 . Forced labor persisted in the domestic service and in child-care, manufacturing, mining, food-processing, construction, tourism, begging, street-vending, leather-goods-production, and agriculture sectors, especially in the production of chili peppers and tomatoes. Federal law provides for freedom of internal movement, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights. This limited medias ability to investigate and report, since many of the reporters who were killed covered crime, corruption, and local politics. The CABs were widely alleged to administer these elections with a bias against new, independent unions. Arbitrary Arrest: Allegations of arbitrary detentions persisted throughout the year. On August 28, approximately 500 migrants, the majority from Haiti, started a caravan from Tapachula to Mexico City to obtain expedited asylum processing. 0 . According to the victims mother, police detained and interrogated him without reasonable suspicion or probable cause. Penalties for law violations regarding hours and minimum wage were commensurate with those for other similar laws but were rarely enforced. ; For U.S. citizens: the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok can be reached via an emergency line: 02-205-4000. Any work in excess of eight hours in a day is considered overtime, for which a worker is to receive double pay. The year started under the shadow of the brutal murders of the . The law describes femicide as a gender-based murder under any of the following seven circumstances: signs of sexual violence, previous violence, emotional connection to the perpetrator, previous threats, harassment history, victim held incommunicado prior to deprivation of life, or victims body exposure in a public place. The CNDH maintained a human rights program to inform and assist members of indigenous communities. The deadline for unions to amend and register their statutes, originally set to expire in May 2020, was suspended due to COVID-19, reestablished in late 2020, and continued as of November. The law prohibits the worst forms of child labor. Between August 23 and August 27, hundreds of migrants from Haiti, Cuba, and Central America protested in front of the National Migration Institute offices in Tapachula, Chiapas, to demand expedited refugee proceedings that would allow them to move freely throughout the country. State and municipal laws addressing domestic violence largely failed to meet the required federal standards and often were unenforced. 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 law establishes a requirement to observe parity in the designation of public officials at every level (federal, state, local) in all three branches of government. The INE requested information from all 32 states, reviewed a sample of 1,177 of the 6,962 federal deputy candidates, and canceled the registration of three candidates for filing false reports. The government, in conjunction with international organizations, made efforts to promote the safe, voluntary return, resettlement, or local integration of IDPs. 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. Posted on 26 Feb in delores winans grandchildren. The OSAC Program Office is headquartered in Washington, DC and is overseen by a 34-member public-private Council. 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 alan wong married. The law prohibits compulsory overtime. In 2019 the Federal Police was disbanded, and in May 2020 all remaining assets and personnel transferred to the National Guard. Violence and Harassment: Journalists were killed or subjected to physical and cyberattacks, harassment, and intimidation (especially by state agents and transnational criminal organizations) in response to their reporting. In 2020 the STPS Federal Labor Inspectorate conducted almost 30,000 labor inspections nationwide but reported finding only one case of child labor. The law provides for freedom of expression, including for members of the press and other media, and the government generally respected this right. Participation of Women and Members of Minority Groups: No laws limit the participation of women or members of minority groups in the political process, and they did participate. In July 2020 legislators approved a law making all judicial sentences public. According to the Mexican Commission for the Promotion of Human Rights, from 2006 to 2020, federal authorities issued 27 sentences for torture. As of July 13, a total of 3,501 prisoners had contracted COVID-19 and 75,162 had received vaccines, according to the CNDH. The education system provided education for students with disabilities nationwide. 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. In March 2020 a federal judge issued an arrest warrant for Zeron on charges related to his conduct of the investigation, including torturing alleged perpetrators to force confessions, conducting forced disappearances, altering the crime scene, manipulating evidence, and failing to perform his duties. Defendants have the right to attend the hearings and to challenge the evidence or testimony presented. The CNDH reported that assailants killed 12 human rights defenders from January to July. In June the Federal Telecommunications Institute, an autonomous agency created to increase the transparency of media regulation, released internet neutrality guidelines for internet service providers. In addition to a more impartial and streamlined judicial process for labor disputes, the reforms transfer the registration of unions and collective bargaining agreements from the CABs to a new independent Federal Conciliation and Labor Registration Center. According to civil society groups, migrants at some detention centers faced abuse when commingled with gang members and other criminals. Sources indicate that organized criminal organizations have been . Due to low internet penetration and television ownership in indigenous communities, distance learning was often inaccessible. According to the NGO Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Catholic-majority communities sometimes discriminated, harassed, threatened, displaced, denied basic services, and destroyed the property of individuals who left Catholicism. Coordinator for the Arctic Region, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, Office of International Religious Freedom, Office of the Special Envoy To Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Office of the Science and Technology Adviser, Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, Bureau of Information Resource Management, Office of Management Strategy and Solutions, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, U.S. There were 50 hate-crime homicides and four forced disappearances committed against the LGBTQI+ community in the first eight months, according to the National Observatory of Crimes Against LGBTQI persons. Workers, the employer, or an interested third party may request the CAB or court rule on the legality of the strike, which may find the strike is nonexistent and therefore illegal. Federal law sets six eight-hour days and 48 hours per week as the legal workweek. 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. News reports indicated poor working conditions in some factories. 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 . 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. The CNDH noted significant understaffing at all levels in federal prisons, which affected access to programs, activities, medical services, and opportunities to report possible human rights abuses. Sexual Exploitation of Children: The law prohibits the commercial sexual exploitation of children, and authorities generally enforced the law. Indigenous persons in isolated regions reported incidents of forced labor in which cartel members forced them to perform illicit activities or face death. Before a strike may take place, a union must file a notice to strike with the appropriate CAB, or the appropriate labor court once they are operational. In August the Mexico City congress approved a reform allowing LGBTQI+ children ages 12 years and older to legally change their gender on their birth certificate. Enforcement, however, was inconsistent across the states. In many parts of the country, human smuggling organizations wielded significant power, and media alleged frequent collusion among local authorities. Black migrants reported migration authorities detained Black migrants for longer periods than other migrants. joseph testa obituary, ivo graham ludo graham relationship, family picture poses for 5 adults, rsl care enterprise agreement 2015, . Informal workers lacked access to social protection mechanisms such as health care and retirement benefits. The reforms establish a four-year timeline for implementation designed to end May 1, 2023, but the government established an accelerated timeline to complete implementation by May 2022 and remained on track to meet that goal. See the Department of States Annual Report on International Parental Child Abduction at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/International-Parental-Child-Abduction/for-providers/legal-reports-and-data/reported-cases. At the federal level, the Secretariat of Social Development, Prosecutor Generals Office, and National System for Integral Family Development share responsibility for inspections to enforce child labor laws and to intervene in cases in which employers violate such laws. 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. The law allows for the reinstatement of workers if the CAB finds the employer fired the worker without just cause and the worker requests reinstatement; however, the law also exempts broad categories of employees from this protection, including so-called employees of confidence and workers in the job for less than one year. 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 new wage applied to all sectors and allowed an earner to reach or exceed the poverty line. 5 Memoria is a project that belongs to the Justice in Mexico program at the University of San Diego. Responsibility for registration of unions and collective bargaining agreements, including amendments to their statutes, shifted to the Federal Conciliation and Labor Registration Center in November 2020 for the eight phase-one states. State and federal prosecutors are independent of the executive branch and have the final authority to investigate and prosecute security force abuses. Rather than receiving daily wages once a week, as mandated by law, day laborers had to meet certain harvest quotas to receive the promised wage. The project collects data on organized-crime-style homicides, such as location, name of the victim, cause of death, among other relevant factors in order to identify, report, and geolocate crimes, as well as memorialize victims of violence and Most newspapers, television stations, and radio stations were privately owned. NGOs reported no changes in the mental health system to create community services or any efforts by authorities to have independent experts monitor human rights abuses in psychiatric institutions. 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. Organized criminal groups reportedly continued to oversee illicit activities from within penitentiary walls, and rival drug cartel members often fought in prison. Emergency contraception was available, including for survivors of sexual assault. On October 7, the army relieved Colonel Miguel Angel Ramirez Canchola, accused of ordering the killings, of his posting, but as of October prosecutors had not taken action against the soldiers. The government increased the CNB budget 8 percent over the 2020 budget. Women, children, indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, LGBTQI+ persons, and migrants (including men, women, and children) were the most vulnerable to forced labor (see section 7.c.). In October 2020 authorities announced they would release Brenda Quevedo Cruz, who had been in prison without trial since 2007. With no access to schools or child care, many workers took their children to work in the fields. Call this number to report violent crime, arrest, or grave . The STPS is responsible for carrying out child labor inspections and refers cases of child labor to the Prosecutor Generals Office for sanctions. According to the measurement, which offers a balance for 2020, the capital of Potos has a rate of 37,400 victims per 100,000 inhabitants, only below Toluca, capital of the State of Mexico, with 38,300. Abuses of time limits on pretrial detention were endemic in state judicial systems. 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. Between January and July COMAR processed approximately 25,000 cases. OSAC's public-private partnership currently consists of over 5,400 organization and 18,000 individual members. Inspectors generally were permitted to examine the informal sector only in response to complaints. UNICEF reported that 6.9 million students in Venezuela missed almost all classroom instruction between March 2020 and February 2021. If you are traveling for university-related purposes to an area on the University Travel Warning List, you need to follow the instructions below to gain university approval. From January to June, the CNDH received nine complaints accusing government agents of forced disappearances, including five against the army and four against the National Guard. Civil society organizations, however, reported that the number of labor inspections was not sufficient to secure compliance. The board identified 3,286 homes in five states for relocation before completion of the construction project. 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. After the STPS canceled the vote, in May the rapid response mechanism under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement commenced, and the government agreed to review a denial of freedom of association and collective bargaining rights at the plant, confirming the denial of rights. The threat against journalists by organized crime was particularly high in the state of Guerrero. Enrollment of children with disabilities decreased by 40 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Yo Tambien. Politicians publicly discredited and criticized such journalists, however. The constitution allows any person to arrest another if the crime is committed in his or her presence. 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. Online discrimination, harassment, and threats were problems particularly for women journalists and politicians, as well as any individuals and organizations advocating for womens rights. The midterm elections, the largest in the countrys history due to the record number of more than 20,000 offices up for election, had a 52 percent turnout, a record for a nonpresidential election. By law the government collected biometric data from migrants. Organized criminal elements, including local and transnational gangs, and narcotics traffickers, were significant perpetrators of violent crimes and committed acts of homicide, torture, kidnapping, extortion, human trafficking, bribery, intimidation, and other threats, resulting in high levels of violence and exploitation, particularly targeting vulnerable groups. Indigenous defendants who did not speak Spanish sometimes were unaware of the status of their cases and were convicted without fully understanding the documents they were instructed to sign. The states with the most teenage pregnancies were Chiapas, Coahuila, and Guerrero, and Tabasco. In July the secretary of the navy publicly apologized to families of the victims, marking the first time the armed forces apologized for committing forced disappearances. with disabilities attended school at a lower rate than those without disabilities. Child protection authorities lacked sufficient capacity to shelter and process migrant children and families, and the government made modest headway to increase that capacity. In June the government amended the General Law on Womens Access to a Life Free of Violence to include media and digital violence as a form of violence against women. All OSAC products and services are always completely free of charge. Years, due osac mexico 2019 crime and safety report Crime > report /a > Crime in Puebla /a > available Canada. As of August 16, authorities had not arrested any suspects. Country Summary: Violent crime - such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery - is widespread and common in Mexico. A 2016 ruling by the Supreme Court removed the cap on fines for moral damages, leaving journalists vulnerable to exorbitant fines. The COVID-19 pandemic generated additional risks and exacerbated vulnerabilities for IDPs, including overcrowding in shelters and difficulty accessing food, basic health care, and education. Discrimination and Societal Abuses, Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination, Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Other Societal Violence or Discrimination, a. Criminal cases related to such violations were rarely carried out. Despite these prohibitions, there were reports of security forces torturing suspects. The same tribunal rejected registration challenges from four other parties, including former president Felipe Calderons Free Mexico Party, which the INE argued did not produce sufficient evidence of the origin of some funding it received. Flores received temporary protection from the Interior Secretariat protection mechanism. The law requires the Secretariat of Health to promote the creation of long-term institutions for persons with disabilities in distress, and the Secretariat of Social Development must establish specialized institutions to care for, protect, and house poor, neglected, or marginalized persons with disabilities. Astd Minato 6 Star With Orb, Furnished Apartments Prescott, Az, Are There Leeches In The Potomac River, Ucd Dublin Vet School Tuition . 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. Higher Risk Travel. Ramos had been searching for her missing husband for the previous seven months as a member of two search collectives. Moreover, security is one of the most dynamic sectors of the economy. There were credible reports of sexual assaults against migrants, particularly women, while migrating in and through the country. As of December 2020 the Prosecutor Generals Office was investigating 3,703 torture-related inquiries under the previous inquisitorial legal system (initiated prior to the 2016 transition to an accusatorial system) and 565 investigations under the accusatorial system. Posted at 01:41h . International Child Abductions: The country is party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Labor inspections focused on the formal sector, leaving informal workers with no labor law protection. Corruption: There were numerous reports of government corruption during the year. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the MORENA party coalition won the presidential election in generally free and fair multiparty elections in 2018. . During the first six months of 2021 the INEGI reported a total 16,972 (provisional) and the SESNSP reported 16,950 murders. Gomez had advocated against illegal logging and the destruction of the Michoacan monarch butterfly habitat. 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. 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. In October 2020 the Electoral Tribunal granted registration to three new political parties: Solidary Encounter Party, Progressive Social Networks, and Social Force for Mexico. Labor recruiters enticed families to work during harvests with verbal promises of decent wages and a good standard of living. The most common reason to remove content was defamation, followed by privacy and security. The law mandates that all discrimination cases, including sexual harassment, bypass formerly mandatory conciliation and proceed directly to the labor courts. It may exercise its power to call before the Senate government authorities who refuse to accept or enforce its recommendations. Discrimination in employment or occupation occurred against women, indigenous groups, persons with disabilities, LGBTQI+ individuals, and migrant workers. In-person classes resumed in October 2021, but with limited . Mexican crime data is available from police investigations (SESNSP) and also, in the case of homicides, from death certificates (INEGI). The law provides criminal penalties for corruption by officials, and the government took steps to increase its legal authority to pursue these crimes. The National Guard, which began operations in 2019, is a civilian institution reporting to the Secretariat of Public Security and Civil Protection. As of July the CNB reported that there were 89,572 missing or disappeared persons in the country. The reforms prevent the registration of collective bargaining agreements known as protection contracts, which nonrepresentative unions often negotiated and signed without the knowledge of workers and undermined genuine collective bargaining. An additional February reform mandated pretrial detention for femicides, sexual violence against minors, forced disappearances, and corruption. In January 2020 the government raised the minimum wage. As of August 27, there were no updates in this investigation. The government deployed hundreds of security forces to contain the caravan. There were accusations of sexual abuse against authorities during arrest and detention. Freedom of Expression, Including for Members of the Press and Other Media, b. Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association, d. Freedom of Movement and the Right to Leave the Country, e. Status and Treatment of Internally Displaced Persons, Section 3. This was a common practice in the maquiladora sector, in which employers forced workers to take leave at low moments in the production cycle and obliged them to work in peak seasons, including the Christmas holiday period, without the corresponding triple pay mandated by law for voluntary overtime on national holidays. The increase in domestic violence cases that began during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic continued. The government did not effectively enforce the law. Children also produced garments, leather goods, and illicit crops such as opium poppies; engaged in illicit activities such as the production and trafficking of drugs; and experienced sexual exploitation, often as a result of human trafficking. According to NGO Article 19, lethal attacks occurred against journalists in Sonora, including the killings of Benjamin Morales on May 3 and Ricardo Lopez Dominguez on July 22 and the disappearance of Jorge Molontzin on March 16. In June media outlets reported that a fight between two rival groups of inmates left six inmates dead and nine wounded at a prison in Villahermosa, Tabasco. The law provides for the freedoms of peaceful assembly and association, and the government generally respected these rights, with some exceptions. San Luis Potos, SLP.- San Luis Potos is the second most dangerous city in the country, according to the National Victimization Survey on Public Safety (Envipe) 2021, carried out by INEGI. 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. An opinion poll in April 2019 showed more than 70 percent of the population supporting the CICIG. 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. Members of the Mayan community in Campeche reported the National Tourism Board pressured them to cease protesting and agree to leave their lands. This announcement was also reshared on the local news outlet, MyParisTexas. Physical Conditions: According to the Federal Prison System, as of June there were 220,393 inmates in 288 state and federal facilities with a designed capacity for 217,064. The presidential cabinet had 19 secretariats, and as of August women headed seven. The order directed the Attorney General's Office to reopen the investigation into the 2014 killings of 22 civilians by members of the military in Tlatlaya, Mexico State.