In Mexico, drug war deaths mount

MEXICO CITY, Aug. 29 (UPI) — Human rights groups say the war on drugs in Mexico has gone badly awry with soldiers covering up atrocities that have included civilian deaths.

The defense ministry says it still looking into the case of the Almanza family, in which eight adults and five children were driving to the beach on April 3, a drive that ended with soldiers opening fire on the vehicle, leaving two small children dead, The Arizona Republic reported Sunday.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have demanded the case be turned over to civilian authorities. Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission has already issued a scathing 1,400-page report accusing soldiers of “manipulations to misdirect the investigations,” to avoid blame in the affair.

The deaths of 9-year-old Martin Almanza and 5-year-old Brayan Almanza are two of more than 21,000 drug-related deaths in Mexico since 2006, when President Felipe Calderon increased the military’s presence in the war on drugs, jumping troop involvement from 10,000 to 45,000.

Some say the military is ill-suited for police work. Others are demanding the United States withhold a portion of $67.5 million earmarked as foreign aid to Mexico to combat drug trafficking.

“What these cases really lay bare is the fact that the military in certain cases is willing to distort evidence or is willing to not share other evidence in order to protect its own (soldiers),” said Nik Steinberg, an analyst at Human Rights Watch for Latin America.