Mexico enacts law to help drug war victims

The Mexican government enacted a controversial law aimed at giving recognition and recourse to tens of thousands of victims of the drug-related violence that has raged across the nation for the last six years.

In a ceremony where survivors held photographs of missing or slain children, parents and spouses, President Enrique Peña Nieto said the law would require authorities to assist victims and establish a fund for possible reparations.

Former President Felipe Calderon, whose term ended Dec. 1, vetoed the law last summer, a move for which he was roundly condemned by human rights groups. He contended the measure had technical flaws that could make it difficult to enact and was possibly unconstitutional.

Peña Nieto brushed aside such concerns, saying there would be details yet to work out, but that putting the law on the books was urgent. It also requires authorities to pay for victims’ medical care and sets up a national registry of victims.

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