Dr Diego Fernando Torres Vega

Country Expert — Mexico, Guatemala: Human Rights, Political Situation & Asylum Cases

Expert at The Human Rights Experts, an international expert witness organisation.

We provide expert witness reports for asylum cases worldwide, covering human rights violations, political persecution, and systemic oppression. Our reports are trusted by lawyers, courts, and immigration authorities, in full compliance with procedural standards and tribunal requirements in the UK (CPR Part 35, Upper Tribunal PD, First-tier Tribunal IAC PD), USA (Federal Rules of Evidence), Canada, and the EU.

Occupation

• Country Witness Expert on Mexico and Guatemala
• Human Rights Specialist
• Legal Researcher and Academic Consultant
• Independent Journalist and Investigative Reporter on Human Rights

Expertise

I provide expert analysis on all five Refugee Convention grounds — political opinion, religion, ethnicity, membership of a particular social group (including LGBT and gender-based cases), and nationality — with a focus on the following countries:

Mexico: Mexico is engulfed in a security and human rights emergency characterised by the unchecked expansion of criminal governance across entire states and municipalities. The militarisation of public security through the Guardia Nacional and armed forces has resulted in documented extrajudicial killings, torture, and arbitrary detention, while failing to reduce overall violence levels. Political persecution operates at municipal and state levels, where local officials, activists, and candidates opposing criminal-political alliances face assassination, with over 30 candidates and political operatives murdered during recent electoral cycles. Indigenous Tzotzil, Tzeltal, and Zapotec communities in southern states face violent inter-community conflicts exacerbated by political manipulation and armed group activity. Religious persecution affects Protestant evangelical communities in indigenous municipalities of Chiapas and Oaxaca, where expulsions, property destruction, and denial of public services are documented. Gender-based violence manifests in a national emergency of femicide, forced disappearance of women and girls, and trafficking for sexual exploitation. LGBT individuals face hate crimes with near-total impunity in states lacking specific legal protections.

Guatemala: Guatemala's human rights landscape is shaped by the intersection of structural racism, entrenched corruption, and the expansion of criminal networks into state institutions. The judicial system has been captured by corrupt actors, with anti-corruption judges and prosecutors systematically removed, imprisoned, or forced into exile. Indigenous Maya communities, comprising over 60 percent of the population in highland departments, face racial discrimination that limits access to education, healthcare, justice, and political participation. Land rights conflicts between indigenous communities and palm oil, mining, and hydroelectric interests generate displacement, criminalisation, and violence. Gang-controlled urban areas in Guatemala City, Villa Nueva, and Mixco drive forced internal migration and cross-border displacement. Gender-based violence, including forced marriage of minors in indigenous communities and femicide in urban areas, reflects deeply embedded patriarchal structures with minimal state intervention. LGBT individuals face compounded discrimination, with indigenous LGBT persons experiencing rejection from both mainstream society and their own communities.

Experience

• Expert Witness (2016—Present): Regularly instructed by legal practitioners in the United Kingdom and the United States to prepare expert reports and provide oral testimony in asylum and immigration proceedings relating to Mexico and Guatemala, addressing cartel violence, indigenous persecution, and cross-border displacement.
• Country Condition Reports: Authored detailed country condition reports for courts, tribunals, and legal representatives covering the full range of Refugee Convention grounds in Mexico and Guatemala.
• Academic Researcher, Instituto Politecnico Nacional (IPN), Mexico City: Conducted university-level research on cross-border migration, organised crime, and indigenous rights in the Mexico-Guatemala corridor, contributing to academic publications.
• Consultant to Human Rights Organisations: Provided expert analysis on cross-border displacement, indigenous persecution, and state violence to international and regional non-governmental organisations.
• Expert Member of The Human Rights Experts: Active expert within The Human Rights Experts international expert witness organisation, contributing to analytical frameworks for reports on Mexico and Guatemala.

Full professional experience is available in the CV. Please email us to receive the detailed expert CV.

Publications

Available upon request and detailed in the expert CV.

Languages

• Spanish (Native)
• English (Fluent)
• Tzotzil (Conversational)

Religious Groups Expertise

All religious groups

Contact Email

info@thehuman-rights.com