The Mexican government committed genocide and crimes against humanity that included rape, murder, kidnapping and a scorched earth campaign during the Mexico’s "dirty war", a government campaign against suspected leftist guerrillas, activists and in reality, much of the general population, a leaked draft of a government report reveals.
"This is the most extensive documented description of how the state unleashed a savage counterinsurgency campaign that targeted a tiny armed insurgency and swept up thousands of civilians in its wake," said Kate Doyle, of the Washington-based National Security Archive.
The report was based partly on declassified military documents. It states that military units carried out summary executions of men and boys and that "suspects" kept alive were subjected to torture, which included being forced to drink gasoline, being beaten and electrically shocked.
The military was also accused of conducting helicopter "death raids" and using bases as "concentration camps."
President Vicente Fox has yet to endorse the report.