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The shockingly commonplace use of torture techniques like water boarding, electric shock and rape among Mexican police and military is the subject of a new Amnesty International report issued yesterday titled, “Out of Control: Torture and Other Ill-Treatment in Mexico.”

Among its most disturbing findings is the fact that while there has been a 600% increase in reported cases of torture over the last ten years, there have only been 7 torturers convicted in federal courts.

Reports of torture rose most dramatically during the 2006 to 2012 Presidency of Felipe Calderon when the government made a concerted effort to battle drug cartels. Amnesty’s publication has found that such reports decreased slightly under current President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Nieto had vowed to deal with a corrupt criminal justice system when he came into office. Earlier this year the Mexican Congress approved a Code of Military Justice to allow military cases to be tried in civilian courts and A National Code of Criminal Procedure was put in place which deems it illegal to obtain evidence through torture.

GUEST: Maureen Meyer, is at the Washington Office on Latin America where she directs the Mexico Program, with a special focus on analyzing US-Mexico counter-drug policies and their relation to drug-related violence

Click here to download Amnesty International’s report on Mexico, and here to download one of Maureen Meyer’s latest reports.