Off You Go

Miss Sinaloa, arrested in December along with a handful of drug traffickers and weapons, has been released from jail, for lack of proof. I'm a little disappointed in myself for not writing this sooner, but her case shows the danger in Mexico's practice of holding suspects for many weeks without charges. (I was under the understanding that after the judicial reform last year, the limit for detention without charges was 80 days, which provoked criticism from human rights groups. However, I wonder if the provision was changed without any fanfare, because I've never seen anyone consigned for more than 40 days.) She was in jail for 38 days, which seems silly given the circumstances. She was obviously hanging out with some shady characters, but that's not a crime in and of itself. A 22-year-old with no criminal background shouldn't have to spend five and a half weeks in jail while the authorities dig for scraps. The presumption of innocence, which doesn't have a long tradition in Mexico but which the judicial reform was supposed to help foster, is really missing here. I'm willing to be convinced that Theo's Soup-Maker, who claims to have been involved in up to 300 murders, needs his 40-day stay in jail while evidence is collected, but six-week detentions shouldn't be handed out like candy. There should be some accountability for the officials who stuck Laura Zúñiga in jail, and some recourse, aside from selling their story to sensationalist magazines, for those who suffer abuses of authority.