MEXICO CITY, July 2, 2008
Mexican Police Torture Videos Cause Uproar
Cops Say Practicing Harsh Techniques On Each Other Is Essential Training In Drug War
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Photo
In this video still taken from the web site of the El Heraldo de Leon on Tuesday July 1, 2008, a policeman undergoes a torture session by fellow officers during a training session for an elite unit in the city of Leon, Mexico. Several videos, first obtained by the Heraldo de Leon newspaper, have created an uproar in Mexico as police struggle with recent scandals over abuses. (AP/El Heraldo de Leon)
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Two of the videos - broadcast by national television networks and displayed on newspaper Internet sites - showed what Leon city Police Chief Carlos Tornero described as training for an elite unit that must face "real-life, high-stress situations," such as kidnapping and torture by organized crime groups.
But many Mexicans saw a sinister side, especially at a moment when police and soldiers across the country are struggling with scandals over alleged abuses.
"They are teaching police ... to torture!" read the headline in the Mexico City newspaper Reforma.
Human rights investigators in Guanajuato state, where Leon is located, are looking into the tapes, and the National Human Rights Commission also expressed concerned.
"It's very worrisome that there may be training courses that teach people to torture," said Raul Plascencia, one of the commission's top inspectors.
One of the videos, first obtained by the newspaper El Heraldo de Leon, shows police appearing to squirt water up a man's nose - a technique once notorious among Mexican police. Then they dunk his head in a hole said to be full of excrement and rats. The man gasps for air and moans repeatedly.
In another video, an unidentified English-speaking trainer has an exhausted agent roll into his own vomit. Other officers then drag him through the mess.
"These are no more than training exercises for certain situations, but I want to stress that we are not showing people how to use these methods," Tornero said.
Quote
Leon city Police
He said the English-speaking man was part of a private U.S. security company helping to train the agents, but he refused to give details.These are no more than training exercises for certain situations, but I want to stress that we are not showing people how to use these methods.
Chief Carlos Tornero,Leon city Police
A third video transmitted by the Televisa network showed officers jumping on the ribs of a suspect curled into a fetal position in the bed of a pickup truck. Tornero said that the case, which occurred several months earlier, was under investigation and that the officers involved had disappeared.
Mexican police often find themselves in the midst of brutal battles between drug gangs. Officials say that 450 police, soldiers and prosecutors have lost their lives in the fight against organized crime since December 2006.
At the same time, several recent high-profile scandals over alleged thuggery and ineptness have reignited criticism of police conduct. In Mexico City last month, 12 people died in a botched police raid on a disco.
The National Human Rights Commission has documented 634 cases of military abuse since President Felipe Calderon sent more than 20,000 soldiers across the nation to battle drug gangs.
And $400 million in drug-war aid for Mexico that was just signed into law by President Bush doesn't require the U.S. to independently verify that the military has cleaned up its fight, as many American lawmakers and Mexican human rights groups had insisted.
The videos may seem shocking, but training police to withstand being captured is not unusual, said Robert McCue, the director of the private, U.S. firm IES Interactive Training, which provides computer-based training systems in Mexico.
"With the attacks on police and security forces in Mexico that have increased due to the drug cartel wars, I'm not surprised to see this specialized kind of training in resisting and surviving captivity and torture," he said.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The U.S. does send people (terrorists) to Mexico too to be tortured. Didn''t you know that?
Which is the bigger lie?
Survey says, (beep!) They both are!
Spoken like a true politician.
Posted by Nancy_Naive at 05:59 AM : Jul 02, 2008
Yeah...and Halliburtin. (Visualize No Liberals)
So this electric cattle prod we''re going to shove up your a$$ isn''t torture at all! Hope you like it!
Visualize no more Bushit Neocon scum! Typical Fascist.
HUSSEIN STAFFS HIS CAMPAIGN WITM MEMBERS OF THE NEW BLACK PANTHER PARTY THAT DIVIDES US RATHER THAN UNITES US,,,
HUSSEIN STAFFS HIS CAMPAIGN WITM MEMBERS OF THE NATION OF TERRORISLAM THAT DIVIDES US RATHER THAN UNITES US,,,
HUSSEIN IS A RACIST WHICH DIVIDES US RATHER THAN UNITES US,,,
HUSSEIN IS A BIGOT WHICH DIVIDES US RATHER THAN UNITES US,,,
HUSSEIN IS A ANTI-JEW WHICH DIVIDES US RATHER THAN UNITES US,,,
HUSSEIN IS A ANTI-AMERICAN WHICH DIVIDES US RATHER THAN UNITES US,,,
DEMONIC-RAT HUSSEIN IS NOT THE SOLUTION,,,
http://www.realamericanstories.com/
ummmmm many countries have the death penalty for drug possession,,,
Posted by terrorislamo at 08:42 AM : Jul 02, 2008
+ report abuse
Yeah?? Which of them would YOU like to live in Swastika Breath! Now put on your hood and sheet! Let''s hear ya! SIEG HEIL BUSH!! Come on now, you won''t get that Confederate Flag Pin like that. YOU have to let people KNOW you are a Nazi! SIEG HEIL GRAND WIZARD! thatta boy!!
HUSSEIN STAFFS HIS CAMPAIGN WITM MEMBERS OF THE NEW BLACK PANTHER PARTY THAT DIVIDES US RATHER THAN UNITES US,,,
HUSSEIN STAFFS HIS CAMPAIGN WITM MEMBERS OF THE NATION OF TERRORISLAM THAT DIVIDES US RATHER THAN UNITES US,,,
HUSSEIN IS A RACIST WHICH DIVIDES US RATHER THAN UNITES US,,,
HUSSEIN IS A BIGOT WHICH DIVIDES US RATHER THAN UNITES US,,,
HUSSEIN IS A ANTI-JEW WHICH DIVIDES US RATHER THAN UNITES US,,,
HUSSEIN IS A ANTI-AMERICAN WHICH DIVIDES US RATHER THAN UNITES US,,,
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Posted by terrorislamo
Was there even a point to that post...?
Posted by faith_in_W at 09:53 AM : Jul 02, 2008
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Jesus died and was buried. They found his tomb.
Was there even a point to that post...?
Posted by FroztyBomb at 09:38 AM : Jul 02, 2008
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Terror Whamo is a spammer.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/144093
Maybe you should watch FOXNews. They are fair and balanced and would report black on white crime.
Forcing people to watch Telemundu should be banned by the UN!
Our government is making us so proud to be American.
theres always a way to get around that,
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Posted by lochlan at 11:37 AM : Jul 02, 2008
+ report abuse
**********
you are a typical american hating liberal..btw..when were you ever proud of this country??
"He said the English-speaking man was part of a private U.S. security company helping to train the agents, but he refused to give details."
Posted by kuei12 at 09:32 AM : Jul 02, 2008
AIN''T going to happen. At least not with Canada. The Canadian people will NOT let that happen.
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by libsluv2spit
July 4, 2008 1:41 PM PDT
- The Canadian people will NOT let that happen.
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Reply to this comment
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See all 35 CommentsPosted by erasmus81 at 12:59 PM : Jul 03, 2008
+ report abuse
*************
canadians cant do sh*t!