San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, México
February 1st, 2026
Press Release Number 1
Torture in Mexico continues to be a burden that perpetuates itself and violates human dignity
- The eradication of torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment is an urgent obligation of the Mexican State.
- In Chiapas, prisons maintain inhuman and degrading conditions that deny social reintegration and violate fundamental rights
The United Nations (UN) Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) made an official visit to Mexico. As part of its mandate, the SPT visits places of deprivation of liberty—prisons, military facilities, psychiatric hospitals, and immigration stations—to evaluate the treatment of individuals and conduct interviews under the principle of strict confidentiality in order to avoid reprisals. The Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center (Frayba) provided information on the situation of torture and prison conditions in Chiapas. This was the SPT’s third official visit to Mexico, following those carried out in 2008 and 2016.
The documentation we have compiled provides evidence that human rights violations persist in the State Centers for Social Reintegration for Convicts (CERSS). From the moment of arrest, many prisoners are subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, following patterns of fabrication of guilt and political repression. Upon entering the CERSS, they also face forced labor, poor nutrition, lack of medical care, overcrowding, and constant threats from both internal self-governing groups and the prison authorities themselves.
Despite reforms and the implementation of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture (MNPT), attached to the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), torture continues to be a widespread practice. The lack of access to information, following the elimination of the National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information, and Protection of Personal Data (INAI), constitutes a barrier to obtaining public data, affecting democracy and limiting the possibility of improving conditions in detention centers.
We have documented 20 cases of torture and human rights violations in the prison system between 2010 and 2025. Four of these cases involve individuals who were arbitrarily deprived of their liberty and tortured by the Pakal Immediate Response Force (FRIP) in the municipalities of Cintalapa, Frontera Comalapa, Tapachula, and Tuxtla Gutiérrez. Of particular note is the case of Óscar Trinidad Carvajal, who was arrested on November 4, 2025, and is currently being held in CERSS No. 3 without medical attention or adequate care for his recovery after suffering torture. Similarly, the young student Yonny Ronay Chacón González, arrested and tortured on March 3, 2019, was sentenced to 31 years and 6 months in prison for a crime he did not commit.
Complaints from prisoners and their families reveal that prison conditions are inadequate due to overcrowding. There is unjustified segregation in cells with poor conditions, which prevents inmates and their families from supporting themselves financially. In some circumstances, the authorities charge a 10% fee for bringing in materials and selling products, using it as a form of sanction or punishment. Unjustified transfers continue to be a constant problem that exposes inmates to situations of vulnerability and disadvantage, even hindering their social reintegration with their families or the progress of their criminal proceedings, since in many cases they are not transferred together with their files, which leads to a breakdown in the principle of continuity.
In terms of health, inmates repeatedly suffer from stomach pains and vomiting due to the consumption of spoiled food, without receiving adequate medical care. Most suffer from post-traumatic stress and generalized anxiety. Inside the cells, they have suffered searches, theft of belongings, extortion by both other inmates and CERSS staff, forced labor, and the obligation to pay a “tax” in order to use the bunks.
In Chiapas, the Prosecutor’s Office for the Investigation of Torture was closed down and, in April 2025, the Specialized Unit for the Investigation of Torture was established, under the Human Rights Prosecutor’s Office. To date, this body has not made any significant progress.
In light of this, we demand that the Mexican authorities take action against self-government and corruption in the CERSS in Chiapas. We also demand that complaints of torture and ill-treatment not go unpunished, that prompt, thorough, and impartial investigations be carried out, and that statements obtained under torture not be used as evidence in any proceedings. It is essential to respect the right to dignity of persons deprived of liberty, guaranteeing the physical and psychological safety and integrity of both inmates and their families.
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[1] UN. (2026, January 22) Mexico: UN agency for the prevention of torture returns to the country looking for concrete progress. https://www.ohchr.org/es/press-releases/2026/01/mexico-un-torture-prevention-body-returns-seeking-concrete-progress
[2] La Silla Rota. (January 12, 2026). The merchant who died three minutes after being beaten by police officers. La Silla Rota. https://lasillarota.com/estados/2026/1/12/el-comerciante-que-murio-por-tres-minutos-tras-golpiza-de-policias-578526.html
[3] UN Special Rapporteurs. (2025). Request for information from the Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; the Special Rapporteur on the Right of Everyone to the Enjoyment of the Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health; and the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers. United Nations. https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=25210
Original text published by Frayba on February 1, 2026.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.