Mexican soldiers fighting a war against drug cartels have arbitrarily detained suspects, beating and torturing them with electric shocks, a senior human rights official said on Wednesday. […]
Soldiers charged with patrolling drug hotspots have detained suspects in military barracks — sometimes for up to 12 hours — and beaten them to solicit information before turning them over to police investigators, Ibarra said.
“They give them electric shocks on different parts of the body … testicles, arms, legs, buttocks,” Ibarra told Reuters.
“We have seen with great concern a growing number of incidents. The armed forces are not trained as police and when they are used as police there tend to be excesses,” he said.
Yep, just one more in a long list of extremely damaging side-effects of a drug war intended to keep people from voluntarily enjoying a recreational activity… and failing at that.
Good thing we’ll be stepping in to escalate the war, huh?
Of course, John Stossel gets it:
Visiting Mexico last week, President Obama said he will fight drug violence: ‹I will not pretend that this is Mexico‰s responsibility alone. The demand for these drugs inside the United States is keeping these cartels in business.Š
I don‰t expect politicians to be sticklers for logic, but this is ridiculous. Americans also have a hefty demand for Mexican beer, but there are no ‹Mexican beer cartels.Š When Obama visits France, he doesn‰t consult with politicians about ‹wine violence.Š What‰s happening on the Mexican border is prohibition-caused violence.
John Doe on Anti-marijuana quack Dave Weldon to take over CDC: “I strongly disagree with Servetus’ statement about Dave Weldon. His views on marijuana are not only outdated but also harmful…” Dec 17, 07:40
