An investigation by Zorayda Gallegos found 17 convictions from 525 military sex-offense probes over 12 years in Mexico, and separately counted 22 sanctions in 314 Army disciplinary files.
Published June 9, 2025, by Fábrica de Periodismo in partnership with El Universal, the investigation said the Fiscalía General de Justicia Militar (FGJM) opened the criminal inquiries from January 2013 through December 2024. Gallegos based the tally on information obtained through Mexico’s access-to-information law. The allegations included rape, sexual assault, harassment and abuse involving women in uniform.
Gallegos reported that at least eight generals were implicated. Six cases were archived before trial without attributing responsibility. Two generals were acquitted at first instance, but proceedings continued without a final ruling.
In a separate administrative tally, the investigation counted sanctions in 22 of 314 files handled by the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena)’s Órgano Interno de Control (OIC) between 2013 and 2024. That is about 7%. The investigation presents the criminal and administrative figures separately and does not specify whether individual files overlap.
The methodology lists 50 internal-control investigations and about 20 judicial files, alongside complaints and court records. Six women agreed to give testimony, five anonymously; the project said some feared being identified or facing reprisals against themselves or their families. It also used material from the Guacamaya leak after some records provided by the Army were illegible.
Gallegos’ investigation said the Army established a dedicated office for harassment and sexual abuse cases in 2013, but the office could not refer cases to prosecutors or impose sanctions. Gallegos told UN News, “If an officer says, ‘Come into my bedroom,’ she must go in,” describing how military rank could constrain women’s ability to refuse a superior.
El Universal said requests for comment from Sedena and the military personnel named in the investigation, sent through the ministry’s press office, received no reply. Reporters Without Borders said the journalist it identified as Zorayda Gallegos Valle received the national human rights award at the 2026 Breach/Valdez Prize ceremony in Mexico City on May 25.
