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| Guard Towers at Santa Martha Prison Photo: Eduardo Miranda |
Mexico City - Sixty percent of the country's prisons have systems of self-government, and they are under the control of organized crime, reported the president of the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), Raúl Plascencia Villanueva.
In his presentation of the 2011 National Diagnosis of Penitentiary Supervision, the National Ombudsman warned of the deterioration of the prison system under President Felipe Calderón and concluded that detained criminals "lack opportunities for social reintegration," such that "Mexican prisons are not fulfilling their function."
Accompanied by Third Inspector General Guillermo Andrés Aguirre Aguilar, Plascencia Villanueva reported that the CNDH staff has warned since October 2011 that organized crime controlled the Piedras Negras Prison, Coahuila, where 134 inmates escaped a few days ago.
The Inspector explained that CNDH personnel can testify that in Piedras Negras Prison, Coahuila, there were only fifteen guards for 737 inmates. He added that inspectors were denied entry [to the prison] under the argument that construction was being done "for the benefit" of the prison population.
"From outside the prison, it looked as if works were being undertaken, but we do not know if what was being built was the tunnel that we now know exists," stated Aguirre Aguilar.Without specifying which drug cartels control the country's prisons, the Ombudsman noted that during development of the diagnosis there were prisons that CNDH staff could not enter, as was the case in Piedras Negras, due to conditions of self-government. He explained that of the 100 prisons visited,
"it was not feasible to tour and examine them as a whole; in each case, it was argued that the inmates had the keys to the locks, coupled with the fact that visibility of the cells was impeded by the use of cardboard and blankets."With more than 400 prisons in the country, Plascencia Villanueva argued that the results of the diagnostic performed by his staff in 100 of them are applicable to the entire system, which, he insisted, is in crisis due to overcrowding and, above all, to the fact that once presumed criminals are imprisoned in a social rehabilitation center, they are abandoned to their fate.
"With the current conditions in social rehabilitation centers, there will not be a public security policy that produces results. Recovering public safety requires, among other things, a planned, functional prison system that fulfills its main purpose, which is the rehabilitation of the convicted. No public security policy will give results if the current situation prevailing in the prisons is not addressed and corrected," warned the CNDH head.At a press conference, Plascencia Villanueva emphasized that control of the prisons by organized crime explains the statistics. Between 2010 and 2012 so far, there have been fourteen prison breaks, in which 521 inmates escaped; there have been 75 fights that left at least 352 dead; and two prison riots that left two dead and 32 injured.
The ombudsman did not rule out that Army units could help patrol the "perimeter" of Mexico's prisons in order to prevent mass escapes, such as the ones that occurred at Piedras Negras, Coahuila, and Cieneguillas, Zacatecas.
As for federal prisons, both the Ombudsman and the Third Inspector said that Villa Aldama Prison, Veracruz, and Altiplano Prison, in the State of Mexico, are on high alert because of overcrowding and assaults on inmates.
Plascencia Villanueva emphasized that CNDH finds worrying the conversion of the Islas Marias Penal Colony into a high security prison, "which hinders the accused from having a good defense."
MV: Mexico's legal system, like that of over 150 countries worldwide, is grounded in civil law (or civilian law) inspired by Roman law. Under this system, suspects are presumed to be guilty and must prove their innocence.
The Third Inspector noted that the prisons receiving the poorest evaluations are located in the Federal District, in the State of Mexico, Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Quintana Roo, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Tabasco and Nayarit.
Regarding the problem of overpopulation, he explained that Mexican prisons reported an overpopulation of 25.80%. The system's capacity is for 189,397 prison inmates; however, the prisons house 238,269, which means that 48,872 people lack adequate conditions. In the report, Plascencia Villanueva stressed that the inspectors checked for the presence of
"prohibited objects and substances, prostitution, groups or individuals who are violent or have control over the rest of the population, illegal charges for personal protection, the assignment of room and bunk for sleeping, roll call, maintenance of dormitories, access to food and medical services."
He emphasized that since 2009 the agency has detected a recurring deterioration in Mexican prisons; for this reason, it is possible to extrapolate the results of the diagnosis to the entire prison system.
In conclusion, Plascencia declared that "the situation in the penitentiary system is worrisome, and there are grave risks for inmates." Spanish original