Posted on 19 February 2011 by admin
It can be hard to write about the violence in Ciudad Juárez without using clichés. It’s known as “the world’s most dangerous city” or “the most lethal place on earth” at the “center of a cartel turf war” in which mass murders have become so common that only the most over-the-top massacres seem to illicit a mention in the US press. This, despite the fact that you can literally see Juárez from El Paso, Texas…and that US market demand for drugs is at the heart of the bloodshed.
In a militarized Drug War that has claimed more than 35,000 Mexican lives since December of 2006, no city has paid as high a price as Ciudad Juárez. However, criticizing the government’s militarization strategy can be dangerous.
The homes of 2 vocal activists were set on fire this week. Both had become active as a result of seeking justice for murdered family members.
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Posted on 19 January 2011 by admin
A 16 year-old girl was found dead in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico Tuesday with marks of sexual abuse. She’s the latest victim in a long-running string of unsolved rape-murders. The murder follows demonstrations last weekend to protest the climate of impunity surrounding hundreds of cases of murdered women. While these so-called “femicides” have been occurring in the state of Chihuahua since the mid ’90s, what sparked this weekend’s demonstrations were the recent murders of 2 women who were known for their activism on femicide cases.
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Activists held marches and vigils in at least 5 Mexican cities to call for justice in the cases of Marisela Escobedo, Susana Chávez, and hundreds of other women who have been murdered in Mexico.
Before Ciudad Juárez gained the reputation as the murder capitol of the world, it was infamous for its femicide cases. The rapes and murders of young women went unpunished in the border city across from El Paso, Texas…and spread to the state capitol of Chihuahua City. For Norma Ledezma, whose 16 year-old daughter was killed in 2002, there’s a reason the murders have not only continued, but increased:
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