Many of the human rights violations discussed in this article are committed by Mexico's Armed Forces. The Mexican government allows the Armed Forces to play a large part in the drug war, despite the fact that the Mexican Constitution restricts the Armed Forces to functioning only connected to military discipline in peace times. The Armed Forces often respond to civilians with arbitrary arrests, personal agendas and corruption, extrajudicial executions, the use of torture and excessive force. Because these cases would be tried in military tribunals, there is limited legal and social accountability for these violations and a low rate of prosecution.Carlsen, Laura. "Mexico's False Dilemma: Human Rights or Security." Nw. UJ Int'l Hum. Rts. 10 (2011): 146-153. Although the Mexican government has argued that the presence of the Armed Forces in areas where the drug war is most active will increase security in the country, it has not been proven that the government's reliance on the military has reversed this trend of insecurity. The Centro de Derechos Humanos reports a continued rise in drug-related killings in many regions of Mexico.Meyer, Maureen, Stephanie Brewer, and Carlos Cepeda. "Abused and afraid in Ciudad Juarez: an analysis of human rights violations by the military in Mexico." Ciudad Juarez: Centro de Derechos Humanos (2010).
