( CNN ) -- Members of Mexico 's security forces were involved in the forced disappearances of more than 140 people during the country 's offensive against drug cartels , a human rights group says . A report published Thursday by Human Rights Watch paints a dim portrait of Mexican military and police forces , which the group says sometimes acted in conjunction with organized crime . Vanishing victims : The 'open wounds ' of Mexico 's drug war . Of the nearly 250 specific cases of forced disappearances that the human rights group reviewed from 2006 to 2012 , security forces are implicated in at least 149 , the report said . An accounting of the country 's war against drug gangs -- put into high gear by former President Felipe Calderon and inherited by President Enrique Pena Nieto -- reveals `` disastrous results , '' the human rights organization concluded . `` President Pena Nieto has inherited one of worst crises of disappearances in the history of Latin America , '' Jose Miguel Vivanco , the organization 's Americas director , said in a statement . Mexican Mother 's Day march spotlights search for missing . The report focused on Calderon 's time in office , and argues that his single-mindedness in fighting the powerful drug cartels led to an increase in human rights violations by officials . And the specific cases of forced disappearances the group investigated are just the tip of the iceberg , it said . In the northern state of Coahuila alone , officials reported nearly 2,000 disappearances between 2006 and 2012 . Calderon was n't the first to use the military to aid police in the fight against the drug cartels , but he ramped up the offensive and made it a centerpiece of his administration when he assumed office in 2006 . At the time , drug violence was spiraling out of control in some parts of the country , and there were fears the government was losing authority to the criminal groups as they branched out from smuggling into other organized crime . A number of the country 's most wanted drug traffickers were arrested or killed during Calderon 's administration , but the overall level of violence continued to rise , peaking in 2011 . Read more : Misconceptions about Mexico . Statistics indicate that violence may be declining . In 2012 , there were 20,568 homicides across the country , an 8.5 % decrease from 2011 . But the number of critics of Calderon 's offensive continue to swell . During his tenure , more than 47,500 drug-related deaths were reported before the government stopped releasing updated figures in early 2012 . Human Rights Watch estimates the figure to be more than 60,000 deaths . The organization first investigated the issue of rampant human rights violations by the military -- including forced disappearances -- in a 2011 report . Thursday 's report says the dozens of cases reviewed show that all of Mexico 's security forces -- the army , navy and police forces at the federal , state and local levels -- are connected to forced disappearances . Read more : Why is Mexico drug war being ignored ? The report is especially a black eye for Mexico 's navy , which is responsible for bringing down some of the top drug lords and is considered the most incorruptible of the military branches . But a concentration of disappearances using the same tactics , around the same time period , and in the same area , indicate the navy may have had a plan to commit abductions , the report claims . There is evidence that more than 20 people in Coahuila were arbitrarily detained by navy personnel in a two-month span and never heard from again , the report says . `` The common modus operandi in these cases suggests that these crimes may have been planned and coordinated , or at the very least could not have taken place without the knowledge of high-ranking navy officials , '' the report states . Blame also falls on Mexican prosecutors , who do poor jobs of investigating disappearances , often times mishandling evidence or not following up simple leads , the report says . Read more : Mexico 's invisible women . Military officials did not immediately comment on the report , but in the past have said that it keeps in constant contact with Mexico 's National Commission on Human Rights , and that less than 2 % of complaints have resulted in action by the commission . Human Rights Watch challenged the Pena Nieto administration to bring those responsible for the abuses to justice . The organization also highlighted the success of the state of Nuevo Leon , where the government has partnered with victims ' groups to fully investigate such disappearances . `` At first , both sides were distrustful , '' the report states . `` However , when prosecutors -- motivated by families to investigate and held accountable when they did not -- began to genuinely look into the crimes , they gradually began to win back the trust of the victims ' relatives . And families , in turn , began to collaborate more openly with prosecutors . ''
A new Human Rights Watch report criticizes Mexican security forces . The security forces are responsible for a number of forced disappearances , the report says . Score: 7 The study cites a bright spot in the state of Nuevo Leon .