Plaque for Marisela Escobedo (photo: Juan Carlos Solis)

Yet again, women fighting endemic impunity in the state of Chihuahua have come under threat.

Just yesterday, Melissa del Bosque of the Texas Observer wrote about the campaign of threats, intimidations, and assassinations aimed at the women of Chihuahua “who speak out against the deaths and disappearances in their communities”. Read her article to put the following in context.

This morning, a “narco-banner” appeared outside of a middle school in Ciudad Júarez. The 6-foot long banner contained a message aimed at Marisela Ortiz, co-founder of “May Our Daughters Return Home“, an organization which seeks justice for young women who have been murdered in Juárez in a string of killings known as femicides.

According to a report in the local “Diario de Juárez” newspaper, the banner stated: “If you want to keep supporting the fucking asshole lawyer Malu, little shit teacher Marisela Ortiz we’re going to fuck up your family starting with your son “el chapolin” Rowe who is already on our list. Sincerly, J.L.___________”.

Marisela Ortiz teaches at the middle school where the banner was hung and was alerted about its content via a phone call from the principal. “Malu” is the nickname of Ortiz’s organizational colleague, Maria Luisa García Andrade, who left Ciudad Juárez two days after part of her house was set on fire. García Andrade was supporting a protest encampment calling for the return of 3 abducted members of the Reyes Salazar family, which has lost 6 people in less than 3 years.

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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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The mother of a young woman murdered in Ciudad Juárez was herself killed in an event that has sparked condemnation from The United Nation’s Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, Amnesty International, and a range of organizations inside of Mexico.

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Marisela Escobedo may not have known just how right she was when she told reporters in May that she would fight for justice for her daughter until her last breath.

Escobedo was shot in the back of the head at point blank range the night of Thursday, December 16th, 2010 as she carried out a sit-in protest in front of the Governor’s Palace in Chihuahua City – capital of the state in which Ciudad Juarez is located.

She had been camped out in the park across the street from the palace for a week and a half, vowing not to move until authorities captured the confessed killer of her daughter, Rubí Frayre Escobedo.
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Marisela Escobedo may not have known just how right she was when she made the following statement earlier this year; “Until I draw my last breath, I’ll be fighting for justice for my daughter”.

The activist, also known as “Rubi’s Mom”, had been camped outside of the Chihuahua state governor’s office demanding justice for her daughter when she was shot in the head at point-blank range the night of Thursday, December 16th.

Escobedo became a recognized figure in the fight against impunity for murdered women after she investigated her own daughter’s murder and led police to the killer. Her daughter’s ex-boyfriend was arrested, confessed to the killing, and even took police to the place where he burned the remains of Rubí Frayre Escobedo…but his crime went unpunished after judges absolved him on a technicality.

Escobedo launched a campaign to demand justice, often in attention grabbing moves, like marching from Juárez to Chihuahua City wearing only a banner printed with her teenage daughter’s portrait and confronting state officials on camera and in public forums.

She was shot in the head at point blank range last night in front of the state government palace. The murder was caught on tape by security cameras but – as of yet – no arrests have been made.