- Mexican authorities are failing to adequately investigate high numbers of homicides, most of them by organized crime groups.
- Militarizing law enforcement, depriving suspects of due process guarantees, and politicizing judges’ rulings has not made Mexicans safer or improved abysmal justice system outcomes.
- President Claudia Sheinbaum should address the central problem in Mexico’s criminal justice system, which is the ineffective and abusive investigative practices of many prosecutors’ offices.
(Mexico City) – Mexican authorities are failing to adequately investigate high numbers of homicides, most of them by organized crime groups, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
The 178-page report, “Double Injustice: How Mexico’s Criminal Justice System Fails Victims and the Accused in Homicide Investigations,” examines in detail the reasons for the poor results of Mexico’s criminal justice system in homicide investigations and identifies ways to improve access to justice for victims.
“Militarizing law enforcement, depriving suspects of due process guarantees, and politicizing judges’ rulings has not made Mexicans safer or improved the abysmal outcomes of the criminal justice system,” said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “Instead of doubling down on failed policies, President Claudia Sheinbaum should address the central problem in Mexico’s criminal justice system, which is the ineffective and abusive investigative practices by state prosecutors’ offices.”
Human Rights Watch interviewed about 150 homicide prosecutors and investigative police officers from state prosecutors’ offices, legal advisers from state victims’ commissions, and other justice operators and experts in the Mexican criminal justice system in 11 states, most between January 2023 and February 2024. Human Rights Watch also reviewed publicly available data on the justice system and filed over 300 information requests to state and federal authorities.
Mexico has suffered extremely high homicide rates for nearly two decades. In 2023, Mexico’s homicide rate, at almost 25 homicides per 100,000 people, was one of the highest in the world. Prosecutors and independent analysts have found that most are the result of organized crime groups battling for control of the drug trade and other illicit businesses. The vast majority are committed with firearms, which in most cases are reported to have originated in the United States.
Human Rights Watch found that most intentional homicide investigations opened by state prosecutors’ offices in Mexico never advance beyond the initial stages and many are closed without legal action. From 2010 through 2022, state prosecutors’ offices opened about 300,000 investigations but formally identified a suspect and initiated criminal proceedings in only about 51,000 cases, 17 percent.
“People tell me, ‘Just leave it. You’re being threatened. God will do justice,’” one woman, who said she has faced death threats from the perpetrators of her son’s killing and indifference from the authorities in her state told Human Rights Watch. “I tell them, ‘There is a god, yes. But there are also authorities here on earth. Why don’t they do anything?’”
Systemic problems that undermine homicide investigations and negatively impact the rights of victims and the accused include high workloads, insufficient training and resources, poor coordination between authorities, and a lack of clear guidelines on how to prioritize cases. Many people interviewed said that the authorities waited months or years to conduct basic investigative steps and only did so in response to negative media attention or pressure from victims’ families.
When victims’ family members attempt to cooperate, they often face stigmatization, corruption, and neglect. Authorities often assume homicide victims were involved in criminal or other high-risk activities. Many victims’ family members and their legal advisers said the authorities blamed the victims or demanded bribes to investigate.
Many people are terrified of cooperating with investigations because they fear retaliation by perpetrators. But authorities rarely provide them with effective protection.
The few intentional homicide investigations that make it before a judge are often marred by weak evidence or statements that have been altered, fabricated, or obtained through threats or torture.
One large-scale government survey found that about 40 percent of people incarcerated on homicide charges since 2016 said that authorities had beaten or tortured them to try to pressure them to plead guilty or testify to a false version of events. The lack of judicial independence in many state justice systems compounds this problem, as many judges face political pressure to issue rulings favorable to prosecutors and the government.
Government efforts to reduce criminal violence by militarizing law enforcement, undermining due process guarantees, and politicizing the way judges are appointed have not been effective and have led to serious human rights abuses.
In September 2024, Congress approved constitutional amendments, which require all state and federal judges be removed and replaced in popular elections from a list of candidates chosen by Congress, the president, and the Supreme Court.
“If Mexican authorities hope to improve the outcomes of the justice system, they should be taking steps to ensure that judges are protected from political influence, rather than politicizing the justice system even further,” Goebertus said.
Mexican authorities should take urgent steps to ensure that prosecutors’ offices conduct thorough, impartial, and rights-respecting homicide investigations, Human Rights Watch said. State prosecutors’ offices should be required to develop strategic prosecution plans to better enable prosecutors to prioritize cases with a focus on dismantling criminal groups responsible for homicides. They should also ensure that there are clear, objective rules for hiring, promoting, and removing staff.
State and federal authorities should ensure that victims’ commissions have the staff and resources to effectively represent victims’ families. They should urgently create effective protection mechanisms for victims and witnesses. They should take steps to improve oversight of prosecutors’ offices by creating external control mechanisms to enable citizens and civil society groups to review allegations of wrongdoing and recommend changes.
The United States should prioritize funding for international cooperation programs aimed at supporting the professionalization of Mexican law enforcement and criminal justice agencies. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) supports programs that provide training for prosecutors, legal advisers from state victims’ commissions, and public defenders and that assist state prosecutors in developing strategic prosecution plans. Much of this work is currently suspended as the result of the January 20, 2025 executive order by US President Donald Trump suspending US$44 billion in foreign assistance across the world. The United States should also take urgent efforts, in cooperation with the Mexican government, to stem the illegal flow of firearms from the United States to Mexico.
“If the Trump administration truly wants to take steps to dismantle criminal organizations in Mexico, suspending funding for programs aimed at professionalizing Mexico’s law enforcement and criminal justice agencies is the wrong approach,” Goebertus said.
