The following report is a work in progress. The authors of the report

did extensive research over a six month period. If you are interested

in doing further research on the topic you may contact the authors

directly:

A. Frumin: abfru@aol.com

K. Ramirez: ktramirez@hotmail.com

With such a compelling cast of characters and enough plot twists for a

Hollywood screenplay, it seems unfathomable that the world has not yet

been alerted to the story of the Zapotec people. In the Loxicha

Region, nestled between Oaxaca City, the touristed colonial capital of

the state of Oaxaca, and the tranquil fishing ports and beaches of the

Pacific, are a people living in terror. Illegitimately linked to the

1996 guerrilla movement of the EPR (Ejército Popular

Revolucionario), these native Zapotec have for nearly two years

suffered systematic repression and marginalization at the hands of the

Mexican government, federal and state police forces, army, large

landowners, and narcotraffickers. Still more disturbing are accounts

of American Federal Bureau of Investigation involvement. This paper

sets out to document the countless human rights abuses encountered in

this otherwise unknown region in the hope that national and

international attention might challenge the impunity, repression, and

militarization that is now a daily reality in southern Oaxaca.

The Colorful Zapotec People and the Antecedents of the

Conflict

In the fertile mountains of the Southern Sierra, in the region

known as Loxicha, live a population of 35,000 Zapotec. It is estimated

that the Zapotec have been settled in this region for six thousand

years, since the introduction of agriculture, and thus comprise one of

the oldest civilizations in the world. This warrior civilization was

among the only groups not conquered by the aggressive Aztecs (Riding

1985: 291-292). Among the most well-known monuments to the

accomplishments of the Zapotec civilization is the awe-inspiring

pre-Columbian site of Monte Alban.

The geographic area occupied by the contemporary Zapotec consists

of thirty-two rural communities within the district of Pochutla. The

political authority of Loxicha is centered in San Agustín. The

predominant language and race is Zapotec. There are four groups of

Zapotec found throughout Oaxaca. Each group speaks a dialect of

Zapotec so distinct from the others that members of different groups

often cannot understand each other.

The living conditions of the Zapotec fall far below the already

low standards found throughout Mexico. Eighty percent of the

population is illiterate. The makeshift homes of the Zapotec are

constructed of wood, corrugated tin roofs, and earthen floors. In

terms of infrastructure, a mere seven communities have electricity.

In addition, the dirt roads allowing access to many of the outlying

communities become impassable during the rainy season. Within the

Loxicha region, the nearest village to San Agustín is

one-and-a-half hours walking, while the furthest away takes up to

twelve hours in transit (La Unión 1996). The only paved road

through the region extends from Oaxaca City to Pochutla.

These transportation problems have serious health

implications. Many of the communities lie eight to twelve hours from

San Agustín, where the region's one clinic has six beds

attended to by one doctor and one nurse. Thus it comes as no surprise

that a high mortality rate exists in the rural areas of Loxicha (La

Unión 1998: 2). Due to a lack of potable water and the

inaccessibility of medical care, even curable ailments like diarrhea,

malnutrition, advanced flu viruses, and anemia have proven to be

deadly.

The Zapotec are also no stranger to the tribulations brought by

mother nature. Although Acapulco enjoyed most of the international

press when hurricanes Paulina and Rick tore through southern Mexico in

October, 1997, the Loxicha region was even more hard-hit. The larger

of the two hurricanes, Paulina, destroyed hundreds of houses and

thousands of hectares of corn, beans, coffee, and forest

(Velez Ascencio, 11/7/97). The Zapotec also endure frequent

earthquakes as a major fault line runs directly though the district of

Pochutla.

Corn and coffee make up the agricultural foundation of the Loxicha

economy. While corn, beans, and lima beans are used mainly for

subsistence, coffee obtains wide profits for the caciques who

sell to the market. Subsistence farming takes place on communal land

known as the tequio, which is farmed by the entire community.

The Zapotec's narrow economy, based on so few products, has inevitably

obliged many to emigrate to larger cities in search of opportunity.

Politically, the region is broken down into municipalities. The

municipal election system is known popularly as "usos y

custumbres," or "practices and customs." Specifically, the system

involves the convening of popular assemblies headed by a council of

respected community members. Authorities are named during popular

assemblies in January, and term lengths are decided upon at the time

of election. Public authorities are not paid. Additionally, the

popular assemblies safeguard the peace and harmony of the municipality

and protect the right to dismiss delinquents (Rubio Cabrera,).

Although article four of the Mexican Constitution grants

indigenous communities the right to govern themselves autonomously

within their region, the recent influx of political parties has

effectively transformed the system. Officially and historically, the

region of Loxicha has been dominated by the PRI, or Partido

Revolucionario Institutional, which has ruled Mexico for the last 68

years. The PRI candidates visit the communities near election time,

handing out small favors and promises in exchange for votes. When the

candidate is brought to power through the popular assemblies all

promises are conveniently disregarded.

The PRI domination of the region is inextricably linked to the

Loxicha cacique class. This story has been told time and

again. In 1954, the municipal agency granted a group of families

commercial space. The families grew quite wealthy and assumed the

concomitant power. Similar to the indentured servitude found in the

United States after the Civil War, the caciques oblige

the campesinos to grow coffee on the vast quantities of land.

The caciques then take the coffee to market, where they make

large profits. They control these profits, for they are among the few

who have transportation to make the long journey. Those who farm the

coffee, the Zapotec, receive a minimal amount of the profit. For three

kilos of unprocessed coffee beans they receive six to twelve pesos (La

Unión 1998: 4). To ensure the return of labor the following

year, the caciques also withhold pay from those who have

traveled long distances to work. Often children accompany their

parents on the arduous five- to six-hour walk and additional hour-long

bus ride to the harvest. Therefore, schools are left nearly empty

during the coffee harvest season, from December to March. The

Zapotec's compensation is not enough to break out of their cycle of

economic dependence. Thus, they remain bound to land they do not own.

The cacique families have enjoyed impunity through their

alliance with the PRI government. According to jailed municipal agent

and municipal president testimonies, the cacique families

tortured, raped, killed, and expelled members of the

community. However, in 1978, to protect public safety under the

mandate of "usos and custumbres," the caciques were

held responsible for their wrongdoings, and the people of Loxicha

forced many of them out. Although the cacique families made

several attempts to reenter the region, the Zapotec would not allow

their return (Human Rights Observation Brigade in the Loxicha Region

1997: 1).

After the expulsion, the caciques' armed guards, or

pistoleros, changed roles only nominally to become the

paramilitaries of the PRI government. One of these paramilitary

groups is the Antorcha Campesina. This reactionary peasant

organization functions to divide opposition efforts through

paramilitary violence. Undoubtedly, the cacique's regional

need for paramilitaries is linked to the region's high drug

production. According to reticent residents of the Loxicha region,

the pistoleros are growing large amounts of marijuana and opium on

cacique land (Founders of La Unión,). The link

between the government and the caciques, and between the

caciques and narcotrafficking, is no doubt crucial in

understanding the heavy militarization, the lack of information, and

the closely-controlled regional movement of foreigners and Mexicans

alike. Unfortunately, information about this critical point is very

difficult, if not dangerous, to obtain.

In 1994, the caciques requested the intervention of the

State Human Rights Commission (Comisión Estatal de Derechos

Humanos, CEDH) to allow their families to return. Pressure was

applied to the Municipal President, Professor Agustín Luna

Valencia, to accept the return of the caciques. Upon denial

of the request, the caciques, headed by Frumencio José

García, Miguel Ramírez Juárez, and Cirilo

José José, began a campaign to implicate residents of

Loxicha as active members of the EPR, or Ejército Popular

Revolucionario (Agustín Luna Valencia). In the last days of

1997, the CEDH supported the return of sixty families who had been

expelled as late as 1986.

The Sketchy History of the EPR in Oaxaca

Information about the genesis, activities, and structure of the

EPR remains vague and sparse. This is due, in part, to the group's

lack of a leader or public liaison. In conversations with various

Mexican human rights representatives, attitudes and perspectives

reflect an ambivalence and skepticism toward the EPR. The EPR´s

organization and apparent access to funds has made non-governmental

Mexican human rights groups suspect of connections between the EPR and

the PRI government. These groups believe the government is using the

EPR to conflict and divide the various opposition groups found in

southern Mexico (Rubio Cabrera).

The EPR strongholds are found in Hidalgo, Guerrero, the state of

Mexico, and the capital city. The group has gained acceptance among

the PRD (Partido Revolucionario Democrático or the Democratic

Revolutionary Party), specifically the FAC-MLN (Frente Ampio para la

Construcción del Movimiento de Liberación Nacional or

the Front for the Construction for a National Liberation Movement), as

well as the support of LIMEDDH (la Liga Mexicana de Derechos Humanos

or the Mexican Human Rights League), the CEDH, and Amnesty

International (Sorroza, 12/29/96).

The most violent EPR attacks have taken place in Oaxaca; they have

all been directed against local security forces. This makes the

suspected connection between the EPR and the government dubious. In

fact, the majority of those killed were members of the State and

Municipal Police forces. Although state response to EPR activities

has been most pronounced in Guerrero, Oaxacans have suffered more

detentions and torture at the hands of the government.

In Oaxaca, the EPR used their attacks to diffuse propaganda by way

of interviews with local reporters, flyers, and graffiti. Although

Oaxaca has experienced the three most violent EPR attacks, the

organization has yet to make an official public statement concerning

Oaxaca. The published communiqués have appeared in Huasteca,

Mexico State, and in the daily liberal paper, La Jornada

(Sorroza, 12/29/96). For this reason, many people feel the EPR's

intellectual authors are not centered in Oaxaca. However, the

government has evidently decided that the Loxicha region is an EPR

nerve center. This convenient conclusion may have more to do with

local politics and powerful narcotrafficking rings than with EPR

activity.

The EPR reciprocates the hostile feelings of the government. In

the classic form of a guerrilla revolution, the EPR has no intentions

of negotiating with the government. The EPR was asked in a press

conference held on September 15, 1986, by the Oaxacan daily

Noticias , if dialogue with the Mexican government would be

favorable. EPR representative Comandante Francisco responded:

"We believe that any negotiations made with the current government

would fall on deaf ears...to sit in dialogue with the same men who are

carrying out daily assassinations, repressing the country, men who are

at the root of our political and economic misery, responsible for the

deaths of more than 100,000 children each year in poverty and

malnutrition...would not serve our purposes." (Noticias,

9/15/96)

According to a Noticias article published January 7,

1998, the EPR is fighting for a democratic transformation of the

society, to improve the social and economic conditions of Mexico,

through a legal, yet clandestine, democratic, and armed movement. The

primary strategy of the EPR is guerrilla warfare as laid out in

The Thoughts and Principles of Guerrilla Tactics, a manual

based on the Marxist concept of the revolutionary proletariat class

(Velez Ascencio, 1/7/98).

Militarization: The Infrastructure of Institutional

Repression

According to Mata Montiel, a representative of the Latin American

Federation of Associations for the Detainees and Disappeared, the

region of Loxicha is the most militarized and repressed zone in the

country (Velez Ascencio, 1/7/98). However, gathering information on

the topic is, once again, all but impossible. Access to the region

has been severely restricted. At the end of February, 1997, the

Oaxacan Network of Human Rights Groups entered the region as the first

observation brigade since the conflict began. The LIMEDDH organized a

similar brigade to gather information at the end of April, 1997, yet

were forced out prematurely. Since the LIMEDDH visit there have been

no non-governmental human rights organizations allowed into the

region. However, in February of this year the State Human Rights

Commission entered Loxicha with some difficulty. The area is

considered so unstable that the state governor would not guarantee the

safety of any group visiting the area. That is to say, the army and

the police forces have been given the right to reign the terror and

repression they so desire (Stephen 1997: 4).

It is estimated that up to 5,000 army troops are posted within the

region (Stephen 1997: 4). As in Chiapas, the army used a three-phase

strategy of infiltration into the conflicted Loxicha zone. To begin

with, the army establishes a large and omnipresent military

installation in a central location (Stephen 1997: 6). The creation of

a base at El Manzanal, which lies at the junction of Highway 175,

running from Oaxaca City to Pochitla and the entrance to San

Agustín, illustrates phase one. In phase two, the army

proceeds to set up small bases within the community. Often the

military take over community lands without permission. Lastly, in

phase three, the army makes daily patrols of the community (Stephen

1997: 6). In this way, the army, government, and police reinforce the

idea that no area within the region is outside their realm of control.

The implications of the military presence are far reaching. Keep

in mind the Zapotec people are simple agriculturists. If they have

arms at all, they are simply rifles and machetes. One can only

imagine the terror of living among men who carry both automatic

weapons and licenses of impunity from the government. The Zapotec

people live in constant fear of detention and torture. Most have

abandoned their coffee and corn fields in the mountains, fearing that

if they are found in the hills they will be implicated as guerrillas.

The repression has even prohibited many from going into San

Agustín to buy and sell goods at the market. "When soldiers

and police arrive to our communities they take what they like without

asking, cut down fruit trees, kill the chickens, eat our food, rob our

money, loot items of value, and even rape our women." (La

Unión 1998: 8)

Chronology of a Witch-Hunt

While rumored to have been in existence for several decades, the

EPR remained relatively quiet until June, 1996. On June 28, 1996, the

EPR led an armed uprising in el Vado de Aguas Blancas in the state of

Guerrero.

In their next appearances, the EPR exhibited their organizational

skills. Simultaneous attacks occurred in Tlaxiaco and La Crucesita on

August 28, 1996. Tlaxiaco lies in the northwestern mountains of

Oaxaca, far from the tranquil coastal town of La Crucesita in the

southern region of the state. These two attacks resulted in twelve

deaths and seven injuries. Huge caches of ammunition were left at the

site of the Tlaxiaco uprising, adding further credence to the

contentions of non-governmental human rights groups that the EPR was

receiving funds from the government. In the same respect, this fact

reveals the absurdity of the government's claim that the EPR has a

strong base in Loxicha. How could a group of poor campesinos organize

an insurgency group that could afford to leave behind such valuable

materials? However, the attack on La Crucesita not Tlaxiaco drew the

most attention, due to its proximity to the up-and-coming tourist

resort known as Bahias de Huatulco.

For Loxicha residents the importance of La Crucesita reached far

beyond the possible impact on tourism. Among the nine casualties was

a former municipal official of San Agustín, Fidel

Martínez (La Unión 1998: 6). Martínez had

stepped down from his official post three months prior to the

attack. Placing a former Loxicha official at the scene of an EPR

attack strengthened the government´s link between the EPR and

Loxicha. Loxicha community members, however, were adamant that any

link Martínez might have had with the EPR was his own decision

and not a reflection of the community's political tendencies. Yet the

ripening political strife between the caciques and the

Loxicha residents, in conjunction with the Martínez and thus

Loxicha link with the EPR, created the perfect pretext to militarize

the zone and further the control of the caciques.

Immediately thereafter, as the first phase of militarization, a

military outpost was installed in El Manzanal, at the entrance to the

Loxicha region. In phase two, the military began moving into the

region. On September 5, 1996, in the first wave of detentions that

would number seventy-seven, Francisco Valencia was detained and

tortured. The justification given for this violation was merely that

he carried a FAC-MLN flyer, which the officials used as evidence of

his connection to the EPR (Human Rights Observation Brigade 1997: 2).

In a march two days later, Loxicha community representatives protested

Valencia's detention. Some 1500 Loxicha residents created an

encampment in Oaxaca City´s zocalo , or town square.

The Union of Towns Against the Repression and Militarization of the

Region of Loxicha organized the protest. Mothers, sisters, wives,

daughters and other women and children close to the detainees comprise

La Unión. Their demands were simple: improved infrastructure

and the demilitarization of the Loxicha region. On September 13,

their demands were recognized in a fifteen minute meeting with the

Oaxacan governor, Dioforo Carrasco Altamirano. The governor informed

them that these issues would be addressed by different functionaries

within his office. With respect to militarization, Carrasco claimed

that he could not remove the military encampments and outposts for

reasons of "national security." On September 15, the Zapotec

protesters withdrew from the zocalo, realizing that their

requests for demilitarization had fallen on deaf ears, yet hopeful for

the prospects of development projects (Human Rights Observation

Brigade 1997: 2).

Rather than investing money into the well-needed development of

Loxicha, the government invested instead in further military

operations. On September 25, 1996, more than 43 mobile units and

approximately 500 men, including the Preventative Police, the State

and Federal Judicial Police, and the Mexican Army, invaded the

community of San Agustín. These armed men tore through the

village, detaining students, heads of family, farmers, and municipal

authorities, many of whom were beaten. In addition, many homes were

searched and robbed. The police officials acted in blatant disregard

of the law, violating articles fourteen, sixteen and twenty-two of the

Mexican Constitution. Article fourteen clearly states that no one can

be deprived of life, property, possessions, or liberty. Article

sixteen guarantees the individual right not to be harassed in one's

person, property, papers, family, home, or possession without a

written mandate. Lastly, article twenty-two corresponds to the

American law prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment. The forces

went so far as to loot the Municipal Palace, considered sacred by

residents. Needless to say, for the three thousand inhabitants of the

town (making the ration of military to civilians an outstanding one to

three) this surprise attack was inconceivable. The Union of Towns

Against Repression and Militarization in the Region of Loxicha

succinctly express the feelings of the residents: "These actions were

carried out against our humble town with all the impunity granted by

the powerful arms, tanks, and despotic attitude of the armed forces."

(La Unión: 2)

During the attack, several municipal authorities were detained.

Among the detainees was the Municipal President, Professor

Agustín Luna Valencia, the Municipal Treasurer, Professor

Fortino Enríquez Hernández, the Sub-Treasurer, C. Isias

Ambrosio Ambrosio, and the Municipal Secretary, C. Manuel Nicandro

Ambrosio. Two municipal officers were also detained. After being

tortured and forced to identify the local leaders of the EPR, they

were set free on bail. Professor Alpidio Ramírez García

and two farmers, Tiberio Martinez and Pedro Pérez Almaraz, were

identified as the leaders. They were held at Pochutla and later

transferred to Oaxaca City (Human Rights Observation Brigade 1997: 3).

After having completed their sweep of San Agustín, the

armed forces moved into the town of San Francisco. In San Francisco,

they used the same brute force, detaining the two Municipal officials,

C. Emiliano Jose Martínez and C. Luis Martínez, both

accused of being members of the EPR. All told, twenty men were

illegally detained on this day.

Recalling the history of the regional caciques, it is not

surprising that they had a hand in the violence. According to a

report by the Union of Towns Against the Repression and Militarization

of the Region of Loxicha, ten former caciques participated in

the siege. They were identified as the same men who had worked during

the 1970s as paid gunmen for the regional caciques and who

had been expelled in 1978. These ten men appeared dressed as Judicial

Federal Police and operated from the back of trucks, identifying the

community members to be detained and falsely linking them with the

EPR.

Once again, the inhabitants of the communities were driven to

install their encampment in the zocalo to demand that the

state government release the prisoners and demilitarize the region.

On October 9, 1996, these renewed efforts were answered with the

transfer of prisoners from Oaxaca City to Almoloya de Juarez in Mexico

City, one of the two maximum security prisons in the republic. As a

consequence of the transfer, the people from Loxicha marched to Mexico

City, building yet another encampment outside the office of the

Secretary of State. Unfortunately, on October 15, while in talks with

the Secretary of State, San Agustín was invaded again, and five

inhabitants were detained under accusations of EPR links. On October

26, the community stopped their mobilizations in the hope of advancing

the negotiation process by eliminating any pretext the Federal

Government might use to impede it.

In response to the show of good faith by the people of Loxicha,

the government orchestrated yet another invasion. On November 7,

1996, at three o'clock in the morning some 500 men from the same

integrated forces violently entered San Agustín, knocking down

doors, looting homes, and threatening inhabitant with firearms.

Again, former caciques dressed as Judicial Federal Police sat

in the truck beds signaling who was to be detained (Human Rights

Observation Brigade 1997: 3).

After the raid on San Agustín, the forces carried out

similar campaigns in Quelove, Río Santa Cruz, Magdalena, La

Conchuda, La Sirena, and Loma Bonita. At the end of yet another day

of institutionalized terror and brutality, twenty-two Loxicha

residents were arrested and detained. Among those detained were three

teachers and the Municipal President, Gaudencio García

Martínez. Those captured endured beatings, torture, and

threats. All were forced to sign blank documents, to be filled in with

whatever confession served the officials, or prefabricated

confessions, to the same end.

The first reports of the American Federal Bureau of Investigation

presence result from this November raid. According to reports from

San Agustín, ten men dressed in black, with FBI insignias on

their sweaters and caps, were present during the sweeps (Ascencio,

12/22/92). The men were tall, with North American Features, and did

not speak Spanish well. In the testimonies that follow, the detainees

also mention the presence of the FBI (Laureano Ramírez

García). According to a December 22, 1996, Noticias

article Victor Clark Alfaro, Director of the Binational Center on

Human Rights, urged an investigation of the FBI presence in the

Loxicha region. Alfaro considers the FBI accessories to the gross

human rights violations perpetrated by the military and police in the

sweeps to detain supposed EPR members. While the information is terse

as to why an U.S. domestic intelligence organization would be in

southern Mexico involving itself in a decidedly illegal Mexican

military, police, and government operation, we have confirmed that the

FBI was on official business, presenting an anti-hostage program, in

Mexico at the end of 1997, the time of the raid (Ochoa,).

Elements of the Preventative, Federal, and State Judicial Police

made several more sweeps in the communities of San Vicente Yogonday,

Loma Bonita, Llano Maguey, Santa Cruz de la Flores, and Magdalena

between the dates of November 26 and December 1. During the

invasions, an additional twenty people were arrested and detained.

One of the detainees was tortured to death, although the government

declared it an accidental death (Human Rights Observation Brigade

1997:2).

Three days later, on December 3, another wave of detentions

followed. In Oaxaca City, three people were arrested, charged with

taking over a local radio station with the intention of broadcasting

EPR propaganda. As in prior raids, the Judicial Police forcefully

entered the office of the CODPO (Coordinador de Organización

Democráticas Populares de Oaxaca or the Coordinator of Popular

Democratic Organizations of Oaxaca). In this office, the wives and

children of the other detainees, who had been keeping vigil by day in

the Governor's Palace encampment, were resting for the night. During

the raid, two computers and 2,500 pesos (approximately $300 U.S.) that

had been painstakingly collected between November 20 and December 2,

were looted by the Judicial officials. To add insult to injury, in

addition to the arrests of the four men, the Judiciales

forced fourteen women and fifteen children into their truck and took

them to the State Attorney General´s office where they were held

with no formal charges until the following morning (La Unión

1997:5). In the familiar pattern, the men were tortured and detained.

The reign of terror wrought by arbitrary and illegal detentions

continued in a series of detentions beginning on January 7, 1997, with

the abduction of Irineo Ortega from the community of La Conchuda.

Thirteen days later, Constantino José Santiago was detained in

San Agustín. In the last days of January, two more men were

taken. The last detention to be addressed in this report took place

on February 19 in Llano Paraje.

To date there have been 77 detentions, 10 assassinations, and 4

disappearances from Loxicha. Those detained are being held in several

different prisons in three different states (Ochoa). According to

Mexican law, the transfer of prisoners between states is legal.

However, the transfer causes obvious cost and time difficulties for

families who wish to visit loved ones. Thus, the men are removed from

any base of support, emotional or otherwise. The prisoners are being

held in: Almoloya de Juarez, Maximum Security Federal State

Rehabilitation Center, in Mexico City; Men´s Prison North, South,

and East in Mexico City; Tula City in the state of Hidalgo; Santa

Maria Ixcotel in Oaxaca City; Consejo Tutlar in Oaxaca State; and

Huatulco in Oaxaca State. The crimes the men are accused of include:

homicide, attempted homicide, delinquent associations, arms supplying,

terrorism, conspiracy, sabotage, assault and battery, denial of

personal liberty, theft, property damage, rebellion, carrying fire

arms without a license, and carrying arms reserved exclusively for

army and air force use.

As a result of the terror wrought by habitual raids on these small

Loxicha communities, many residents have fled. Primarily led by the

men of the community, this exodus has left the region inhabited

largely by women and children.

Testimonies of Psychological and Physical Torture

This section synthesizes the testimonies of thirty-seven Zapotec

men from ten different communities. The men were interviewed by the

Brigade of Oaxacan Human Rights workers in February, 1997. Throughout

all of the testimonies, a general story of how the detentions and

tortures were carried out can be deducted, although inevitably

differences exist in each individual case.

In surprise sieges orchestrated by the integrated forces, the

majority of the men were taken from their homes in the early morning

hours, although some were taken from buses or trucks. Repeatedly

mentioned in the testimonies were the Judiciales, or the

Federal Judicial Police. The most cruel of the armed forces, these

men dress in all black, carry machine guns, and are considered a brute

squad. Without any arrest warrant or invitation, the police and army

would kick in the doors of the humble, often makeshift houses,

shooting off rounds to intimidate those within. Many of the detainees

were still in bed, and were dragged out naked or only partially

clothed. "They broke down the door of my house and shot off their

guns just a few centimeters from where my children were sleeping.

From there they pulled men out of bed, naked, hitting me with the butt

of their rifle. They hit me three times with the butt of their rifle

in the back and kicked me forcefully four times on the top of my left

foot (Virgilio Cruz Luna).

After being beaten, threatened, and humiliated in front of their

families, the men were forced into truckbeds. Many of the

campesinos recognized the men pointing out those to be detained

as former pistoleros. Gaudencia García

Martínez, the acting Municipal President, boldly questioned,

"Who are you? Are you Judiciales or Pistoleros? "

The armed men forced their way into Martínez´s house.

Martínez had enough time to shut the door again. After

threatening to burn down the house, Gaudencia let the armed men in.

They handcuffed him, grabbed him by the neck, and threw him in the

back of the truck (Gaudencia García Martínez).

Most of the testimonies then describe two large dogs being placed

in the back of the truck to intimidate and quiet the men. During the

hour-and-a-half long trip from San Agustín to Huatulco, the

truckload of alleged EPR guerrillas, mostly farmers and teachers, were

ordered to sit still and not disturb the dogs. Each was told as they

climbed in the truck, "These dogs are more valuable than you. If we

hear them bark, we will beat the shit out of you!"

En route to Huatulco, many of the trucks stopped at the ranch

known as San Martín. It is here, apparently, that most the men

were tortured. To begin with, they were blindfolded. Heinous acts of

physical torture followed, including beating, kicking, and slapping.

The men were also subjected to different forms of asphyxiation, either

with a plastic bag pulled over their head, or blocking the nose and

mouth with a cloth. One of the torture techniques used widely by the

Judiciales was the forcing of carbonated water, sometimes in

combination with chili powder, up the noses of these men, while their

mouthes were blocked. Even more horrific to imagine was the use of

electrical shock to the testicles, nipples, and other parts of the

body. Understandably, most of the testimonies do not go into detail

about the torture any more than a list of what each endured. However,

Gaudencia García Martínez did comment, "The application

of carbonated water while blocking the mouth with a rag is one of the

most cruel and inhumane tortures that one can ever imagine in this

world of torments and cruelty."

Physical violations were routinely accompanied by sinister

psychological tortures. These men were tormented by being forced to

listen to their fellow detainees´ pain, a pain that they had

either suffered or anticipated enduring. Many testimonies describe

threats of being thrown out of airplanes to sea while in transit to

prison. In addition, Judiciales constantly threatened to

rape, beat, or otherwise violate the detainees' family members if they

did not cooperate. Cooperation entailed admitting ties with the EPR or

implicating other community members. Throughout the detentions and

torture, the men were constantly barraded with racial slurs. Some of

the degrading remarks about the Zapotec natives included, "You Indians

smell like shit."

Bruised and cut physically and forever mentally-scarred, most of

the men were transferred to Huatulco. There they were put in small,

dank rooms. They were given no food or water for two days. The rooms

had no toilets, forcing the men to defecate and urinate in the small,

shared space. At any hour, day or night, they could be forcefully

taken by the Judiciales to give personal information, to sign

blank documents that would later serve as their declarations, or to

submit to further torture. The interrogations involved laboriously

repeated questions about the EPR. Inquiries focused on the EPR´s

attacks on La Crucesita and Tlaxiaco, personal affiliation, EPR

members, weapon caches, funding, meetings, and organizational

structure.

The majority of the accused do not speak Spanish, only their

native Zapotec. Although the Mexican Constitution guarantees the

right to a translator for non-Spanish speakers, most of the

interrogations took place in Spanish without translation. One

testimony refers to the presence of a bilingual Spanish-Zapotec

speaker during the translation of a detainee´s declaration. By

her account, the translation was gravely erroneous.

From Huatulco, in many cases, the detainees were transferred by

small aircraft to one of the several prisons in Oaxaca, Hidalgo, or

Mexico State. A year and a half later, many of these men are still

incarcerated on the proof of declarations or blank documents signed

under extreme torture.

Conclusions and Questions Yet to be Answered

Although information about Loxicha is unreliable, and often

unavailable due to its highly political nature, some conclusions can

be made concerning unabated human rights violations within the area

over the last two years. The Loxicha history demonstrates the Mexican

government, police, and military's blatant disregard for clearly

stated domestic human rights laws, not to mention international human

rights agreements signed by Mexico.

While the Mexican Constitution is one of the more progressive in

Latin America, the case of Loxicha reveals much of this progressivism

to be tokenism. All too often the Constitution is completely ignored.

Firstly, the militarization of the zone, specifically the outpost at

Manzanal, is in direct violation of the right to free transit

throughout the republic, granted in article eleven. Secondly, as we

have stated, the arbitrary detentions are a breach of article

fourteen. For the most part, arrest warrants did not exist for these

detentions. Often they were issued retroactively by the

Ministerio Publico , or Public Minister. Many of the

non-Spanish speaking Zapotec people were denied their right to a

translator, also guaranteed in the Constitution. Additionally, many

were forced to sign blank document that would serve as their

declarations. These declarations reflect an obvious fabrication of

guilt by the Judicial officials. Lastly, yet another of the laws of

the Constitution, article twenty-two, was violated in the cruel and

unusual physical and psychological torture of the detainees in order

to obtain declarations of EPR allegiance. Detainees were also offered

money to denounce their fellow community members.

Today Loxicha is inhabited mostly by women and children. They

walk in a constant shadow of fear: fear of being raped, beaten,

robbed, or mistreated at the whims of the military and the police.

Indeed, these people have no recourse. The federal government has

taken no action on the issue, and the governor of Oaxaca has all but

publicly granted the military and police total impunity. The

international community is ignorant of the gruesome situation. The

only course of action available to Loxicha residents is the

organization of their encampments and marches. For the last year and

a half, the Union of Towns Against the Repression and Militarization

of the Region of Loxicha has been camped out in front of the

Governor´s Palace in Oaxaca City. Alas, it appears their efforts

have been fruitless. The question remains: Why has there been so

little attention to this region and the cries of the Zapotec people?

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