MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) on Thursday called for an investigation into the death of a man who they said died in police custody in the southeastern state of Veracruz last month.
Mexicans took to the streets of Mexico City and Guadalajara last week to protest police brutality following similar demonstrations in the United States. They called for authorities to be held accountable for police custody deaths in Mexico.
Carlos Navarro, 33, was detained by the police in Veracruz last month, according to his family, the commission said. They said his dead body was later returned to them, showing signs of beatings.
The CNDH called for an investigation and punishment for Navarro’s death, calling it a “reprehensible act.” The office of the governor of Veracruz did not immediately return a request for comment.
The rights commission also said it was concerned that “authorities in charge of citizen security use force in a way that is incompatible with international human rights standards.”
CNDH also condemned a lack of training and supervision of police that it said had caused irreparable damage to the lives and personal integrity of detained people.
Earlier this week, local media reported that a 16-year-old boy was shot dead by police in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca after he left home to buy soda.
The office of the governor of Oaxaca did not immediately return a request for comment.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the events in Veracruz and Oaxaca.
(Reporting by Mexico City Newsroom, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
