Abstract

MAGALONI, Beatriz; MAGALONI, Ana Laura  and  RAZU, Zaira. Torture as a Method of Criminal Investigation: The Impact of the War on Drugs in Mexico. Polít. gob [online]. 2018, vol.25, n.2, pp.223-261. ISSN 1665-2037.

How did the war on drugs impact the behavior of authorities in charge of investigating and prosecuting crime in Mexico? We use the Federal Penitentiary System Survey of Inmates to demonstrate that torture increased as a result of the war on drugs. The army was the state authority that changed its behavior the most as a direct consequence of the war on drugs. With this war, the armed forces have extensively engaged in crime prevention and prosecution, engaging in the systematic and generalized practice of torture as a method of criminal investigation.

Keywords : torture; war on drugs; criminal investigation and prosecution; Mexican armed forces.