NGOs ask International Criminal Court for Mexico probe

MEXICO CITY – Dozens of civil society organizations have presented a report to the International Criminal Court in The Hague in hopes it will lead to an investigation of possible crimes against humanity in northern Mexico.

The report focuses on the state of Coahuila, which borders Texas. It documents crimes including the use of a prison in the city of Piedras Negras by the Zetas drug cartel to dispose of its enemies.

Olga Guzman of the Mexican Commission for the Defence and Promotion of Human Rights said Tuesday there is “reasonable evidence” of a deliberate policy of systematic and generalized violence.

The court has opened only one such preliminary investigation in Latin America, in Colombia. The Mexican government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.