Human rights abuses by military personnel have been increasing in Mexico and throughout Latin America, exacerbated by public security fears that involve the military in law enforcement and essentially nullify conventional conduct. But public security and human rights are not mutually exclusive concerns. U.S. Southern Command’s human rights division offers lessons learned for the Defense Department to play a larger role in developing military human rights programs worldwide while adequately addressing security needs. The military is not a permanent solution to epidemic crime, so it must encourage the restoration of police power and be a champion of police reform. Gaining trust for the military and police will be challenging in a region with a long history of police and military misuse of power.