Advisory Council asks the CNDH to investigate the execution of young people in Tamaulipas

Members of the Advisory Council of the National Commission for Human Rights (CNDH) demanded that it investigate the alleged execution of five young people in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, and attend the scene to provide support and attention to the victims and their families.

In addition, that the “sufficient and timely” protection measures for the victims, their families and civil associations involved or compromised in the events be negotiated with the competent authorities.

In a document signed by six members of the Council, they condemned the events that occurred last morning on February 26, in which military elements attacked young people who were traveling in a van with firearms.

Because of this, they demanded that the CNDH ask the president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in his capacity as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, to order what is appropriate so that the elements of the Army conduct themselves in adherence to national and international criteria for the use of force and weapons.

Also, to ensure that the General Prosecutor of the Republic carry out an objective and exhaustive investigation to clarify what happened, determine responsibilities and impose the corresponding sanctions. In addition, that the probable violations of human rights be investigated – within the file opened ex officio.

In the letter, which was shared through social networks, the counselors asked that those responsible be detained in civil detention centers and that they be tried within civil jurisdiction.

On the other hand, they urged the Commission to avoid insulting or limiting the freedom of expression of journalists and civil society, as the authorities did in the statement DGDDH/047/2023 in which they called on civil associations, activists, and media outlets communication that had disclosed the events, “in order to avoid the generation of disinformation through the dissemination of unverified data and unofficial versions.”

The signatory counselors –Georgina Diédhiou Bello, Tania Espinosa Sánchez, Adalberto Méndez López, Bernardo Romero Vázquez, Jorge Alejandro Saavedra López and Ángel José Trinidad Zaldívar– reiterated their well-founded fear that the violent acts allegedly perpetrated by the military elements, in detriment of the civilian population, are a consequence of the increasing militarization of the country.

And in placing members of the armed forces, who are not sensitized and trained in human rights, to carry out security activities that are exclusive to civil authorities.