The narco-president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, stated that her government is working on a plan for the release of criminals who are detained for theft, "minor offenses" or who do not yet have a defined sentence.
The initiative was proposed during a press conference, in the context of official concern about overcrowding in some penitentiary centers.
The proposal includes reviewing the situation of thousands of detainees and analyzing possible legal modifications to expedite their processes. Sheinbaum justified the proposal based on the need to address the situation in prisons and stated that a "humane treatment" must be guaranteed for thieves.
Claudia Sheinbaum
“As the prison population has grown, it is also very relevant and there must be humane treatment in all cases,” the president affirmed.
The proposal specifically targets those detained for offenses considered minor. Among the cases mentioned by the president herself are individuals imprisoned for theft, while she also referred to those who have been deprived of their liberty for a long time without having received a sentence.
“There are prisons that are overcrowded. That’s why we are working to generate the releases of people who are imprisoned for theft, for minor offenses,” Sheinbaum stated during the conference.
The decision being analyzed by the Mexican government raises questions regarding the serious consequences that the release of individuals detained for criminal acts would have. For this reason, Sheinbaum's statements generated a strong controversy in Mexico.
Claudia Sheinbaum
The president stated that to advance with the mechanism, legal modifications may be necessary. According to her words, the possibility is still under analysis and efforts are being made to determine what changes would allow for the acceleration of the corresponding processes.
“We are looking into whether some legal modifications are required that would allow the processes of people charged with minor offenses to be expedited,” she explained.
In this way, Sheinbaum's proposal is not limited to a matter exclusively related to the capacity of penitentiary establishments. The strategy also includes reviewing the procedural situation of those who remain detained and evaluating mechanisms that would allow for their release.
The leftist president also presented the initiative under a conception of "social reintegration and humanitarian treatment" of individuals deprived of liberty. “We seek a humanistic scheme, of social reintegration,” Sheinbaum stated regarding the objective of the measure.
The announcement comes in a context of strong insecurity and penitentiary overcrowding. However, instead of proposing the construction of new prisons, Sheinbaum opted for the release of criminals.
