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Jan. / Enero
2006
Added
Jan. 31,
2006
Bolivia
Women's
Rights
Leader
Casimera
Rodriguez,
Who Survived
Severe
Exploitation
As A
Domestic
Worker For
20 Years, Is
Named As
Bolivia’s
Justice
Minister
 |
|
Casimera
Rodriguez.
recently
named
as
Bolivia's
first
Native
woman
Justice
Minister,
receives
the
Methodist
World
Council's
Peace
Award,
honoring
her
struggle,
steadfast-ness,
leadership
and
faith
-
November,
2003.
Photo:
The
United
Methodist
church |
Cuatro
mujeres en
el gabinete
de Evo
Morales
Bolivia’s
new
president
Evo Morales
has named 4
women to his
Cabinet
Anthropologist
Alicia Muñoz
has been
named
minister of
the
Interior.
The first
woman ever
to occupy
that
position
will take
charge of
anti-drug
efforts, the
intelligence
services and
police
functions.
Celinda
Sosa, a
popular
social
movement
leader, has
been named
Minister of
Production
and
Micro-Enterprises.
The Health
Ministry
will be lead
by Nilda
Heredia, a
veteran
leader in
the movement
of social
equality who
was exiled
under former
dictator
Hugo Banzer.
A Quechua
Woman,
Casimira
Rodriguez,
Will Run the
Justice
Ministry.
Bolivia's
new Justice
Minister
Casimira
Rodriguez is
a Native
Quechua
woman who
knows very
well the
abuses
suffered by
the domestic
workers of
Latin
America.
Rodriguez
worked as a
domestic
from the age
of thirteen.
Born close
to the city
of
Cochabamba,
the only
daughter in
a very poor
family, she
began
working at a
very young
age, and
faced
endless
abuses from
her
employers.
Her anger at
those abuses
motivated
her to fight
for justice
for all
domestic
workers.
Rodriguez
organized a
union that
pushed for
passage of
the 2003
Domestic
Worker’s
Law.
This law
regulates
labor
rights, the
schedule of
work and
medical
insurance.
Although it
was approved
by the
Congress, to
date the law
has not been
completely
effective.
Justice
Minister
Casimira
Rodriguez…
|
"The
law
is
not
sufficient;
it
is
necessary
that
society
under-stands
and
assimilates
it
to
make
justice
fact." |
Minister
Rodriguez is
Secretary
General of
the Latin
American and
Caribbean
Confederation
of Domestic
Workers,
which has
member
branches in
14
countries.
She has also
presided
twice as
General
Secretary of
the
Organization
of Bolivian
Domestic
Workers.
In addition
to the four
women
ministers,
the cabinet
of Evo Moral
has 12
additional
ministers,
the majority
of whom are
Indigenous
people,
farmers,
union
leaders and
social
activists.
The
Cabinet's
composition
fulfills
promises
that
President
Morales made
to the
electorate
during his
presidential
campaign.
- CIMAC
Noticias
News for
Women
Mexico
City
Jan. 30,
2006
See also:
Traditional
gender norms
cultivated
under years
of sexism
produces a
continual
hostile
environment
for
indigenous
women.
In Bolivia,
many
indigenous
women are
forced to
work as
domestic
servants due
to the lack
of
opportunities
for those
who
primarily
speak
indigenous
languages
and adhere
to
traditional
norms. The
economic
conditions
of domestic
service are
often
brutal, and
this
demeaning
work is
often
plagued with
physical,
emotional
and sexual
abuse.
At the young
age of
thirteen,
Casimira was
subjected to
such
conditions.
Forced to
work without
pay for two
years,
Casimira
solely
relied upon
God's
strength...
She has
worked for
more than
twenty years
as a
household
worker and
has endured
hardships
that many
people could
not fathom.
In one
household,
she was
denied
access to
basic
services
such as
water and
was not
allowed to
speak.
- The United
Methodist
Church
Nov. 24,
2003
LibertadLatina
Congratulations,
Bolivia!
-
Chuck
Goolsby
Feb. 01,
2006
Added
Jan. 31,
2006
Bolivia
Mexico
Praises
Bolivian
Justice
Appointment
The Mexican
Associations
of Domestic
Employ-ees
Monday
applauded
the
appointment
of
Quechua
leader
Casimira
Rodriguez as
the new
Bolivian
Minister of
Justice.
The decision
of President
Evo Morales
was widely
praised in
Mexico where
women
described
the
appointment
as a
long-expected
opportunity
to stop the
mistreatment,
injustice
and
exclusion
suffered by
domestic
employees.
They
expressed
their
confidence
on the new
minister's
commitment
also
suffering
those
injustices
and now
called to
fight them.
...Encouraged
by the
Bolivian
example,
Mexican
domestic
employees
assure their
masters that
the
revolution
has also
started for
them.
-
Prensa
Latina
Jan. 30,
2006
See Also:
LibertadLatina
Workplace
Rape
Added
Jan. 31,
2006
North
Carolina,
USA
Sex Rings
Prey On
Immigrant
Women
Human
traffickers
trap
hundreds of
female
Latinas into
Prostitution
The corner
bungalow on
Weldon
Avenue looks
like any
other house
on the quiet
street in
northeast
Charlotte.
But for a
while in
2004, police
say, it
cloaked a
secret
brothel.
At night,
men, mostly
immigrants,
lined up
outside to
wait their
turn with
young Latino
women held
as sex
slaves. A
typical
session
lasted 15
minutes,
police say,
and cost
each
customer
about $30.
Some women
had sex with
dozens of
men a night.
Police shut
down the
brothel in
July 2004.
But
authorities
say many
more dot the
city.
In
neighborhoods
along North
Tryon
Street, The
Plaza and
South
Boulevard,
criminals
have turned
small,
unassuming
homes into
illegal
houses of
prostitution,
holding
women
against
their will.
Police shut
down two
last week,
but declined
to give
details
because of
ongoing
investigations.
Hundreds of
Latina women
are brought
in and out
of Charlotte
every week
to work at
more than a
dozen
brothels
connected to
sex-trafficking
rings on the
East Coast,
according to
FBI and
Charlotte-Mecklenburg
police
investigators.
Most of the
women are in
the country
illegally
and are
reluctant to
report the
crimes.
Often locked
in rooms
with few
clothes and
no
telephone,
they fear
being beaten
if they try
to escape.
"No one
thinks of
Charlotte
and human
trafficking,"
said Capt.
Bruce
Bellamy,
head of the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg
police vice
and
narcotics
unit. "But
it's a far
greater
issue than
people
realize."
The sex
trafficking
rings exist
because of
the influx
of illegal
immigrants
in the
Carolinas,
FBI
officials
said. More
than 300,000
immigrants
are
estimated to
live
illegally in
North
Carolina.
Most are men
who left
their wives
and families
to find work
in the U.S.
"It's about
supply and
demand,"
said FBI
agent Kevin
Kendrick,
who heads a
local
campaign to
help victims
of human
trafficking.
- The
Charlotte
Observer
North
Carolina
Jan. 29,
2006
See Also:
Charlotte -
The Federal
Bureau of
Investigation
in Charlotte
estimates
thousands of
victims are
trafficked
into North
Carolina
each year
for forced
labor and
prostitution.
- The
Charlotte
Observer
Jan. 22,
2006
LibertadLatina's
Analysis of
the
impunity and
prostitution
in Langley
Park, MD,
where
brothels
earn many
tens of
thousands of
dollars
weekly.
Shut down
Langley
Park's
mega-brothels!
Aug. 16,
2005
String of
Latino
brothels
found in
Virginia,
Maryland
suburbs:
police say
women come
from New
York
- Washington
Post
Sep. 21,
1994
Added
Jan. 31,
2006
Peru
Criminal
Process
Begins
Against
Former
Presidential
Candidate
for Child
Sexual
Trafficking
The chief of
the 37th
Penal Court
of Lima,
Edwin
Terrones,
has
initiated
criminal
proceedings
against
Marco
Antonio
Arrunátegui,
a former
presidential
candidate
and the
leader of
the Proyecto
Pais
(Project
Nation)
political
party.
He is
accused of
having known
that two
girls with
whom he
maintained a
sexual
relationship
at his
exclusive
apartment
were minors.
Prosecutors
consider the
two teenage
girls to be
victims of
commer-cial
sexual
exploit-ation
of children
(CSEC), and
allege that
the girl’s
parents were
aware of
this fact.
Arrunátegui
was first
arrested in
October 2005
on
allegations
of the
pimping of
minors.
The Public
Prosecutor
for Minors
released him
for lack of
evidence.
Prosecutors
later opened
a case
against
Lizeth Leiva
Rueda, the
presumed
head of a
national
child
prostitution
network, who
had
allegedly
put the two
girl victims
in contact
with
Arrunátegui.
- CPN Radio
- Peru
Jan. 30,
2006
Added
Jan. 31,
2006
Mexico
More and
More, Women
Risk All To
Enter U.S.
Tucson -
Today, as
many as 35
percent to
45 percent
of those
crossing the
border
illegally
are women.
Twenty years
ago, fewer
than 20
percent of
the people
crossing
illegally
were women.
The nation's
roiling
immigration
debate
weighs
little on
the minds of
the women
who cross
here. Nor do
the dangers
of the
crossing
itself,
which they
know
routinely
include
sexual
harassment
or assault.
As the
borders have
become
tighter, the
coyotes have
become more
violent and
desperate,
law
enforcement
officials
and
immigration
advocates
say.
Many women
are raped,
robbed and
abandoned at
the first
sign of
trouble and
are given
amphetamines
to keep them
moving
faster at
night.
Since most
women do not
come forward
to report
the crimes -
because they
do not speak
the language
and are
illegal,
ashamed and
scared of
deportation
- few hard
numbers
exist. But
there is
ample
anecdotal
information
to bolster
the claim.
Maria
Jimenez, 29…
The
coyote, an
American,
tried to
sexually
assault her
and her
sister-in-law,
she said. "I
told him
no," Ms.
Jimenez
said. "I
started to
cry." He
left her
alone, but
robbed her
of the $300
in her
pocket.
She tried
again a
month later
carrying
drinks with
electrolytes
but no money
in her
pocket. She
made it,
joining her
husband in
Tucson,
where she
got a job at
a restaurant
and had a
baby,
Stephanie.
-
New York
Times
Jan. 10,
2006
Added
Jan. 31,
2006
Mexico
Nuevo Laredo
Prison
Supervisor
Is Suspended
For Alleged
Sexual Abuse
Of Female
Inmates
The
Solicitor
General for
the state of
Tamaulipas,
Mercedes of
the Carmen
Guillén
Vicente, has
announced
that Antonio
Acuña Cantú,
supervisor
of the
Cereso II
prison in
Nuevo
Laredo, is
the focus of
a criminal
investig-ation
for alleged
sexual abuse
against two
female
prisoners,
known as
‘Sandra
Elizabeth’
and
'Araceli.'
The
investigation
began on
January 3,
2006, when
the two
women
prisoners
presented a
formal
complaint to
prosecutors.
The
prisoners
have
presented
their
testimony in
the case.
In the next
several
days, the
prosecutor
general’s
office will
report the
results of
the case.
results.
The State
Commission
of the Human
rights
(CEDH) is
also
participating
in the case.
Sandra
Elizabeth
had been
sentenced to
two years
four months
for robbery,
and Araceli
is serving
time for
‘crimes
against
health.’
- CIMAC
Noticias
News for
Women
Mexico
City
Jan. 27,
2006
Added
Jan. 30,
2006
El
Salvador
Eight
Underage
Nicaraguan
Teens Are
Rescued From
Forced
Prostitution
Desarticulan
en El
Salvador
banda que
prostituía
niñas.
San Salvador
- A gang
that ran a
web-based
prostitution
operation
has been
broken up by
the National
Civil
Police.
The
delinquents
had
kidnapped
eight girls,
ages 15 and
16 from
Nicaragua,
and had
smuggled
their
victims over
blind spots
in the
border with
El Salvador.
The gang
also
enslaved
Salvadoran
victims.
According to
the police
report, the
victims were
detained at
a residence,
were dressed
in sexy
clothing,
and were
stripped
naked to be
shown to
'clients.'
They were
forced to
engage in
sexual acts,
and they
were
photographed.
The photos
were shown
on the
gang's web
site, which
was used to
advertise
the
brothel's
'services.'
Marco Tulio
Lima,
director of
the frontier
division of
the National
Civil
Police....
|
"We
have
sufficient
evidence
to
prove
the
involvement
of
the
suspects
in
these
crimes." |
- NTX, Via
El Porvenir
Jan. 30,
2006
Added
Jan. 30,
2006
Guatemala
Police
Discover
Child Porn
Ring In
Eastern
Guatemala
Detectan en
Guatemala
red de
pornografía
infantil.
Police in
eastern
Guatemala
have shut
down a child
pornography
ring that
exploited
girls
between 11
and
16-years-of-age
in the
creation of
sex videos.
Authorities
obtained
seven video
tapes that
show images
of
apparently
drugged
minors
engaged in
sexual
activity
with adults.
The victims
were
students at
an institute
run by the
head of the
departmento
(state) of
Jutiapa,
where the
sale of the
illicit
tapes was
first
detected.
Estuardo
Sarceño, an
official wth
the police
of Jutiapa,
explained
that foreign
buyers
motivate
child
porn-ography
activities
here because
of the large
amounts of
money
involved.
Police in
Spain
recently
shut down an
international
child
pornography
organization
that
operated in
about 40
countries,
including
Guatemala.
Gaps in the
law have
allowed an
increase in
child
prostitution
nationwide.
In places
such as
Guatemala
City’s
historic
district,
child
pornography
is openly
sold by
street
vendors.
Guatemala
ratified the
Convention
on the
Rights of
the Child in
1990, but
had failed
in its
attempts to
modify its
legal codes
to protect
children
from sexual
exploitation.
-
LaPrensaLatina.mx
Jan. 30,
2006
Added
Jan. 30,
2006
Ecuador
President
Targets
Human
Trafficking
Alfredo
Palacio,
president of
Ecuador, has
declared his
commitment
to combat
the illegal
trafficking
of people as
a top
priority of
his
administration.
The campaign
against the
illegal
traffic of
people will
be lead by
First Lady
Maria
Beatriz
Paret,
through the
National
Institute of
the Child
and Family
(INNFA).
The
Government
declared
through a
decree
that...
|
"A
high-priority
policy
of
the
Government
of
Alfredo
Palacio
is
to
combat
the
illegal
trafficking
of
migrants,
child
pornography,
and
the
labor
and
sexual
exploitation
/
prostitution
of
girls,
boys,
adolescents
&
women.” |
The
International
labor
Organization
(ILO) had
previously
reported
that in the
year 2003,
more than
5.000
children and
youth were
subjected to
forced
prostitution
in Ecuador.
- Terra
Actualidad -
EFE
Jan. 30,
2006
Added
Jan. 30,
2006
Mexico,
United
States
Mexican
Official
Arrested For
Smuggling
Migrants
The U.S.
Border
Patrol has
arrested a
Mexican
immigration
agent
Francisco
Javier
Gutierrez,
who was
allegedly
trying to
help a group
of
undocumented
migrants
sneak into
the United
States, the
Mexican
government
said Sunday.
Gutierrez
had been
fired on
corruption
allegations
last year
but returned
to his job
after
winning a
court case
in which he
claimed he
had been
unfairly
dismissed,
according to
the National
Immigration
Institute.
- Associated
Press
Jan. 30,
2006
See Also:
Aprehenden a
un agente de
migración
por trafico
de personas
en EU.
-
Criterios.com
Jan. 29,
2006
Added
Jan. 30,
2006
Texas,
USA
Man Is
Arrested For
Filming
Child Porn
Brownsville
-
25-year-old
Jesus De
Leon was
arrested
Monday and
is behind
bars,
accused of
videotaping
himself
having sex
with a child
and an
animal.
Police say
his
girlfriend
was looking
for a video
tape taken
at Christmas
when she
found a tape
that showed
De Leon
forcing a
nine-year-old
girl to
perform oral
sex. Police
say De Leon
recorded the
sex act.
Investigators
say De Leon
admitted to
having
sexual
relations
with the
little girl
on three
different
occasions.
- KGBT TV4
Harlingen,
Texas
Jan. 30,
2006
Added
Jan. 29,
2006
Brazil
Raids Across
Brazil Free
4,000 Slaves
During 2005
More than
4,000 slaves
were freed
by the
Brazilian
authorities
last year,
according to
new
government
figures. But
campaigners
fear
hundreds of
thousands
more still
live and
work in
near-slavery.
The
Brazilian
employment
ministry
said its
officials
raided 183
farms, the
highest
number since
SWAT-style
teams were
introduced
10 years
ago. In
total 4,133
workers were
freed during
2005.
"What we
know about
is the tip
of the
iceberg,"
said Father
Ricardo
Rezende, an
anti-slavery
campaigner
and author
of Stepping
Out of the
Shadow:
Slavery for
Debt in
Contemporary
Brazil, the
first study
of
modern-day
slavery in
Brazil.
Although
slavery was
officially
abolished in
Brazil in
1889, Father
Rezende said
the official
estimate of
just 25,000
slaves in
Brazil
[today]
could be way
off the
mark: "The
real figure
could be
250,000."
- The
Guardian -
UK
Jan. 16,
2006
Added
Jan. 29,
2006
Arkansas,
USA
Latina
Mother
Smothers Her
Three
Children
Paula
Eleazar
Mendez,
43,has been
accused of
smothering
her three
young
children.
She left
notes that
officials
say could
help
determine
what led to
the
killings,
and her
priest said
Sunday that
she had
expressed
"tremendous
remorse."
- Associated
Press
Jan. 28-29,
2006
Added
Jan. 29,
2006
Florida,
USA
Three
Guatemalan
Men Are
Arrested For
Pimping Two
Asian
Sisters,
Ages 11 And
12.
Investigators
said Alfredo
Perez,
Miguel
Herrera,
Manuel
Lopez-Tino,
all from
Guatemala,
have been
charged in
Orange
County,
Fla., Friday
on suspicion
they ran a
child
prostitution
ring out of
their
apartment,
offering
clients sex
with 11 and
12-year-old
girls,
according to
Local 6
News.
The alleged
child porn
operation
was busted
after a tip
from a
neighbor led
police to
the girls.
Orange
County
Sheriff's
Lt. Matt
Irwin...
|
"I
can
tell
you
that
mom
and
dad
knew
that
both
of
these
girls
were
sexually
active
with
adult
men."
"...You
are
talking
an
11-year-old
who
said
she
had
sex
more
than
100
times
with
a
couple
of
different
people." |
- WKMG TV
Central
Florida
Jan. 28,
2006
Added
Jan. 29,
2006
Guatemala
Getting
Away With
Murder:
Guate-mala’s
Failure to
Protect
Women
 |
|
A
Mayan
woman
and
girl
walk
on a
public
road
carrying
a
machete
in
Guatemala.
-
Hastings
Law
School |
The below
excerpts are
from a
report by
the Hastings
College of
Law of the
University
of
California.
This
information
describes
some of the
root causes
of the worst
environ-ment
for gender
violence
(rape and
murder)
among all of
the nations
of the
Americas in
2006.
Excerpts:
A 36-Year
Legacy of
Violence
Against
Women
During the
[36 year
Civil War,
ending in
1996],
agents of
the state,
including
members of
the
Guatemalan
military and
the Civil
Defense
Patrols,
used sexual
violence as
a weapon of
war
systematically
and with
complete
Immunity.
Sexual
assaults
were so
widespread
in the
[Mayan]
highland
combat zones
that one
local
official
commented
that it
would be
difficult to
find a Mayan
girl of
eleven to
fifteen who
had not been
raped.
A generation
of young men
forcibly
recruited to
the army
were
indoctrinated
in the use
of sexual
violence as
a weapon.
While the
Peace
Accords are
long-since
signed, the
war against
women
seemingly
continues,
with the
attitudes
and
practices of
violence
against
women
developed
during the
conflict
persisting
nearly ten
years later.
Guatemalan
Law and
Crimes of
Sexual
Violence
Rape
occurring
within
marriage is
currently
unrecog-nized
as a crime.
Therefore,
spouses and
live-in
partners
cannot be
prosec-uted
for such an
act. This
serves to
reinforce
the idea
that women
have the
obligation
to sexually
satisfy
their
husbands/
partners.
An offender
is released
from
criminal
respons-ibility
or from
penalties
for a crime
of sexual
violence
[rape] if he
marries his
victim, as
long as she
is twelve
or older.
The stated
legislative
end of this
practice is
the
restoration
of a woman’s
honor.
Instead, it
sentences
a girl or
woman to a
lifetime
with her
rapist.
*
Report - Web
Page
*
Report - PDF
File
- University
of
California
Hastings
College of
the Law -
Center for
Gender &
Refugee
Studies
November
2005
Added
Jan. 28,
2006
Guatemala
Guatemala
Human Rights
Commission
-USA
Analyses
Femicide
 |
Closeup
of a
community
mural
scene,
showing
a
1980's
military
massacre
of
women
and
children
in
the
Mayan
town
of
Comalapa,
Guatemala.
From
a
short
film
by
Ian
Ramsey
North
|
The
Guatemalan
Human Rights
Commission-USA
has
developed a
campaign to
end the
brutal
violence
against
women in
Guatemala.
The
Guatemalan
government
is doing
little to
stem the
violence, so
the
international
community
must make
its voice
heard...
The rule of
law in
Guatemala is
steadily
weakening.
The judicial
system
barely
functions;
the police
force is
underpaid
and under
trained.
Perhaps the
very horror
and the
astounding
scope of
[femicide]
murders
explain the
silence and
inaction of
the
Guatemalan
government
and the
international
community.
Hilda
Morales, of
Guatemala’s
No Violence
Against
Women
Network...
|
“Everyone
knows
about
the
murdered
women
of
Ciudad
Juárez,
but
it’s
as
if
the
case
of
the
murdered
women
of
Guatemala
were
being
hushed
up.’’ |
The US
embassy [in
Guatemala],
for one, has
not
expressed
particular
concern.
Most women
are raped
and tortured
before being
killed, and
their
mutilated
bodies are
left in
public
places, to
be found by
members of
their
communities.
While about
a third of
the murders
are related
to domestic
violence,
investig-ations
suggest a
less
personal
pattern in
the other
cases.
Twenty-three
police
officers
have been
linked to
ten of the
murders,
fueling the
suspicion of
many
Guatemalan
analysts
that
clandestine
security
forces
linked to
the police
and to the
army are
murdering
women with
such
brutality to
foment
political
instability
and a
climate of
terror. This
intimid-ation
may lead
women to
retreat from
participation
in public
life, gained
with so much
effort, and
limit
themselves
again to the
private
world,
abandoning
their
indispensable
role in
national
development.
The Guatemalan government, by omission, is complicit in the
terror. The
low priority
the
govern-ment
gives the
issue of
femicidio
is reflected
in the scant
resources it
allocates to
investigators
and the
almost
complete
absence of
prosecution.
- "For
Women's
Right to
Live
Campaign"
Guatemalan
Human Rights
Commission/USA
Washington,
DC
2005
LibertadLatina
Note:
Over
500
women
and
young
girls
were
brazenly
murdered
in
Guatemala
in
2005.
Almost
nobody
has
been
prosecuted.
The
rate
of
female
murders
is
10
times
higher
than
the
rate
facing
femicide-burdened
Juarez
City,
Mexico.
The
Guatemalan
Femicide
represents
a
tragic
convergence
of
many
social
ills.
These
'ills'
include:
|
The ongoing legacy of the mass rape and murder of women during the 1980's-1990's Civil War, when 50,000 women were murdered and most Mayan girls over age 7 were raped by government forces.
The
influence of out of control gangs, or maras, & other
criminals who run sexual slavery networks, who rape,
kidnap and traffic not just in local women and girls
but who also attack many of the thousands of Central
and South American women and girls who must cross
Guatemala while trying to reach 'economic and gender
safety' in the U.S.
The existence of historically traditional apathy toward the plight of the mostly Mayan women and girls victims, who have been violated in Latin American culture for centuries as a 'matter of tradition.' |
This
slow-motion,
largely
anti-Indigen-ous
and
misogynist
femicidal
massacre
must
be
responded
to
aggressively
by
people
of
moral
conscience
everywhere.
-
LibertadLatina
Chuck
Goolsby
January 28,
2006
Added
Jan.
28,
2006
Guatemala
Peasants
Wounded In
Confrontation
With
Landowners
Over The
Unsolved
Murder Of A
Farm Labor
Leader.
Protesters
at Nueva
Linda Farm
Shot and
Wounded.
Injusticia y
Represion en
Nueva Linda.
- Guatemalan
Human Rights
Commission/USA
Washington,
DC
Jan. 22,
2006
Added
Jan.
28,
2006
Guatemala
Forensic
Anthro-pologists
Receive
Threats For
Their Work
To Exhume
Murder
Victims
Fredy
Peccerelli,
head of the
Guatemalan
Forensic
Anthro-pology
Foundation
(FAFG), his
brother
Gianni
Peccerelli,
his sister
Bianka
Peccerelli
Monterroso
and brother
in law Omar
Giron de
Leon have
all received
death
threats in
recent days.
They may be
in grave
danger.
Fredy
Peccerelli
and other
members of
the FAFG
have been
subjected to
numerous
death
threats as a
result of
their work
to
exhume mass
graves of
those killed
by the
Guate-malan
military
and their
civilian
adjuncts in
the early
1980s. In
2002 the
Inter-American
Commission
on Human
Rights
(IACHR)
ordered that
FAFG stafff
receive
police
protection.
However,
such
protection
has been
inadequate,
and at times
non-existent.
Please send
appeals to
arrive as
quickly as
possible:
- expressing
grave
concern for
the safety
of the
director and
staff of the
FAFG.
- Guatemalan
Human Rights
Commission/USA
(And -
Amnesty
Int'l)
Jan. 13,
2006
Added
Jan.
28,
2006
Chule,
United
States
U.S.
Returns
Daughter Of
Chilean
Ex-Dictator
Agosto
Pinochet to
Argentina.
Washington,
DC - The
eldest
daughter of
former
Chilean
dictator
Augusto
Pinochet has
been sent
back to
Argentina,
two days
after she
arrived in
the United
States after
fleeing tax
charges in
Chile, a
U.S.
Homeland
Security
official
said. Shortly
after
withdrawing
her request
for
political
asylum in
the United
States,
Lucia
Pinochet,
60, was sent
to Argentina
-- the last
country she
was in
before
coming to
the United
States.
She
and
other
family
members
were
indicted
Monday
on
charges
of
tax
fraud,
including
failing
to
declare
bank
accounts
overseas,
and
using
false
passports.
- CNN
Jan. 28,
2006
Added
Jan.
27,
2006
Guatemala,
El Salvador
Central
American
Nations
Fight Youth
Gang
Violence.
 |
|
Guatemalan
President
Oscar
Berger |
Suman 350
muertos por
violencia en
Guatemala.
Guatemala
Guatemala's
wave of
violence
will be hard
to control,
stated the
nation's
president,
Oscar
Berger
in a recent
speech.
According to
President
Berger, 350
people have
been killed
during
January,
2006 alone.
During a
recent press
conference
President
Berger said
that youth
gangs
(maras) are
responsible
for the
violence.
President
Berger...
|
"There
is a
declared
war.
The
maras
are
better
organized
[than
state
security].
The
rivalry
between
gangs
is
causing
this
cruel
massacre
of
our
Guatemalan
brothers.
It
is
very
difficult
to
control." |
According to
reports by
rescue
squads and
the National
Civil
Police,
during the
weekend of
January
21-22, 2006,
21 people
were
murdered,
most of them
members of
the "Mara
18" gang.
In response
to the
violence,
President
Berger is
planning to
create
15,000 new
jobs for
youth.
Government
officials
will also
meet with
leaders of
the rival
gangs to try
to negotiate
an end to
the
violence.
President
Berger...
|
"Our
society
should
respond
by
offering
help
to
these
youth,
who's
maladjust-ment
causes
such
inhuman
acts." |
El Salvador
Conservative
Salvadoran
president
Elías
Antonio Saca
recently
held a press
conference
to announce
the arrests
of 9 of the
15 suspects
in the
January 22,
2006 murders
of 7 people
at a soccer
match.
Gang members
had ordered
6 soccer
players and
fans to lie
on the
ground, and
had shot
them at
point blank
range.
The seventh
victim was a
gang member,
who was
apparently
stabbed to
death by
angry
onlookers in
reaction to
the
massacre.
President
Saca...
|
"I
want
to
say
to
the
Salvadoran
People
that
my
fight
is
against
this
type
of
crime.
I
have
never
thought
to
let
our
guard
down
nor
declare
a
'vacation'
in
regard
to
the
maras.
We
must
continue
to
apply
the
'Super
Hard
Fist'
to
them." |
In August,
2004 the
National
Civil Police
developed a
tough policy
of
crack-downs
and long
jail
sentences to
fight gang
violence,
known as the
"Super Hard
Fist."
- La Opinion
Digital
Los Angeles,
CA
Jan. 24,
2006
Added
Jan.
27,
2006
Dominican
Republic
Trafficking
In Persons
Is A Common
Practice
Tráfico de
personas es
una práctica
común en la
República
Dominicana.
Santo
Domingo –
Human
trafficking
is a common
practice in
the
Dominican
Republic, on
par with
corruption
and drug
trafficking
and the open
sexual
exploitation
of children,
all driven
by the huge
profits to
be made, and
despite the
legal
penalties.
Some 400 sex
trafficking
networks
have
transported
500,000
Dominican
women into
sexual
slavery in
Europe
[especially
Holland],
South
America, and
the
Caribbean.
Male
prostitutes
have
recently
become a new
commodity in
high demand
by these
networks.
-
DiarioDigitalRD.com
Jan. 21,
2006
LibertadLatina
Note:
Driven
by
severe
poverty,
the
Dominican
Republic
has
more
women
in
prostitution
overseas
that
any
other
Latin
American
nation.
An
estimated
one
third
of
these
women
were
trafficked
with
false
offers
of
legitimate
jobs.
A
number
of
other
women
travel
with
the
consent
of
their
husbands,
who
are
aware
that
their
wives
will
be
working
in
prostitution.
Colombia
is
in
second
place
for
international
sex
trafficking
among
Latin
American
nations,
with
an
estimated
35,000
women
transported
out
of
the
country
into
prostitution
annually.
- Chuck
Goolsby
Jan. 27,
2006
Added
Jan.
27,
2006
Kentucky,
USA
Two Men
Are
Sentenced
For Running
Brothel
Louisville -
Mario
Alberto
Duque-Salinas,
23, of
Venezuela,
and Pedro
Estrada-Cortez,
20, of
Mexico have
been
sentenced to
prison for
operating a
house of
prostitution
and
employing
undocumented
immigrant
prostit-utes
to work
there.
Thomas B.
Russell,
U.S.
District
Court Judge,
sentenced
Duque-Salinas
to 15 months
imprison-ment.
Estrada-Cortes
was
sentenced to
one year and
one day
imprisonment.
Both men
will be
deported
from the
U.S. after
serving
their prison
terms.
- U.S. ICE
Jan. 26,
2006
Added
Jan.
27,
2006
Italy
Famed
Italian
Priest Is
Held For
Rape
Italian
police have
arrested
Father
Francesco
Bisceglia,
one of the
country's
best-known
priests on
charges of
raping a nun
at his
religious
centre in
southern
Italy.
A
40-year-old
nun alleges
that she was
repeatedly
raped by the
priest and
others at
his
sanctuary in
Calabria, on
the toe of
the Italian
peninsula.
The priest,
known as
Padre
Fidele, has
built his
reputation
on his work
in Africa
and with
people on
the margins
of Italian
society:
prisoners,
prostitutes
and
immigrants.
- BBC News
Jan. 25,
2006
Added
Jan.
26,
2006
Chile
Chilean
Indigenous
Woman
Leader's
Rights Are
Violated
 |
|
Indigenous
Mapuche
leader
Juana
Calfunao |
Violan
derechos
humanos de
lideresa
indígena
chilena.
Rosa Juana
Calfunao,
(Juana)
the ‘Lonko’
(trad-itional
chief) of
the
Indigenous
Mapuche
community of
Juan
Paillalef,
was arrested
on January
4, 2006 and
was tried
and
convicted
the next day
for the
crime of
'public
disorder.'
She sits in
jail
awaiting
sentencing.
When Juana's
mother was
very young,
she was also
jailed for
defending
her
community
from ongoing
injustices.
History
Although
their
community
holds legal
land title
to 120
hectares,
wealthy
non-Native
large-landowners
have
continuously
stolen that
land from
them.
The
community
originally
received
legal title
to its
traditional
lands in
1913 under
the
leadership
of Chief
Juan
Paillalef.
Jose Luis
Paillalef
later held
the post of
Chief
following in
his father’s
foot-steps.
During the
period when
land-owners
were most
active in
stealing
their land,
Jose Luis’s
wife was
raped, and
then
mysteriously
disappeared.
Jose Luis
was jailed
at Valdivia
prison, and
died from
abuses that
he was
sub-jected
to there.
In 1950,
Juana's
mother
assumed the
role of
Chief. She
was arrested
by General
Agosto
Pinochet’s
military,
after the
1973
Coup-de-E’tat,
and was held
in the same
prison,
Temuco,
where her
daughter
sits today.
Juana's
mother was
tortured for
2 years.
Her children
were left
motherless,
and they
were
politically
persecuted.
In 1983,
Juana
assumed the
position of
Chief.
For
generations,
Juana, her
family and
her
community
have been
subjected to
maltreatment
and arrests.
On May 12,
2000 Juana
was
arrested,
along with
her husband
and
18-year-old
son.
They were
all brutally
beaten,
causing
Juana to
miscarry.
Juana’s most
recent
arrests, in
2001, on
December 21,
2005 and on
January 4,
2006 all
involved her
efforts, as
Chief, to
recover
stolen
Mapuche
land.
Juana and
other
members of
her
community
were
brutally
beaten on
December
21st, and
again on
December 23,
2005, on
which date
police shot
Juana's
horse while
she was
riding it
(see
photo on the
Mapuche web
site.)
For leading
these
protests,
Juana has
now been put
in
preventive
detention by
magistrate
Maria Elena
Level Moral
for being a
“danger
to society”
and
“the leader
of a gang.”
Juana
declared a
hunger
strike on
January 10,
2006...
|
“Until
the
authorities
admit
to
all
of
the
[human
rights]
violations
that
they
have
committed
against
our
community." |
Juana will
be sentenced
on February
13, 2006.
- CIMAC
Noticias
News for
Women
Mexico
City
Jan. 25,
2006
See also:
Mapuche
Nation web
site in
English.
Jan.
26,
2006
Latest
News -
Chief Juana
Calfunao has
been freed
from jail,
but must
appear in
court for
sentencing
on February
13, 2006.
Juana
Calfunao
en Libertad.
Sin embargo,
deberá
comparecer
el
13 de
febrero de
2006
ante el
Tribunal de
Garantía
Temuco.
From
Amnesty-USA's
2005 report
on Chile:
Chile -
2005:
Throughout
the year
Mapuche
community
leader Juana
Calfunao
Paillalef
and her
family
suffered
repeated
intimidation,
including
death
threats and
an apparent
arson attack
on Juana
Calfunao’s
home, in the
context of
their
community’s
dispute with
local
land-owners.
From Human
Rights
Watch:
Mapuche
absueltos de
cargos de
terrorismo.
During 2004,
twelve
members of
Chile’s
largest
indigenous
community,
the Mapuche
were tried
on terrorism
charges for
crimes
committed in
the context
of land
conflicts
with private
owners and
forestry
companies...
The police
reportedly
mistreat and
insult
inhabitants
of Mapuche
communities,
including
women,
children,
and the
elderly,
when police
make arrests
or conduct
searches.
Complaints
of such
abuse are
investigated
by military
tribunals
that have a
near-perfect
record of
ruling in
favor of
police.
LibertadLatina
Note:
Those
charged
in
this
case,
under
harsh
anti-terrorism
laws
from
the
era
of
dictator
Agosto
Pinochet,
were
acquitted.
Added
Jan.
26,
2006
Latin
America
Trafficking
Ring
Exploiting
Brazilian
Women Is
Broken Up In
Spain
Detenidos 42
miembros de
red de
explotación
sexual en
Canarias.
Madrid -
Police have
announced
the arrests
of 42 people
in the
Canary
Islands,
members of a
sex
trafficking
gang that
illegally
smuggled
Brazilian
women and
forced them
into
prostitution,
drug running
and arms
smuggling.
Those
arrested
include the
traffickers:
twelve
Spaniards,
seven
Colombians,
two
Brazilians,
an Indian
and an
Argentinean;
and nineteen
mostly
Brazilian
women
victims, who
have been
charged with
illegal
entry into
Spain.
The people
in charge of
the
organization
are accused
of crimes
against the
rights of
foreign
citizens and
against the
rights of
workers,
relative to
prostitution.
The
investigation
began in
July, 2005,
and
scrutinized
known
brothels on
Grand Canary
island.
- Reuters
Jan.
26, 2006
Added
Jan.
26,
2006
Latin
America
Evo and
Michelle:
Indigenous
and Women
Gain Power?
Evo y
Michelle:
¿Indigenas y
mujeres al
poder?
The
recent
elections
of Michelle
Bachalet as
president of
Chile and
Evo Morales
as president
of Bolivia
mark a
turning
point for
both Latin
American
women and
Indigenous
peoples in
Latin
America.
Both women
and
Indigenous
peoples were
excluded for
centuries
from the
right vote,
a privilege
originally
reserved
only for
white
land-owners.
Both groups
were also
excluded
from the
ability to
be elected
to high
office.
Access to
education
has been the
key to
empowering
today's
generation
of leaders
with the
skills to
articulate
visions for
their
societies,
making it
possible,
for the
first time,
for women
and
indigenous
candidates
to win
election to
high office.
- CIMAC
Noticias
News for
Women
Mexico
City
Jan. 24,
2006
Added
Jan.
26,
2006
Mexico
Police
Arrest
Suspected
Serial
Killer Of
Elderly
Women
 |
|
Juana
Barraza
Zamperio
|
Cae
mataviejitas
tras
consumar
otro de sus
crímenes; es
mujer.
- La
Jornada
Mexico
City
Jan. 26,
2006
Mexico City
- Police
have
arrested
Juana
Barraza, 48,
who matches
the profile
of a
believed
serial
murderer
known as
"the Old
Lady Killer"
- except the
suspect is a
woman, not a
transvestite
as
authorities
previous-ly
believed.
Mexico City
Attorney
General
Bernardo
Batiz said
Thursday
that Juana
Barraza, 48,
has been
linked to
the deaths
of at least
10 elderly
women in
Mexico City,
raising
hopes that
the
capital's
notorious
"Little Old
Lady Killer"
was finally
in custody.
Authorities
say they
have enough
evidence to
believe that
Barraza is
the
"Mataviejitas"
who has been
terrorizing
elderly
residents
here for two
years.
Barraza's
finger-prints
matched
those left
at the
scenes of a
total of 10
killings and
one
attempted
murder.
-
Associated
Press
Jan. 26,
2006
Added
Jan.
26,
2006
Mexico
Government
Changes
Mind,
Cancels Map
Distribution
for Migrants
Mexico will
suspend its
plan to
distribute
maps to
migrants
wanting to
cross the
U.S. border
illegally,
but an
official
said
Thursday the
decision was
not made
because of
American
pressure.
Miguel Angel
Paredes,
spokes-man
for the
federal
Human Rights
Commission,
said the
decision was
made because
human rights
officials in
border
states
expressed
concern that
the maps
would show
anti-immigrant
groups where
migrants
likely would
gather.
- Associated
Press
Jan. 26,
2006
Added
Jan.
25,
2006
Texas,
USA
Bar Owner
Convicted Of
Forcing
Central
American
Women Into
Slavery
Houston -
United
States
Attorney
Chuck
Rosenberg
and
Assistant
Attorney
General Wan
Kim, Civil
Rights
Division of
the
Department
of Justice,
today
announced
the
conviction
of Maximino
Mondra-gon,
57, also
known as “El
Chimino” for
his
involvement
in the
trafficking
of Central
American
females for
compelled
service at
Houston area
bars and
restaurants
through
force, fraud
and
coercion.
Mondragon
pleaded
guilty to
both counts
alleged in
the
indictment.
He now
stands
convicted of
conspiracy
to hold
persons in
conditions
of peonage -
involun-tary
servitude in
payment of a
debt - and
recruiting,
holding and
providing
persons for
labor and
services.
- U.S.
Attorneys
Office
Southern
District of
Texas
Jan. 23,
2006
Added
Jan.
25,
2006
Mexico
Mexican
Commission
To Give
Migrants
Maps
The National
Human Rights
Commission,
a
government-funded
agency with
independent
powers,
said Tuesday
it will
distribute
at least
70,000 maps
showing
highways,
rescue
beacons and
water tanks
in the
Arizona
desert to
curb the
death toll
among
illegal
border
crossers.
The commission denied the maps -- similar to a
comic-style
guide
booklet
Mexico
distributed
last year --
would
encourage
illegal
immigration.
Officials
said the
maps would
help guide
those in
trouble find
rescue
beacons and
areas with
cell phone
reception.
The maps
will also
show the
distance a
person can
walk in the
desert in a
single day.
- Associated
Press
Jan. 24,
2006
Added
Jan.
25,
2006
North
Carolina,
USA
The FBI Is
Launching A
New Effort
To Raise
Awareness Of
Human
Trafficking.
Charlotte -
The Federal
Bureau of
Investigation
in Charlotte
estimates
thousands of
victims are
trafficked
into North
Carolina
each year
for forced
labor and
prostitution.
In the
Southeast,
where nearly
a quarter of
the
trafficking
occurs,
about 61
percent of
victims are
from Latin
America.
About 35
percent of
the victims
are forced
to work on
farms and 29
percent in
prostitution.
The push is
funded by
$15 million
in the
Trafficking
Victims
Protection
Reauth-orization
Act, signed
by President
Bush on Jan.
10. The law
also
provides
assistance
and
immigration
benefits to
trafficking
victims,
including
issuing
special
visas, so
victims can
remain in
the country
legally
without the
fear of
being sent
back home.
- Charlotte
Observer
Jan. 22,
2006
Added
Jan.
25,
2006
Honduras
AIDS In
Honduras:
Subtle
Killer,
Brazen
Threat
- Dallas
Morning News
Jan. 05,
2006
Added
Jan.
24,
2006
Mexico
 |
|
Deputy
Angélica
de
la
Peña
Photo:
La
Cronica
|
99% Of
Domestic
Workers In
Mexico Are
Adolescents
And Girls -
40,000 Are
Under Age
14.
El 99 por
ciento de
las
trabajadoras
domésticas
del país son
adolescentes
y niñas; 40
mil tienen
menos de 14
años.
Mexico City
- Deputy
Angélica de
la Peña of
the
Democratic
Revolutionary
Party (PRD),
president of
the Special
Commission
on
Childhood,
Adolescents
and Families
in the
Chamber of
Deputies
(Lower
House),
indicated in
a press
conference
that
99% Of all
domestic
workers In
Mexico are
adoles-cents
and girls
who do not
study in
school, and
who are
vulnerable
to sexual
abuse in
their
work-places.
Deputy de la
Peña stated
that 40,000
of these
workers are
under
14-years-of-age,
children who
depend upon
their
employers
for shelter
and food.
They have no
set list of
work tasks,
and no work
schedule.
Domestic
work is
considered
to be the
least
respected,
the most
poorly paid
and the
least
regulated
form of
work.
Although the
Mexican
Constitution
states that
children
must be
provided
with food,
healthcare,
education
and
recreation
for their
integral
develop-ment,
and
prohibits
youth under
age 14 from
working, the
reality is
that Mexican
society is
violating
that sacred
concept.
Mexico is
also a
signatory to
the
International
Labor
Organization's
Convention
182,
prohibiting
the worst
forms of
child labor.
Faced with
these
realities,
Deputy de la
Peña is
proposing
that the
Mexican
Congress
modify
Article 175
of Mexico's
employ-ment
Law, to
comp-letely
eliminate
child
domestic
work.
In addition,
the Deputy
would like
to add an
Article 21
to the Law
for Child
and
Adolescent
Protection,
to
specifically
defend
children
from forms
of work that
subject them
to sexual,
physical or
psycho-logical
harm.
- La Cronica
de Hoy
Jan. 22,
2006
See Also:
Added
Jan.
24,
2006
Argentina
Police
Rescue 30
Dominican
Women
Trafficked
Into
Prostitution
In
Patagonia
Descubren
red de
prostitución
que llevaba
dominicanas
a la
Argentina.
Buenos Aires
- Thirty
women, the
majority
from the
Dominican
Republic,
have been
rescued by
Argentine
police after
being forced
for several
months to
prostitute
them-selves
in
nightclubs
in the
Patagonia
region of
southern
Argentina.
Several
underage
Argentine
girls were
also
rescued.
A police
investigation
had begun 1
year ago,
resulting
from
complaints
by relatives
of the
missing
women.
After
several
months,
police
discovered a
sexual
slavery
network.
The police
arrested two
nightclub
owners
during the
operation,
in the
cities of
Comodoro
Rivadavia
and Caleta
Olivia,
located in
the
provinces of
Chubut and
Santa Cruz,
respectively.
Those
arrested are
accused of
operat-ing
prostitution
ring,
deprivation
of freedom
and
corruption
of minors.
The women
were
attracted by
news-paper
announce-ments
that offered
good wages
for domestic
work in
southern
Argentina.
When when
they
arrived,
traffickers
stole their
pass-ports,
restricted
their
freedom of
move-ment
and forced
them into
prostitution.
- Clave
Digital
Dominican
Republic
Jan. 15,
2006
See Also:
Indagan
situación
dominicanas
en
Argentina.
The
Dominican
Government
has
instructed
its embassy
in Argentina
to
investigate
the
conditions
facing
Dominican
women
migrants who
have been
enslaved in
Argentina.
- El
Nacional
Dominican
Republic
Jan. 24,
2006
Rescatan 30
dominicanas
y argentinas
que era
explotadas
sexualmente.
- Clave
Digital
Dominican
Republic
Jan. 24,
2006
Inminente
citación a
los
empleados y
funcionarios
municipales.
Pimps,
government
officials,
police
officers &
municipal
inspectors
are being
investigated
in regard to
the
enslavement
of 30
Dominican
women.
LibertadLatina
Crisis-Argentina
Added
Jan.
24,
2006
Ecuador
Fourteen-Year-Old
Girl Goes On
Local
Television
To Denounce
Her Rapist -
The Town
Mayor; Her
Mother
Is
Threatened.
Alcalde de
cantón
manabita
acusado de
violación.
Tosagua
County -
province of
Manabí - The
mother of a
14-year-old
rape victim
has come
forward to
denounce the
local mayor
for rape and
witness
intimidation.
The victim
stated
emphatically
during a
statement
broad-cast
on 'TC
Tele-vision'
that…
|
"The
mayor
of
Tosagua,
Jose
Francisco
González,
raped
me."
"He
told
me
that
me
he
was
going
to
help
me
with
my
homework.
After
awhile
he
began
to
touch
me.
I
wanted
to
get
out
of
there,
but
he
locked
the
door." |
The mother
of the
victim has
filed a
criminal
complaint
against the
mayor.
In response,
victim's
mother
[alleges]
that the
mayor’s
lawyer
Marcel
Alcívar,
threatened
her...
|
“Your
freedom
depends
on
this
document,
this
is
the
unique
thing
that
saves
to
you,
your
signature
[retracting
the
complaint],
because
at
this
moment
I
can
put
you
in
jail." |
The victim's
mother is
therefore
holding the
mayor’s
lawyer
personally
responsible
for anything
that may
happen to
her or her
extended
family.
- CRE
Ecuador
Jan. 19,
2006
Added
Jan.
24,
2006
Texas,
USA Mexico
U.S. ICE
Removes More
Than 2,000
Migrants
From Texas
During Dec.,
2005
U.S.
Immigration
and Customs
Enforcement
(ICE)
announced
today that
their San
Antonio
office
deported
2,445
non-criminal
migrants
during
December
2005 under
the new
Secure
Border
Initiative
(SBI).
SBI is a
two-month-old
program
announced by
Homeland
Security
Secretary
Michael
Chertoff
during his
recent visit
to Texas.
One SBI
aspect
allows ICE
to quickly
remove
“other than
Mexican”
(OTM)
undocumented
immigrants
to their
home
countries
under an
“expedited
removal”
process.
Those
immigrants
deported in
December had
been
lawfully
ordered to
leave the
United
States by a
federal
immigration
judge; they
were removed
to the
following
countries:
Mexico, El
Salvador,
Honduras,
Nicaragua,
Argentina,
Bolivia,
China,
Panama,
Peru,
Guatemala,
Costa Rica,
Brazil,
Burma,
Colombia,
Dominican
Republic,
and
Pakistan.
- U.S. ICE
Jan. 19,
2006
Added
Jan.
23,
2006
Mexico
U.S. Border
Agent Is
Arrested For
Sexual
Assault of
Migrant
Women and
Girl.
Pablo
Rosario, 31,
an El Paso
Border
Patrol
agent, has
been
indicted on
charges of
civil rights
violations
and making
false
statements
in
connection
with
allegedly
sexually
molesting a
mother and
her
15-year-old
daughter who
were
detained
while
crossing
over the
U.S.-Mexican
border in
March 2004.
In addition,
In October
2004,
Rosario
allegedly
touched the
breasts and
buttocks of
a detained
Honduran
woman.
Rosario
released all
of the
sexual
assault
victims
without
processing
them,
according to
the
indictment.
When
asked about
the incident
by federal
agents,
Rosario lied
about
detaining,
abusing and
releasing
the
migrants,
the
indictment
alleges.
Manuel E.
Mora, the
FBI special
agent in
charge in El
Paso...
|
"We
commend
the
Border
Patrol
for
their
prompt
action
in
bringing
such
a
serious
matter
to
our
attention." |
- El Paso
Times
Jan. 21,
2006
Added
Jan.
23,
2006
Mexico
Feminist
Group Is
Harassed By
Police In
The City Of
Veracruz For
Offering To
Shelter
Zapatista
Leaders On
National
Tour.
The
La Jornada
newspaper in
Mexico City
has a report
from the
Coordinator
of Civil
Society in
the Orizaba
region of
Veracruz
state, of
aggression
by the
authorities
against the
Cihuatlahtolli
Feminist
Collective,
which
advocates
for sex
workers and
AIDS
prevention,
and works
against
anti-woman
violence.
On Jan. 5,
2006, the
Collective
set up an
information
table in
Orizaba's
Castillo
Park, with
sound
equipment
and condoms
to
distribute
for free.
They were
surround-ed
by 15
municipal
police, who
photo-graphed
and
threatened
them before
cutting off
the
electricity
to their
sound
system.
The
Cihuatlahtolli
Feminist
Collective...
|
"This
is
the
climate
that
municipal
authorities
are
seeking
to
impose
ahead
of
the
eventual
visit
of
Delegate
Zero[Marcos,
leader
of
the
Indigenous
Zapatista
Movement]." |
The
Collective
has offered
to open its
Casa de
la Mujer
(Women's
House),
which
serves as a
shelter for
battered
women, to
Marcos and
his fellow
Zapatistas
when their
national
"Other
Campaign"
tour (an
alternative
to the
current
presidential
campaign)
arrives.
-
WW4Report.com
Jan. 19,
2006
See
also:
Zapatista
"Other
Campaign"
starts
series of
town-hall
like
meetings
across
Mexico.
- NYC
Indymedia
Jan. 04,
2006
Added
Jan.
23,
2006
Bolivia
Evo Morales
-
From
Tiwanaku to
the
Presidential
Palace
 |
|
President
Evo
Morales
at
the
Presidential
Palace
on
Inauguration
Day.
Photo:
Indymedia
Bolivia |
Evo Morales
- De
Tiwanaku al
Palacio de
Gobierno.
The tears of
President
Juan Evo
Morales
Ayma, upon
receipt of
the symbols
of
presidential
power,
reflect
exactly what
this event
signifies
for an
Indigenous
man who has
been a labor
leader and a
politician,
and who
comes from
the heart of
the Bolivian
people.
Equally, the
minute of
silent by
President
Morales, to
honor fallen
heroes known
and
anonymous,
carries with
it the
historical
memory of
the peoples
who make up
this land.
- Indymedia
Bolivia
Jan. 22,
2006
Excerpt from
Evo Morales'
Inaugural
Speech...
|
”The
500
years
of
Indian
resistance
have
not
been
in
vain.
From
500
years
of
resist-ance
we
pass
to
another
500
years
in
power.
We
have
been
condemned,
humiliated
...
and
never
recognized
as
human
beings.
We
are
here
and
we
say
that
we
have
achieved
power
to
end
the
injustice,
the
inequality
and
oppression
that
we
have
lived
under.” |
-
Bolivian
President
Evo Morales
-
inauguration
Translation
-
BBC News
Jan. 22,
2006
 |
|
President
Evo
Morales
Addresses
the
Public
on
Inauguration
Day
at
the
Plaza
of
Heroes.
Photo :
Indymedia
Bolivia |
- Indymedia
Bolivia
Jan. 22,
2006
See also:
Bolivia's
Morales
pledges to
work with
U.S.
-
Reuters
Jan. 22,
2006
Bolivian
President
Evo Morales
said he
would rule
"with all
and for all"
and would
not seek
revenge for
the past.
And while he
accused
foreigners
of looting
Bolivia's
national
resources
since the
Spanish
conquest,
Morales
repeated his
pledge to
respect
property
rights.
- CNN
Jan. 22,
2006
Will
Washington
Engage
Morales?
-
Inter-Press
Service
Jan. 19,
2006
LibertadLatina
Commentary:
For 500
years, the
sexual &
economic
exploitation
of Native
women and
children
across the
nations of
the Americas
has been
based first
and foremost
on a racist
colonial
concept.
That
colonial
view
involves the
idea that
Indigenous
people are
literally
inferior to
European
races.
Even today
in the 21st
Century,
modern
nations
believe that
it is quite
alright to
continue the
16th Century
'traditions'
of the rape
and plunder
of human
bodies and
land that
Spanish,
English,
Portuguese,
Dutch and
French
conquerors
used to take
control of
the Americas
after 1492.
The recent
election of
Evo Morales
Ayma as
President of
Bolivia
represents
the result
of 500 years
of efforts
to 'return
to normal'
for Native
Peoples.
Those who
want to see
an end to
the sexual &
economic
exploitation
of all women
and children
in the
Americas
cannot
ignore or
deny the
fact that
Indigenous
peoples must
be allowed
to govern
themselves,
and attain,
finally,
real
protections
against
crime and
discrimination
that they do
not today
enjoy, even
in Bolivia
and
Guatemala,
where they
are the
majority
population.
No more
mass-rape,
no more
massacres,
no more
plots to
overthrow
demo-cratic
governments,
no more
blocking of
the World
Court and
other legal
avenues to
seek justice
for those
who were
raped &
murdered!
We have
been through
enough of
that selfish
denial of
basic human
rights,
justice &
democracy.
We celebrate
the election
of Evo
Morales as a
critical
turning-point
on the path
to freedom
for all
peoples in
the Americas
who face and
resist
racist and
sexist
impunity.
End impunity
now!
-
LibertadLatina
Chuck
Goolsby
Jan. 23,
2006
Added
Jan.
23,
2006
Native
Latin
America
Indigenous
Leaders
Celebrate
Morales
Victory
Mexico City
- The
election of
indigenous
leader Evo
Morales as
president of
Bolivia is
being hailed
by native
leaders from
throughout
the region
as a "sign
of hope" for
all
impoverished
and
discriminated
indigenous
peoples in
Latin
America.
Guatemalan
Nobel Peace
Prize
laureate
Rigoberto
Menchú
said that
Morales has
brought "a
refreshing
wind" for
all
aboriginal
peoples.
For his
part, the
president of
the powerful
Confederation
of
Indigenous
Nationalities
of Ecuador (CONAIE),
Luis Macas,
said that
Morales'
victory is a
historical
landmark
unlike
anything
seen "since
the time of
Spanish
colonialism."
-
Inter-Press
Service
Jan. 19,
2006
Added
Jan.
23,
2006
Wisconsin,
USA
Green Bay -
Juan Nieto,
25,
convicted in
the
abduction,
rape and
burning of a
Green Bay
woman in
August 2003
has been
sentenced to
70 years in
prison.
He was the
second man
sentenced to
prison for
the attack.
Gregorio
Morales, 29,
sentenced
last month
to a 50-year
prison term.
Authorities
said they
abducted a
woman from a
nightclub
parking lot,
took her to
a rural
area, raped
her, doused
her with
lighter
fluid and
set her on
fire before
leaving her
for dead.
She survived
and managed
to get to a
nearby house
for help.
- CBS 5
Green Bay
Jan. 21,
2006
Added
Jan.
23,
2006
California,
USA
Oakland
- A teenage
girl who was
attacked and
brutally
raped in
Berkeley's
Aquatic Park
in May, 2005
testified in
court Friday
that she
felt
helpless and
scared for
her life
during the
sexual
assault.
The
testimony
came during
a
preliminary
hearing for
Israel
Bustamonte,
age 25, who
is facing 23
felony
counts
associated
with the
rape and
beatings of
four women
in Berkeley
and Oakland
between
September
2004 and May
2005.
Bustamonte
is charged
with rape,
sodomy,
forcible
oral
copulation,
kidnapping,
robbery and
dissuading a
witness.
He faces
life in
prison if he
is convicted
on all
charges.
- The
Oakland
Tribune
Jan. 21,
2006
Added
Jan.
23,
2006
Ohio, USA
Oxford -
Mario Gomez,
age 21, is
accused of
raping the
15-year-old
girl while
threatening
her with a
knife,
according to
police.
Gomez was
charged with
one count of
rape and is
being held
at the
Butler
County jail.
-
ChannelCincinnati.com
Jan. 22,
2006
Added
Jan.
23,
2006
California,
USA
Aaron
Suarez, 34,
of Modesto
has been
arrested on
suspicion of
resisting
arrest, rape
of a drugged
victim,
unlawful sex
with a minor
under the
age of 16
and
committing
lewd acts
with a
minor, among
other lesser
charges.
- The
Modesto Bee
Jan. 22,
2006
Added
Jan.
22,
2006
Bolivia
President-Elect
Evo Morales
Receives
Indigenous
Mantle of
Ruling
Authority in
Ancient Inca
City of
Tiwanaku.
 |
|
Forty thousand members of Bolivia's Indigenous community attended a ceremony for president-elect Evo Morales at the ancient Inca city of Tiwanaku.
Photo -
IndyMedia Bolivia |
Recibe Evo
Morales
"bendición"
de dioses
andinos.
Evo Morales
receives the
blessings of
the Andean
Gods.
- Quechua
Network
Jan. 21,
2006
El
presidente
electo Evo
Morales
Ayma,
recibió de
los Maykus
el bastón de
mando, en el
lugar
sagrado del
pueblo
boliviano
“El
Tiwanaku”.
- IndyMedia
Bolivia
Jan. 21,
2006
Bolivian
President-elect
Evo Morales,
dressed in a
bright red
tunic worn
only by
important
pre-Incan
priests,
promised
Saturday to
do away with
vestiges of
this
country's
colonial
past in a
spiritual
ceremony at
an ancient
temple on
the eve of
his
inauguration.
- CNN
Jan. 21,
2006
Added
Jan.
21,
2006
Chile
Appeals
Court Panel
Votes 13 -5
to Strip
Former
Dictator
Pinochet of
Immunity
From
Prosecution
Former
dictator
Augusto
Pinochet has
been
stripped of
immunity
from
prosecution
on charges
involving 59
cases of
torture and
kidnapping
at a secret
detention
center where
hundreds of
dissidents
were held -
including
President-elect
Michelle
Bachelet and
her mother.
The
president
of
the
Santiago
Court
of
Appeals,
Juan
Escobar,
said
the
justices
voted
13-5
to
lift
Pinochet's
immunity.
Bachelet
and
her
mother,
Angela
Jeria,
were
arrested
15
months
after
the
1973
coup
led
by
Pinochet
and
taken
to
Villa
Grimaldi,
where
both
were
tortured.
Villa
Grimaldi
was
one
of
the
most
notorious
detention
centers
used
by
Pinochet's
feared
security
services.
Friday's
ruling
came
at
the
request
of
Judge
Alejandro
Solis,
who
said
he
decided
to
seek
Pinochet's
trial
after
a
report
by
an
independent
commission
report
on
torture
and
illegal
imprisonment
at
Villa
Grimaldi.
- Associated
Press
Jan. 20,
2006
Added
Jan.
21,
2006
New
Mexico, USA
Cell
Phones
Donated to
Assist
Domestic
Violence
Victims
 |
|
Chris Archuleta of the Construction Industries Division presented 50 emergency cell phones to Morning Star House Director Gwen Packard on Dec. 21 so that victims of domestic violence will have access to 911.
Photo: Charmaine J. John |
Santa Fe -
The state
Construction
Industries
Division of
the New
Mexico
Regulation
and
Licensing
Depart-ment
donated a
total of 85
used cell
phones to
two American
Indian
domestic
violence
prevention
shelters in
Albuquerque
and Shiprock
for 911
emergency
calls.
Mary Ellen
Herrera, a
Morning Star
House Inc.
board
member...
| “As a former victim of domestic violence, these donated phones mean so much to me and other survivors.” “When I was being abused I didn't have access to a phone or even money to call for help.” |
Gwen
Packard,
director
of
Morning
Star
House
for
the
past
nine
years…
|
''New Mexico ranks third in the nation for domestic violence-related homicides."
''In Albuquerque, there is a population of 51,000 Native Americans that we serve. Morning Star responds to over 500 new survivors of domestic violence each year. These phones will keep many of our clients safe from physical abuse and give them a better chance of protecting themselves and their children.'' |
- Indian
Country
Jan. 18,
2006
Added
Jan.
21,
2006
Mexico
High
Rates of
Family and
Street
Violence
Plague
Mexico City
Alta
violencia
intrafamiliar
en 43
colonias del
DF.
The
Secretariat
of Social
Development
of the
government
of the City
of Mexico
has released
a study that
evaluated 66
of the most
violent
neighborhoods
of the
Mexican
capitol.
The study
was
performed by
16 survey
teams.
Juvenile
delinquency
and domestic
violence
exist at
very high
levels in
these
'colonias.'
The survey
team
identified a
sub-set of
43
neighborhoods
facing very
severe
problems of
family
disintegration
and “serious
deterior-ation
of the
quality of
life for
inhabitants.
Women and
children are
the groups
most
severely
impacted by
violence in
these areas.
The 43 worst
zones of
violence are
located
within the
city sectors
of:
Iztapa-lapa,
Gustavo A.
Log,
Cuauhtémoc,
Alvaro
Obregón,
Coyoacán and
Venustiano
Carranza.
- CIMAC
Noticias
News for
Women
Mexico
City
Jan. 19,
2006
Added
Jan.
20,
2006
Guatemala,
United
States
A Haverford
College
Student
produces a
Short Online
Film on the
Aftermath of
the
Guatemalan
Genocide
|
|
|
Closeup
of a
mural
scene
of a
military
massacre
of
women
and
children
from
the
Mayan
town
of
Comalapa.
Film:
Ian
Ramsey
North
Producer:
dfelsen |
Film
description:
"Haverford
College
student Ian
Ramsey North
visited
Guatemala to
look at how
the country
and people
are coming
to grips
with
Guatemala's
brutal past
when
hundreds of
thousands of
people were
massacred
during the
civil war."
- Ian Ramsey
North
Jan. 12,
2006
 |
|
Mayan
War
Widows
Activist
Carmen
Cumez |
LibertadLatina
Film Summary
A short film
by Haverford
College
student Ian
Ramsey North
has provided
insight into
how
Indigenous
Mayan
Guatemalans
are coping
with the
legacy of
genocide in
their
nation.
Ramsey North
interviewed
Carmen
Cumez,
founder of
the National
Coordination
of
Guatemalan
Widows (Conavigua)
- who's
efforts have
lead to a
promise by
the national
government
to make
payments of
$4 million
per year to
victims of
state
violence
during the
civil war.
Ms. Cumez
described
how her
husband
Felipe's
last words
to her in
1981 were,
"Good-bye
forever.
Take care of
the
children."
Felipe was
then lead
away by
soldiers to
by murdered.
Ms. Cumez
hopes to one
day locate
her
husband's
body, "to
give him a
Christian
burial."
Approximately
200,000
mostly Mayan
victims were
murdered,
mostly
during
between 1978
and 1983.
Approximately
50,000 of
those
victims were
women.
The work of
the Forensic
Anthro-pology
Foundation
of Guatemala
(FAFG), whch
works
closely with
Conavigua
was also
filmed.
An FAFG team
was followed
as they
excavated
the body of
a victim
who's hands
were still
tied behind
their back.
The body was
found on an
abandoned
military
base.
Excavations
around the
country are
continuing.
A FAFG
volunteer
explained
forensic
evidence
regarding a
woman
victim, who
was forced
to her knees
and was then
shot in the
head.
Evidence of
her torture
was also
apparent.
FAFG has
found 4,000
bodies, and
has
identified
60% of them
through
teeth and
clothing
being
recognized
by family
members.
The group
does not
access to
forensic DNA
technology.
Many
military and
political
officials
continue to
deny the
facts of the
genocide in
Guatemala.
Ian Ramsey
North's
short film
accurately
portrays the
trauma that
continues to
haunt the
survivors of
genocide in
post-war
Guatemala.
-
LibertadLatina
Film Summary
by
Chuck
Goolsby
Jan. 21,
2006
See also:
"Over the
past four
decades
state
sponsored
terror left
200,000
people dead,
...200,000
orphans, and
40,000
widows.
According to
the Truth
Commis-sion,
the army was
responsible
for 626
massacres."
-
Global
Visionaries
The
[Guatemalan]
Maya are
insisting on
a proper
accounting
of what many
consider an
attempted
genocide by
the army and
its
paramilitary
allies. They
are also
claiming a
place at the
political
table and
reasserting
the validity
of Mayan
culture and
languages.
- Business
Week
Jan. 15,
2001
Added
Jan.
20,
2006
Mexico
Three
Member Court
Panel,
Including
Two Women
Justices,
Rescind
Woman's
Divorce,
Insist that
She Return
to Her
Abusive
Husband
Niegan
amparo a
mujer que
padeció
maltrato.
Mexico City - In an act that condemns an abused woman to
undergo even
more
domestic
violence, a
family court
has refused
an appeal of
the denial
of a divorce
order for
Diana Pardo,
that
protects her
from having
to return to
her abusive
home.
A judge
recently
denied an
appeal by
Ms. pardo,
submitted on
January 5,
2006,
requesting
the
over-turning
of a late
2005
decision to
rescind her
divorce
decree from
a man who
had severely
abused her
for 13
years.
On September
27, 2005, in
a judicial
panel in the
Superior
Court of
Justice,
three
magistrates:
Carmen Aída
Bremauntz,
María
Magdalena
Díaz Román,
and Óscar
Gregorio
annulled the
decision of
a previous
judge which
granted Ms.
Pardo a
divorce.
According to
Rocío
Corral,
director of
the
Margarita
Magón Center
for
Assistance
for Women
(CAM), the
court
nullified
the
complaint of
domin-ation,
physical
aggression,
and verbal,
emotional
and sexual
abuse
because
psycho-logical
proof is not
sufficient,
and because
the couple
had
conceived a
daughter,
who is now
six years
old.
From the
courts point
of view, the
fact that
the couple
had a child
6 years ago
casts doubt
on the
validity of
a spousal
abuse
allegation
in the
present
time.
The
divorce
order is now
invalidated,
as are the
original
court’s
orders for
alimony,
child
support &
visitation.
Ms. Pardo
may re-apply
for divorce
in the case
until 2007.
Rocío Corral
of CAM:
"The
most
worrisome
aspect
of
this
case
is
that
the
legal
system
has
denied
Diana
access
to
justice
and
a
life
free
from
violence,
as
is
provided
for
in
the
1995
Inter-American
Convention
on
the
Prevention,
Punishment
and
Eradication
of
Violence
Against
Women
." |
Rocío Corral
stated that
CAM plans to
take the
case to the
Ibero-American
Court of
Justice.
- CIMAC
Noticias
News for
Women
Mexico
City
Jan. 18,
2006
See also:
The
1995
Inter-American
Convention
on the
Prevention,
Punishment
and
Eradication
of Violence
Against
Women.
-
Organization
of American
States
LibertadLatina
Note:
We note that
female
justices
participated
in this
ruling,
which is a
grave
setback for
women facing
domestic
violence in
Mexico.
Female
Supreme
court
justices
also ruled
11 years ago
that marital
rape was
valid n
Mexico.
That ruling
was finally
overturned
by a
different
set of
justices on
the same
Supreme
Court in
late 2005.
- Chuck
Goolsby
Jan. 21,
2006
11 años
avaló
Suprema
Corte
violación
conyugal
(For 11
years the
Supreme
Court of
Mexico
permitted
marital
rape.)
- CIMAC
Noticias
News for
Women
Mexico
City
Nov. 16,
2005
Added
Jan.
20,
2006
Mexico
Governor
Permits 13
Year Old
Girl to
Marry,
Freeing
Boy-friend
From Jail
Otorgan
dispensa a
indígena
menor de
edad para
casarse, en
Veracruz.
Jalapa,
Veracruz
state – A
13-year-old
Indigenous
girl has
received
dispen-sation
from
Veracruz
state
governor
Fidel
Herrera
Beltrán to
marry her
17-year-old
boyfriend,
who sits in
jail after
being
denounced to
police by
the girl’s
mother for
statutory
rape.
According to
local Native
traditions,
the girl,
who is
referred to
by the
initials
ENC, was
already of a
marriageable
age.
State law
places the
age of
majority at
18 for
marriage,
but
dispensation
may be
sought from
the
governor.
Governor
Herrera
Beltrán gave
his
permission,
and
announced
that he
plans to be
a witness at
the wedding.
In May,
2005, ENC
decided to
leave home
and move in
with her
boyfriend,
identified
by the
initials
PNC.
PNC was
accused of
statutory
rape by the
girl’s
mother, was
arrested,
and has been
in jail
since
October 31,
2005.
Rufino
Gómez, of
the state
Human Rights
Commission,
assigned to
the Veracruz
Office of
Indigenous
Affairs:
|
“In
the
isolated
[Zongolica]
mountain
region
the
customs
are
very
practical.
What
seems
unacceptable
or
strange
to
city
people
should
be
accepted,
as
they
are
the
traditions
of
an
Indigenous
culture.” |
According to
these
traditions,
in the
Zongolica
mountain
communities
it is quite
common for
[indigenous]
girls of age
11, 12, 13,
14 or 15 to
marry.
The governor
must first
give his
dispen-sation
to allow the
nuptials, as
occurred in
this case.
- La Jornada
Mexico
City
Jan. 20,
2006
Added
Jan.
20,
2006
United
States
Opposites
Attract For
Immigration
Lobbying
Effort
Often on
opposite
sides of
political
battles, the
U.S. Chamber
of Commerce
and two
major labor
groups
announced
Thursday
their
alliance for
a bill to
give legal
status to
millions of
illegal
immigrants.
The groups'
combined
lobbying
effort is
designed to
influence
the Senate
when it
takes up the
immigration
issue in
coming weeks
and put
pressure on
President
Bush to
reaffirm his
backing for
a temporary
guest worker
visa
program.
Bush's guest
worker plan,
which does
not offer
permanent
residency,
was blocked
last month
by House
conser-vatives,
who instead
passed a
bill to
crack down
on illegal
immigration
by, among
other
things,
classifying
the nation's
11 million
illegal
immigrants
as felons.
The 9
million-member
AFL-CIO has
said past
guest worker
programs led
to
exploitation
of
"vulnerable
workers" and
is not part
of the
group.
Many
conservative
House
members have
said they
will
negotiate
with the
Senate on
temporary
worker visas
only after
the
administ-ration
has shown
progress on
border
security.
- Houston
Chronicle
Jan. 20,
2006
Added
Jan.
19,
2006
United
States,
Okinawa,
Pacific
Region
Pacific U.S.
Marines Take
a Strong
Stand
Against
Human
Trafficking
 |
|
USMC
Pacific |
Camp Foster,
Okinawa,
Japan - In a
series of
official
messages
begin-ning
last year,
the under
secretary of
defense and
service
chiefs
directed
that all
members of
the
uniformed
service
complete
aware-ness
training in
trafficking
in humans.
In a recent
message,
Brig. Gen.
Joseph V.
Medina, the
deputy
com-mander
of Marine
Corps Bases
Japan,
directed
that
com-manders
and managers
ensure their
Marines,
sailors,
civilian
Marines and
contractors
be trained
no later
than Jan.
30, 2006.
The Marine
Corps takes
a "zero
tolerance"
approach to
trafficking
in humans.
Trafficking
in humans is
a worldwide
problem and
is not
specific to
Marines on
Okinawa.
Southeast Asia is one part of the world where Trafficking in
Persons is a
large
contributor
to the $13
billion-per-year
slave trade,
which makes
Marine
Forces
Pacific
particularly
important,
explained
Col. William
Gillespie,
Marine Corps
Bases Japan
inspector.
- USMC
Pacific
Public
Affairs
Jan. 19 2006
Thank you,
Marines!
- Chuck
Goolsby
Jan. 19 2006
Added
Jan.
18,
2006
Texas,
USA
Sex
Trafficker
Pleads
Guilty
Salvador
Fernando
Molina
Garcia told
investigators
that his
wife became
a prostitute
against his
wishes after
they
illegally
crossed the
border and
came to
Houston.
But the
woman he
identified
as his wife
said he
lured her to
his
apartment in
Mexico,
raped her
and forced
her into
prostitution
here.
Molina
Garcia
pleaded
guilty
Tuesday to a
sex-trafficking
conspiracy
charge in
the court of
U.S.
District
Judge
Vanessa
Gilmore.
The
37-year-old
man is one
of six
Mexican
nationals
indicted on
charges
accusing
them of
smuggling
young women
and girls
across the
border and
forcing them
to work as
prostitutes
in Houston
bars. The
organization
used
violence,
threats and
deception to
recruit
victims and
hold them in
prostitution,
prosecutors
said.
- Houston
Chronicle
Jan. 18 2006
Added
Jan.
18,
2006
New York,
USA
 |
|
Nixmary
Brown
Photo:
NY1 |
Abuse Victim
Nixmary
Brown Will
Be Buried
Today
As mourners
prepare to
say farewell
Monday to
the little
girl whose
killing
shocked the
city,
Nixzmary
Brown's
mother
speaks
publicly for
the first
time.
In a
jailhouse
interview
recorded in
several
published
reports this
morning,
Nixzaliz
Santiago
describes
her
7-year-old
daughter's
dying
moments and
her pleas
for help.
Santiago
says
Nizmary's
stepfather
threw the
little girl
into a
freezing
cold shower
because he
believed she
had stolen
his yogurt
and jammed
his computer
printer.
Santiago
says she
begged Cesar
Rodriguez to
stop, but he
wouldn't.
It was in
that
bath-room
that police
believe the
little girl
was dealt
the final
blow that
would
eventually
kill her.
- NY1 News
Jan. 18 2006
New York
City - The
Administration
for
Children's
Services
(ACS)
announced
sweeping
changes
within the
agency and
disciplinary
action for
staff
members
involved in
the child
abuse case
of Nixzmary
Brown...
Two
supervisors
and one
caseworker
will be
suspended
without pay
effective
immediately
pending an
investigation
into the
Brown case.
- NY1 News
Jan. 18 2006
Added
Jan.
18,
2006
Washington,
DC
Court Action
and Press
Conference
Student
Attorneys
from the
Inter-national
Human Rights
Law Clinic
at American
University
Washington
College of
Law (WCL)
will file a
lawsuit on
behalf of
Ms. Mabel
Gonzalez, a
Paraguayan
domestic
worker who
is owed more
than $13,000
in unpaid
wages, plus
damages, by
her
diplomatic
employers.
Jan. 18,
10:30 a.m.
U.S.
District
Court
333
Constitution
Ave.,
Washington,
DC.
- Rachael
Farber,
- Juliette
Niehuss
Student
attorneys
Jan. 16 2006
Added
Jan.
18,
2006
The
Philippines
Carmen - The
United
States on
Tuesday
refused a
Philippine
request to
hand over
four Marines
charged with
rape,
provoking
anti-American
protests in
the capital
and the
Muslim
south, where
U.S. troops
began annual
counter-terrorism
training of
Filipino
soldiers.
In a
letter
to
the
Philippine
govern-ment,
the
U.S.
Embassy
invoked
the
bilateral
Visiting
Forces
Agreement,
which
allows
large-scale
U.S.
training
in
the
country,
and
vowed
to
keep
the
Marines
in
its
custody
during
an
upcoming
trial.
- Associated
Press
Jan. 17 2006
Added
Jan.
18,
2006
Mexico
Mexico City
- Mexico
demanded on
Tuesday that
Washington
investigate
the fatal
shooting of
another
undocumented
migrant by
U.S.
security
agents,
adding fuel
to a
smoldering
dispute over
illegal
immigration.
Mexican
Ismael
Segura,
23,
was
fatally
shot
in
the
chest
by
security
agents
in
Texas
on
the
weekend
after
he
resisted
arrest
and
tried
to
flee
in
his
car,
the
second
killing
of a
Mexican
migrant
by
U.S.
security
forces
in
recent
days,
the
Mexican
government
said.
Segura
was
badly
injured
and
died
later
in
hospital.
Mexico
was
already
reeling
at
the
death
of
another
illegal
migrant,
18-year-old
Guillermo
Martinez,
who
was
shot
by
U.S.
border
guards
on
New
Year's
Eve
as
he
snuck
across
the
border
near
San
Diego,
prompting
President
Vicente
Fox
to
demand
"total
justice".
- Reuters
Jan. 17 2005
Added
Jan.
18,
2006
Peru,
Latin
America
 |
|
Saturnino Apaza, accused in the lynching of an allegedly corrupt mayor in the Bolivian Aymara community of Ayo Ayo - June, 2004.
Saturnino Apaza, el único acusado por el crimen del linchamiento de un alcalde en Ayo Ayo, Bolivia en Junio de 2004. |
Lynching
in Latin
America
The
January 16,
2006 edition
of the
Spanish
language
NBC/Telemundo
Network show
Sin
Fronteras
(Without
Borders),
re-ran a
graphic news
segment
about
lynching in
Peru.
Filmed
footage
showed
several
people in
the process
of being
lynched.
A middle
aged woman
was tied to
a pole,
doused with
gas and set
of fire for
stealing
$900
dollars.
The fire was
put out
before the
she was
severely
burned.
The program
showed
footage of
several
other men
who had been
tied to lamp
posts and
doused in
gasoline.
Also shown
was another
man who was
beaten
severely in
the face
after being
accused of
entering a
bathroom and
assaulting a
seven year
old girl.
He admitted
to the crime
on tape.
Local
residents
had dug a
shallow
grave, made
him lie in
it, covered
him with
straw and
were about
to burn him
when a
police
officer
showed up a
took him to
jail.
Another
police
officer
stated on
the program
that "here
in the Andes
[region],
people have
never had
effective
police
protection.
So they take
the law into
their own
hands.
Lima
residents
who were
interviewed
expressed
anger that
the police
only show up
to rescue
the
criminals
who are
victims of
lynching.
Peru has
only 1
police
officer per
1,000
people.
Numerous
Spanish
language TV
news
programs in
the U.S.
have, over
the years
shown cases
of lynching,
especially
in
retaliation
for child
rape.
Lynching
often occurs
in the
isolated
rural and
indigenous
regions of
Bolivia,
Ecuador,
Mexico and
Peru.
- Chuck
Goolsby
Jan. 18 2005
See also:
About child
mass-murderer
Pedro Alonzo
Lopez...
Pedro
traveled
widely
throughout
Peru.
It
was
during
this
time
that
he
later
claimed
to
have
begun
stalking
and
killing
at
least
100
young
girls
from
various
Indian
tribes
throughout
the
region.
While
it
is
impossible
to
verify
these
claims,
it
is
known
that
he
was
captured
by a
group
of
Ayacuchos,
in
northern
Peru,
while
attempting
to
kidnap
a
9-year-old
girl.
The
Indians
stripped
and
tortured
Pedro
for
hours
before
deciding
to
bury
him
alive.
Nonetheless,
luck
was
apparently
on
his
side,
because
an
American
missionary
intervened
and
convinced
his
captors
that
murder
was
ungodly
and
that
they
should
turn
Pedro
over
to
the
proper
authorities.
They
reluctantly
agreed
and
remanded
their
prisoner
over
to
the
Peruvian
authorities.
Not
wanting
to
waste
time
investigating
petty
Indian
complaints,
the
Peruvian
Government
deported
Pedro
back
to
Ecuador.
Following
his
return
to
Ecuador,
Pedro
began
traveling
extensively
around
the
region,
including
frequent
stops
in
Colombia.
Authorities
soon
began
to
notice
an
increase
in
missing
persons
cases
involving
young
girls,
however
they
quickly
concluded
that
they
were
due
to
the
growing
South
American
sex
slave
rings...
Pedro
confessed
to
investigators
that
he
had
murdered
at
least
110
girls
in
Ecuador,
100
in
Colombia,
and
“many
more
than
100”
in
Peru.
“I
like
the
girls
in
Ecuador,”
he
told
them.
“They
are
more
gentle
and
trusting,
more
innocent.
They
are
not
as
suspicious
of
strangers
as
Colombian
girls.”
- Court TV
By David
Lohr
LibertadLatina
Note:
The 300+
victims of
Pedro Alonzo
Lopez were
between 8-
and
12-years-old.
The above
Court TV
article text
points out
that
indigenous
girls are
subject to
rape, murder
and sex
trafficking
with
impunity,
with little
to no police
response,
across rural
Latin
America.
Criminal
child sex
traffickers
specifically
target this
population,
the poorest
of the poor,
for
mass-kidnapping
and
exploitation
in sexual
slavery.
Victims are
trafficked
locally,
across Latin
America and
are also
'exported'
to Asia,
Europe and
the United
States.
- Chuck
Goolsby
Jan. 18 2005
See also:
Undercover
reporter in
Spain poses
as buyer, is
offered six
13-year-old
'virgin'
Mayan girls
kidnapped
from
Chiapas,
Mexico,
Mexican
Trafficker's
price:
$25,000
each.
(Article
In
Spanish)
Chiapas
State
investigates
sale of
young Mayan
girls in
Europe.
(Spanish)
Added
Jan.
17,
2006
Guatemala,
Mexico
Tecun Uman,
Guatemala -
This dusty
frontier
town caters
to smugglers
and illegal
migrants.
It's a
stone's
throw from
Mexico,
across the
brown waters
of the
Suchiate
river. In a
way, it is
also the
southernmost
border of
the United
States.
Father
Ademar
Barilli, a
Catholic
priest who
runs the
Casa del
Migrante, a
hostel for
migrants...
|
"Make
no
mistake,
this
river
is
not
an
obstacle,
none
whatever."
"The
obstacle
is
across
the
river.
The
Mexican
government
has
turned
all
of
Mexico
into
a
frontier.
They
are
working
on
behalf
of
the
U.S..
They
are
hunting
migrants."
"Police
and
other
authorities
see
them
as
humans
without
rights."
"Everybody
preys
on
them."
|
David Gonzalez, an 18-year-old Salvadoran jailed and then deported from Mexico...
|
"They (the Mexicans) are treating us badly."
"Many fear them more than they fear the gringos (Americans)." |
By the time migrants reach the [U.S.]border, many have already been raped, robbed, beaten and forced to pay bribes by corrupt policemen and marauding criminal gangs.
- Reuters
Jan. 17 2005
Added
Jan.
17,
2006
Mexico
 |
|
Foto:
CIMAC |
Mujeres
migrantes:
víctimas del
tren
de la
muerte.
Women
Migrants,
victims of
the 'train
of death.'
On April 15,
2005,
Maritza
Barrios, a
20-year-old
Guatemalan
migrant rode
a freight
train while
crossing
Mexico on
her way to
the U.S.
Private
security
guards that
Maritza and
her brothers
encountered
on the train
tried to
extort money
from them.
Then Maritza
was told by
a guard, “I
want to rape
you.”
When she
resisted his
assault, the
guard
threatened
her with
death, and
then threw
her, and her
brothers off
the train.
Martiza's
right leg
went under
the train.
It later had
to be
amputated.
Martiza
presented a
complaint to
the Coahuila
state
prosecutor’s
office
(PGJE).
Only in
November,
2005 did the
state police
give Maritza
the photo
archive of
the private
security
guards who
work in
Coahuila.
Although
Martiza
easily
identified
the main
aggressor,
Pedro
Montelongo,
her case is
still in the
preliminary
investigation
stage.
In
December,
2005, Jose
Luis
Soberanes,
president of
the National
Human Rights
Commission
(CNDH),
recom-mended
to the
government
of Coahuila
and the
commissioner
of migration
that train
guards not
be allowed
to assume
police
powers.
That
recommendation
has been
ignored.
Although her
assailant is
known,
almost a
year after
the assault
Maritza has
not received
any justice
from the
state of
Coahuila.
- CIMAC
Noticias
News for
Women
Mexico
City
Jan. 16,
2005
LibertadLatina
Note:
A personal
friend from
Honduras,
who crossed
Mexico on a
freight
train, saw a
young woman
fall from
such a
train,
resulting in
her leg
being
severed.
The train's
engineer
deliberately
accel-erated
to knock
people off
of it.
Many people
have died on
these
trains, and
these
attacks are
very similar
to those
shown in the
1973 movie
'Emperor
of the
North.'
- Chuck
Goolsby
Jan. 17,
2006
Wikipedia's
article on
'Emperor of
the North.'
Added
Jan.
17,
2006
Chile
 |
|
Chile's
President-Elect
Michele
Bachelet
Photo:
CIMAC |
Bachelet,
primera
presidenta
de Chile
- CIMAC
Noticias
News for
Women
Mexico
City
Jan. 16,
2005
The Chilean
President-elect,
Michelle
Bachelet,
has pledged
to name a
cabinet with
an equal
number of
men and
women.
Ms Bachelet,
who was
jailed and
tortured by
Chile's
former
military
junta,
promised to
build a more
equitable
and tolerant
society.
She said:
"Because I
was the
victim of
hatred, I
have
dedicated my
life to
reverse that
hatred and
turn it into
understanding,
tolerance
and - why
not say it -
into love."
Her rival,
conserv-ative
businessman
Sebastian
Pinera,
congratulated
her saying
she
represents
"the
struggle of
millions of
women to
reach the
position
they
deserve".
The
centre-left
leader
became
Chile's
first woman
president
winning
53.5% of the
poll, coming
ahead in all
but one of
the
country's 13
regions.
-
BBC News
Jan. 17,
2005
Added
Jan.
15,
2006
 |
|
Chile's
President-Elect
Michele
Bachelet
Photo:
BBC
News |
Centre-left
candidate
Michelle
Bachelet has
become
Chile's
first woman
president,
taking 53.5%
of the poll
with almost
all the
votes
counted.
Chilean
president-elect
Michele
Bachelet...
|
"Who
would
have
said,
10,
15
years
ago,
that
a
woman
would
be
elected
president?" |
-
BBC News
Jan. 15,
2005
 |
|
Winning
Chilean
presidential
candidate
Michelle
Bachelet |
Bachelet: ex
torturada y
exiliada a
la
presidencia
chilena.
Michelle
Bachelet,
the
president
elect of
Chile, is a
pedia-trician,
and is also
a separated,
socialist,
agnostic and
woman who is
also one of
many victims
of the
former
dictatorship
of general
Augusto
Pinochet.
When she was
22 years old
and a young
medical
student, her
father, Air
Force
General
Alberto
Bachelet was
arrested and
tortured by
his own
comrades,
and then
condemned to
prison for
being a
member of
the
government
of
[socialist]
president
Salvador
Allende.
Alberto
Bachelet
died, "as a
result of
the torture
suffered in
prison,"
said
Michelle
Bachelet.
In January
of 1975
Michelle
Bachelet and
her mother,
Angela
Jeria, were
detained and
tortured
during two
weeks in the
prisoner of
war camp of
Villa
Grimaldi,
according to
the
president-elect’s
biography.
Both went
into exile
in Australia
and East
Germany,
returning to
Chile in
1979.
Michelle
Bachelet
does not get
tired of
repeating
that she
does not
hold
resentment
towards the
military.
Upon
returning
from exile
she attended
one of the
nation's top
military
academies,
and
graduated
near the top
of her
class.
She was
named
Chile’s
Minister of
Defense from
2002 to
2004.
Ricardo
Lagos,
outgoing
president of
Chile,
stated that
the
hardships
that Michele
Bachelet
went through
taught him
to govern
without
giving
thought to
revenge [for
past human
rights
abuses under
the
conservative
dictatorship
of general
Agosto
Pinochet].
- Translated
abstract
- Associated
Press
Jan. 15,
2005
Líderes
extranjeros
saludan
Bachelet por
su triunfo.
(Foreign
leaders
congratulate
President-elect
Michele
Bachelet on
her
victory).
- Associated
Press
Jan. 15,
2005
Michelle
Bachelet, a
socialist
promising to
maintain the
country's
free-market
policies was
battling a
multimillionaire
businessman
vowing to
fight
poverty as
Chile picked
a president.
Bachelet is
favored as
Chile votes
for
president
- CNN
Jan. 15,
2005
About the
dictatorship
of Chilean
general
Agosto
Pinochet.
Excerpt:
"Thousands
of leftists,
unionists,
and various
other
troublemakers
were rounded
up and held
in
concentration
camps for up
to three
years. Many
were
interrogated,
tortured,
and killed.
Whereas the
[democratically
elected]
Allende
government
had for all
practical
purposes
given up
applying
electrical
voltage to
genitalia,
Pinochet
brought the
country back
to its
core ideals."
LibertadLatina
Commentary:
I am not a
socialist,
but the
truth needs
to be told,
especially
to younger
generation,
about how
the power of
the United
States was
abused
during the
early 1970's
to support a
dictator who
not only
suppressed
free
democratic
electoral
expression,
but who
openly
orchestrated
the mass
torture,
rape and
murder of
his
opponents by
the
thousands.
Augusto
Pinochet was
a Chilean
general who
in 1973
staged a
coup d'etat
against a
democrat-ically
elected
socialist
president,
Salvador
Allende,
with the
help of the
U.S. CIA
(which help
the CIA
admits).
During the
late 1970's
I met a
number of
women exiles
from Chile
in
Washington,
DC, who had
been
detained in
the
concentration
camps for
political
prisoners
that
Pinochet set
up to
retaliate
against
several
thousand
leftist
supporters
of President
Allende.
Gang rape by
guards and
interrogators
was
commonplace
in these
torture
camps.
People were
also
murdered.
The
main-stream
U.S. press,
such as the
CBS 60
Minutes
program,
discussed
these facts,
and even
openly
showed
pictures of
the naked
'bruised-purple'
behinds of
the rape
victims,
which I
clearly
recall
viewing one
Sunday
evening.
During the
1970's,
1980's and
1990's, the
U.S
government
supported
right-wing
government
forces
involved in
counter-insurgency
wars in
Argentina,
Chile, El
Salvador,
Nicaragua,
and the
anti-Mayan
genocide /
femicide in
Guatemala.
The Cold War
attitudes of
the times
found the
U.S.
actively
funding and
training
these
corrupt
governments
in the use
of mass
torture and
mass murder
to control
popular
political
change.
Mass rape
was a
byproduct of
those evil
activities.
Today, as
the very
important
role of U.S.
conservatives
grows in the
anti-trafficking
movement,
they will
have to
"Come to
Jesus"
about their
continuing
defense and
justification
of the mass
atrocities
that, in the
name of the
Cold War,
caused the
rapes and
murders of
hundreds of
thousands of
women and
girls
across Latin
America
during the
past 35 years,
including
the rape of
almost every
Mayan girl
over age 7
in Guatemala
by soldiers
and civil
guards
during the
1980's and
1990's.
At the time
these
atrocities
were
occurring,
many U.S.
conservatives
defended the
use of these
'techniques'
(or denied
they
existed),
and also
derided
human rights
activists
who raised
the issue in
the U.S.
Congress and
in other
forums.
A U.S. Cold
War view
that 'the
end
justifies
the means'
gave
rapists,
torturers
and
murderers
impunity and
legal cover
from the
U.S. across
Latin
America at
the time.
The victims
have never
had the aid
of the World
Court or
other
international
forums that
could allow
justice to
be served,
because the
U.S.
supported
these
measures at
the time and
vetoed any
such
efforts.
These acts
fall under
the same
category of
evil as the
genocide
against
Native
Americans in
the U.S.
during the
1800's,
which were
widely
viewed as 'justifiable
under the
circumstances'
- a very
arrogant and
colonial
view of
criminal
impunity.
In 1999,
former U.S.
President
Bill Clinton
apologized
for U.S.
involvement
in aiding
Guatemala's
acts of
repression.
President
George W.
Bush should
do the same,
and he
should
include
Chile in
that
apology.
The current
wave of mass
gender
violence and
the shift to
the left in
many Latin
American
countries
both have
their roots
in this
bloody
history.
Thirty three
years after
General
Agosto
Pinochet
brought mass
torture,
rape and
murder to
Chile, the
Chilean
people have
responded
with the
election of
one of his
victims to
the nation's
presidency.
Good for
them!
- Chuck
Goolsby
January
16-18, 2006
See also:
Informe de
la Comision
Nacional de
Verdad y
Reconciliacion.
A
short
translation
from the
report by
the Chilean
Committee on
Truth and
Reconciliation...
Written and
Translated
by Dr.
Róbinson
Rojas...
|
Both
men
and
women
were
given
electric
shocks
in
the
genitals.
This
happened
on a
metal
bed
to
which
the
naked
victim
was
bound
with
his/her
arms
and
legs
spread
apart.
This
torture
was
called
"roasting."
Women
detainees
were
raped.
Women
detainees
were
forced
to
have
sexual
inter-course
with
dogs.
Hot
iron
objects
were
inserted
into
the
vaginas
of
women.
Iron
objects
were
inserted
into
the
victim's
anus.
"The
military
torture
teams,
graduates
of
the
[U.S.
Army's]
School
of
the
Americas
[then
located]
in
the
[U.S.
Panama]
Canal
Zone,
have
revealed
a
degree
of
human
bestiality
with
Chilean
women
that
puts
them
way
ahead
of
their
American
trainers." |
Added
Jan.
15,
2006
Mexico -
Texas, USA
Eagle Pass -
A pilot
program that
jails all
illegal
immigrants
crossing
into this
Texas border
town from
Mexico has
led to a
dramatic
fall in
numbers
attempting
the journey,
the U.S.
Office of
Border
Patrol said
on Friday.
A program
known as
Operation
Streamline
II,
instituted
on December
12, is aimed
mostly at
non-Mexican
illegal
immigrants
who were
arrested and
released
because
Border
Patrol
agents did
not have
sufficient
space to
jail them.
The blanket
crackdown is
also being
applied to
undocumented
Mexicans who
were
previously
subject to
criminal
background
checks and
released
back over
the Rio
Grande
without
charges.
"The message
is one of
zero
tolerance to
[undocumented]
immigrants,
whether they
are Mexican
or
(non-Mexican)
nationals,"
said Hilario
Leal, the
U.S. Border
Patrol's
spokesman
for the
sector that
includes
Eagle Pass.
Since the
pilot
program
began around
Eagle Pass,
140 miles
west of San
Antonio, the
number of
undocumented
immigrants
picked up by
Border
Patrol
agents has
dwindled to
10 a day,
down from
highs of
around 150 a
day in
mid-2005,
officials
said.
- Reuters
Jan. 13,
2005
Added
Jan.
14,
2006
Guatemala
 |
|
Mayan woman grieves during the exhumation of victims of the 1970's - 1980's genocide and femicide in Quiche province, Guatemala - Amnesty International |
Viudas de
Guatemala
piden
dignificar a
víctimas de
guerra.
The National
Coordination
of
Guatemalan
Widows (Conavigua),
who's
members
survived the
Guatemalan
Civil War,
will
initiate its
2006
activities
with the
exhumation
of a
clandestine
cemetery in
the Mayan
town of
Joyabaj,
where they
expect to
find the
remains of
15 people.
Conavigua is
asking the
residents of
Joyabaj to
attend the
exhumations
in
solidarity
with the
families of
those who
murdered at
this site.
Conavigua
asks that
the national
and
international
communities
join with
them to
pressure the
Guatemalan
govern-ment
to address
the need for
justice of
the victims
of the mass
murders that
took place
during the
36 year
civil war.
Conavigua
and demands
that law
enforcement
act to
protect the
lives of its
members and
the families
of all
victims of
war related
mass-murder,
especially
women, many
of who have
received
death
threats and
mistreatment
from forces
that oppose
their work.
- CIMAC
Noticias
News for
Women
Mexico
City
Jan. 12,
2005
LibertadLatina
Note:
These burial
sites were
created by
Guatemalan
Army
soldiers and
death squads
to hide the
victims of
mass
torture,
rape and
murder in
the 1960's
to 1980's
'civil' war.
Government
soldiers,
police and
'death
squads'
murdered
200,000
mostly Mayan
victims,
including
50,000
women,
during the
civil war.
See also:
Native Guatemala -
Femicide
&
Genocide
"During
the last forty years, the [Guatemalan] military has
been levying a campaign of terrorism and genocide
against... Mayas, in order to distribute native
peoples' land among plantation owners."
Added
Jan.
14,
2006
Chile
 |
| Leading Chilean presidential candidate Michelle Bachelet |
Chile:
Bachelet
aventaja con
cinco puntos
a Piñera.
Michelle
Bachalet, a
former
defense
minister who
is now a
socialist
candidate
for
president,
is leading
her ultra-
conservative
rival
Sebastián
Piñera, by
five
percentage
points in
the polls.
Current
surveys show
that
Bachelet
would
receive 45%
of the vote
to 40% for
Piñera.
Voters will
go to the
polls on
January 15,
2006.
- CIMAC
Noticias
News for
Women
Mexico
City
Jan. 12,
2005
Socialist
Michelle
Bachelet is
likely to be
elected
Chile's
first woman
president,
beating out
her rightist
rival by at
least 5
percentage
points, a
new poll
said on
Thursday.
If she wins,
Bachelet
will... be
the fourth
consecutive
president
from a
center-left
coalition
formed by
opponents of
the
[conservative]
Augusto
Pinochet
dictatorship,
which ended
in 1990.
- CNN
Jan. 12,
2005
Added
Jan.
13,
2006
Scotland
 |
|
John
Ragwar,
with
wife
Karen
and
sons
David,
2,
and
Matthew,
3,
faces
leaving
his
family
behind.
Picture:
Sean
Bell
-
Scotsman |
John Ragwar,
a Kenyan
immigrant to
Scotland, is
to be
deported by
the British
government
eight years
after
marrying
Scottish
citizen
Karen
Ragwar.
Unlike
immigration
rules in the
United
States that
permit an
undocumented
immigrant to
become a
legal
immigrant
after
marriage to
a citizen,
Britain
requires
migrants to
apply for
entry into
Britain for
the specific
purpose of
marriage,
before being
allowed to
marry.
Human rights
activists
and members
of
parliament
are
pressuring
the British
government
in regard to
this basic
human rights
issue, which
threatens to
divide the
couple and
their two
young
children.
- The
Scotsman
Jan. 13,
2005
Added
Jan.
13,
2006
United
States
 |
|
U.S.
President
George
W.
Bush |
Renueva Bush
ley contra
trafico de
personas
- NotiMex
Jan. 10,
2005
President
George W.
Bush signs
H.R. 972,
the
Trafficking
Victims
Protection
Reauthorization
Act.
President
Bush...
|
"In
today's
world,
too
often
human
traffickers
abuse
the
trust
of
children
and
expose
them
to
the
worst
of
life
at a
young
age.
It
takes
a
perverse
form
of
evil
to
exploit
and
hurt
those
vulnerable
members
of
society."
"Human
traffickers
operate
with
greed
and
without
conscience,
treating
their
victims
as
nothing
more
than
goods
and
commodities
for
sale
to
the
highest
bidder.
In
recent
years,
hundreds
of
thousands
of
people
around
the
world
have
been
trafficked
against
their
will,
across
international
boundaries,
and
many
have
been
forced
into
sexual
servitude."
"Thousands
of
teenagers
and
young
girls
are
trafficked
into
the
United
States
every
year.
They're
held
hostage.
They're
forced
to
submit
to
unspeakable
evil.
America
has
a
particular
duty
to
fight
this
horror
because
human
trafficking
is
an
affront
to
the
defining
promise
of
our
country." |
-
U.S.
President
George W.
Bush
Jan. 10,
2005
Added
Jan.
13,
2006
Argentina
Madre a los
13 años tras
violación.
Esperanza -
A 12 year
old girl was
raped by a
man who
threatened
her with
death if she
told anyone
about the
crime.
At the age
of 13 the
girl, who
did not know
that she was
pregnant,
was taken to
a doctor
with stomach
pains.
Hours later
the girl
gave birth
to a
premature
baby.
This girl
was raped by
the owner of
a store
where her
family
frequently
shopped,
during a
family trip
to that
store.
After
the family
reported the
rape to
police, the
assailant
was saved
from being
lynched by
the family.
The rapist
has now been
arrested and
is will go
on trial
during
January,
2006.
- EFE
Jan. 13,
2005
Added
Jan.
13,
2006
Mexico
Contra la
pornografía
infantil.
Detenidos 25
estadounidenses
pederastas
en los
últimos 5
años.
Esperanza
García,
director of
the Cyber
Crimes and
Crimes
Against
Children
unit of the
Federal
Preventive
Police, has
announced
that during
the past 5
years,
Mexican
authorities
have
arrested 67
pedo-philes
and have
rescued 105
children
from sexual
exploitation.
Those
arrested
include 25
U.S.
citizens and
3 Canadians,
who
distributed
child
pornography
via the
Internet to
promote sex
tourism.
The U.S. and
Canadian
suspects
were
arrested in
the cities
of
Acapulco,
Guerrero and
Jalisco.
- EFE
Jan. 13,
2005
Added
Jan.
13,
2006
New York,
USA
Revelan
detalles
sobre muerte
de niña
Latina.
- El Diario
- New York
Jan. 13,
2005
Matan a niña
Latina en
Brooklyn.
- El Diario
- New York
Jan. 12,
2005
Seven-year-old
Nixzmary
Brown was
beaten to
death in a
Brooklyn
apartment
this week
where she
had been
tethered to
a chair with
twine. It
was the
fourth
homicide in
recent
months
involving a
family
monitored by
the city's
Admin-istration
for
Children's
Services,
renewing
concerns
about the
agency's
ability to
protect
abused
children.
The girl's
stepfather,
Cesar
Rodriguez,
accused of
binding,
beating and
molesting
her, was
arraigned
Thursday on
charges of
second-degree
murder, sex
abuse and
child
endanger-ment.
Her mother,
Nixzaliz
Santiago,
was
arraigned on
second-degree
manslaughter
and child
endangerment
charges.
- Associated
Press
Via New
York Newsday
Jan. 13,
2005
Added
Jan.
13,
2006
United
States
Washington,
DC -
With the
January 10,
2005 signing
of the
Trafficking
Victims
Protection
Reauth-orization
Act (TVPRA -
H.R. 972) by
President
Bush, ICE
reaffirmed
its law
enforcement
commitment
to identify
victims of
human
trafficking
and bring
the
perpetrators
of this
horrific
crime to
justice.
Since the
creation of
ICE in March
2003,
investigations
into human
trafficking
and the
related
crime of
human
smuggling,
have
resulted in
more than
5,400
arrests,
2,800
criminal
indictments,
and 2,300
criminal
convictions.
- U.S. ICE
Jan. 11,
2005
Added
Jan.
12,
2006
Mexico
Villahermosa,
Guadalajara
y
Cuernavaca:
peligro para
mujeres.
A study
titled
"Insecurity
in Urban
Mexico, a
Comparat-ive
Analysis of
13
Metropolitan
Areas" -
has been
released by
the Citizens
Instit-ute
for
Insecurity
Studies.
The study
finds that
three major
Mexican
cities:
Villahermosa,
Guadalajara
and
Cuernavaca
have the
most severe
rates of
violent
crime
against
women.
In these
three
cities, 60%
of assaults
on the
street, in
the
workplace
and on
public
transport
target
women.
In the city
of
Guadalajara,
sexual
assaults are
8.3 % of all
crime, a
figure that
is 2.3 times
higher that
the national
average.
Ciudad
Juarez, site
of a
femicide
that has
taken over
300 female
lives in the
past 13
years
(actually
400 lives,
according to
Amnesty
Inter-national),
also has the
highest rate
of attacks
against
women in the
workplace.
Juarez is
the location
of many
foreign-owned
low-wage
factories
(maquiladoras).
Some 57% of
women have
faced
workplace
violence,
according to
the March,
2005
National
Survey on
Insecurity.
This figure
that more is
40 times
higher than
the national
average.
- CIMAC
Noticias
News for
Women
Mexico
City
Jan. 12,
2005
Added
Jan.
10,
2006
Mexico
 |
|
Comandanta
Ramona
Mayan
Zapatista
activists
wear
masks
to
prevent
being
targeted
for
assassination. |
Muere la
Comandanta
Ramona.
Comandanta
Ramona, a
Tzotzil
Mayan woman
leader who
constructed
new concepts
of gender
equality for
Indigenous
women in
Chiapas
state, has
died of
cancer.
Ramona was
one of two
women, along
with
comandanta
Esther, who
repres-ented
women's
interests in
the
Clandestine
Indigenous
Revol-utionary
Committee
(CCRI) of
the
Zapatista
Army of
National
Liberation
(EZLN).
Comandanta
Ramona
fought in
defense of
the rights
of Native
women and
for all
craftswomen
by
advocating
for the
right of
women to
education &
special
schools for
women, by
promoting
the value of
the work of
women
artisans,
and by
advocating
for
increased
respect for
the equal
rights of
women.
In the early
1990's
Ramona
developed
the
principles
of the 1994
Revolutionary
Law of
Women in
consultation
with Mayan
communities
across
Chiapas.
Comandanta
Ramona was
born in
Chiapas in
1959. Ten
years ago
she began
her struggle
with the
pain of
cancer in
both
kidneys.
She had been
treated in
the
Congressional
Unit of the
National
Medical
Center in
Mexico City.
- CIMAC
Noticias
News for
Women
Mexico
City
Jan. 06,
2005
See also:
De bordadora
a
Comandanta.
(From
embroiderer
to
commander.)
Altera
muerte de
Ramona
tiempos de
la otra
campaña.
The
Law
of
Women.
Ley
revolucionaria
de mujeres.
About
Zapatista
women /
feminism.
The
legendary
Zapatista
leader
Comandanta
Ramona has
died.
Do not leave
us alone! A
1994
Interview
with
Comandante
Ramona.
About the
1997 Acteal
Massacre.
LibertadLatina
Commentary:
The work of
Comandanta
Ramona
defined a
new path of
gender
equality for
all
women and
girls facing
misogynist
and racist
anti-Indigenous
attitudes in
Mexican
society.
Before the
Zapatista
Uprising in
1994, the
Mayan
peoples of
Chiapas,
Mexico were
expected to
work hard
from birth
through
death as
peons
(actual
semi-
slaves), for
cruel
landowners,
on
plantation
land stolen
from their
own
ancestors...,
in exchange
for nothing
more than a
shack to
sleep in and
enough corn
to survive.
The 1994
Zapatista
Uprising
changed
those
arrogant
'traditions'
forever.
The Law
of Women
addresses
equality
both within
Mayan
societies
and in the
larger
Mexican
society.
It
especially
focused on
ending the
Mayan dowry
system,
where girls
of 13 or 14
are
effectively
sold to
adult men,
and are
denied the
right to
choose a
partner.
Although the
Zapatista
movement
began as an
armed
uprising in
1994, it has
evolved into
a national
movement for
social and
political
reform that
addresses
sexism,
economic
injustice
and
corruption
throughout
Mexico.
Thank you
Coman-danta
Ramona for
stepping up
to the plate
to help your
people find
freedom!
We are
proud of you,
and the
example that
you set for
all of our
daughters
and sons!
- Chuck
Goolsby
January 10,
2006
Added
Jan.
10,
2006
Utah, USA
A woman who
stopped at a
Cottonwood
Heights gas
station
around 10:30
p.m. Tuesday
was raped on
a restroom
floor as she
held her
1-year-old
son in her
arms and her
3-year-old
daughter
looked on.
The
21-year-old
woman
stopped
after her
daughter
said she
needed a
restroom,
said Salt
Lake County
sheriff's
spokesman
Paul
Jaroscak.
The woman
checked to
make sure
the restroom
door was
open, then
returned to
her car, got
her two
children and
went back
in, Jaroscak
said. There,
a man was
waiting for
her.
- Salt Lake
Tribune
January 07,
2006
Added
Jan.
10,
2006
United
States
Son víctimas
de tráfico
de seres
humanos
entre 14,500
y 17,500
personas al
año en
Estados
Unidos. Se
dividen, por
lo general,
entre dos
categorías -
las personas
abusadas
sexualmente
y las
personas
explotadas
económicamente.
La mayoría
son mujeres
y niños.
Los
inmigrantes
indocumentados
víctimas de
formas
“severas” de
tráfico de
seres
humanos
podrán
calificar
para estadía
legal
temporal.
Between
14,500 and
17,500
persons are
brought into
the U.S.
each year as
either
economic or
sexual
slaves.
The majority
are women
and
children.
Victims may
qualify for
the "T"
visa,
designed
specifically
to assist
victims of
severe forms
of slavery.
- Hispanic
Link
January 07,
2006
Added
Jan.
10,
2006
Mexico
Ya suman
cuatro las
mujeres
asesinadas
en
Tamaulipas.
During the
first week
of of 2006,
four women
were
murdered in
the eastern
Mexican
state of
Tamaulipas.
The latest
victim was
37-year-old
Delfina
Araiza
López, who
was gunned
down by
unknown
assailants
in her
apartment as
her husband,
who was
walking
home, heard
the shots.
The
assailants
fled and
have not
been found.
Araiza López
joins
Juana
Aracely
García, from
the city of
Matamoros,
another
as-yet
unidentified
woman, and
two year old
Edith
Alejandra
Ochoa
Requena as
the first
female
victims of
femicide
violence in
Tamaul-ipas
in 2006.
- CIMAC
Noticias
News for
Women
Mexico
City
Jan. 09,
2005
Added
Jan.
7,
2006
The World
Niños:
pequeños
invisibles
por el
abandono.
Terra.com
Colombia
Dec. 13,
2005
Hundreds of
millions of
children are
suffering
from severe
exploitation
and
discrimination
and have
become
virtually
invisible to
the world,
UNICEF
declared in
a major
report that
explores the
causes of
exclusion
and the
abuses
children
experience.
The agency
said that
millions of
children
disappear
from view
when
trafficked
or forced to
work in
domestic
servitude.
Other
children,
such as
street
children,
live in
plain sight
but are
excluded
from
fundamental
services and
protections.
Not only do
these
children
endure
abuse, most
are shut out
from school,
healthcare
and other
vital
services
they need to
grow and
thrive.
The
State of the
World's
Children
2006:
Excluded and
Invisible
is a
sweeping
assessment
of the
world's most
vulnerable
children,
whose rights
to a safe
and healthy
childhood
are
exceptionally
difficult to
protect.
These
children are
growing up
beyond the
reach of
development
campaigns
and are
often
invisible in
everything
from public
debate and
legislation,
to
statistics
and news
stories.
- UNICEF
Dec. 14,
2005
Added
Jan.
7,
2006
United
States
Neoconservative
Anti-trafficking
activist and
Hudson
Institute
analyst
Michael
Horowitz
provides an
interesting
account of
the building
of a unique
coalition
between
religious
conservatives
and
progressives
to achieve
passage of
the
Trafficking
Victims
Protection
Reauthorization
Act (TVPRA)
of 2005 (HR
972),
sponsored by
Representative
Chris Smith
(R-NJ).
This bill
applies, for
the first
time, strong
anti-trafficking
laws to
combat
sexual
exploitation
within the
United
States.
- An Article
by Michael
Horowitz
Jan. 06,
2005
Added
Jan.
6,
2006
Mexico
 |
|
Photo:
CIMAC |
Permanente
violación a
derechos de
migrantes en
México.
Violations
of the human
rights of
foreign
migrants
entering
Mexico is a
constant
condition at
Mexico’s
migrant
detention
centers,
according to
the
non-governmental
organization
Sin
Fronteras
(Without
Borders).
The release
of their
report
coincides
with that of
a special
report by
Mexico’s
National
Commis-sion
for Human
Rights
(CNDH) on
the same
topic.
Karina Arias
of Without
Borders:
|
“Giving
CNDH
access
to
migrant
detention
facilities
is
critical,
they
should
be
reporting
on
what
is
happening
at
these
locations.” |
Data
received by
Without
Borders
during
visits to
119 migrant
detention
facilities
located in
19 states
indicates
the
existence of
conditions
in which
basic rights
are not
guaranteed,
contravening
national and
international
norms:
dignified
treatment,
and the
assurance of
the legal
and health
rights of
detained
migrants.
Although the
government
of Mexico
refers to
these
facilities
as
'protection
centers' (no
penal
process is
involved),
they are in
fact
detention
centers.
Migrants
held at
these
facilities
are deprived
of liberty,
they have no
access to
communication
with the
outside
world, the
facilities
are
overpopulated,
and there is
a lack of
both a
notification
of the
migrant’s
consular
office and a
lack of
medical
services.
The female
population
of these
facilities
has risen
dramatically.
In
Iztapalapa
in Mexico
City, one of
the nation’s
largest
centers, and
one of
the few
federal
migrant
detention
facilities
with
separate
areas
for men,
women and
adolescents,
Without
Borders has
interceded
in a growing
number
of cases of
pregnant
women.
These women
are not
provided
with any
access to
pre-natal
medical
care.
When they
give birth,
they are
taken to a
local
hospital,
stay a few
days, and
are then
brought back
to the
detention
facility
without
having been
given the
right to
legally
register the
birth
certificate
of their
child, who
has been
born a
Mexican
citizen.
Without
Borders has
also
detected
cases of
human
trafficking,
including
the case of
two migrants
from China
who were
forced to
work free
hours at a
factory and
had their
freedom of
move-ment
restricted.
They escaped
from
bondage, and
although
they had
legal
immigration
papers, they
have been
detained.
Their
enslavers
remain free
and the
factory
remains
open.
- CIMAC
Noticias
News for
Women
Mexico
City
Jan. 04,
2005
Added
Jan.
6,
2006
Native
Brazil
Mato Grosso
do Sul
(Southern
Jungle)
state - in
the Amazon -
On Dec. 16,
2005, a
Guarani-Kaiowá
community
was
violently
evicted from
their
ancestral
land in a
large-scale
operation
carried out
by the
Federal
Police with
unofficial
support from
local
landowners.
The eviction
came after a
number of
legal
interventions
including a
Supreme
Court (STF)
ruling that
effectively
suspended
the
Guarani-Kaiowá’s
constitutional
right to
their land.
The
Guarani-Kaiowá
are now
encamped
along the
MS-384
highway,
with
insufficient
food,
sanitation
and shelter.
“The ruling
had
catastrophic
consequences
on the
Guarani-Kaiowá
indigenous
community,”
said Patrick
Wilcken,
Amnesty
International’s
campaigner
on Brazil.
“A woman who
was seven
months
pregnant
miscarried
after
suffering a
fall during
the
eviction;
and a
one-year-old
baby
succumbed to
dehydration.”
On 24
December
2005, nine
days after
the
eviction,
thirty-nine-year-old
Dorvalino
Rocha was
shot in the
chest at the
entrance to
the
Fronteira
Farm in the
municipality
of Antônio
João in the
state of
Mato Grosso
do Sul.
According to
reports, he
was killed
by a private
security
guard hired
by local
landowners.
Dorvalino
Rocha is the
38th
indigenous
activist
killed in
2005 – the
worst year
for over a
decade,
according to
the
Brazilian
NGO the
Indigenous
Missionary
Council.
Twenty-eight
of these
killings
took place
in the state
of Mato
Grosso do
Sul alone.
-
Amnesty
International
Jan. 06,
2005
See also:
Native Guatemala -
Femicide
&
Genocide
"During
the last forty years, the [Guatemalan] military has
been levying a campaign of terrorism and genocide
against... Mayas, in order to distribute native
peoples' land among plantation owners."
LibertadLatina
Commentary
Illegal
evictions of
indigenous
people,
accompanied
by mass
rape, murder
and other
abuses, are
human rights
violations
that have
been
perpetrated
by European
settler
societies
across the
Americas
since the
year 1492.
It is both
shocking and
unsurprising
that nation
states in
Latin
America
continue
this
practice.
Brazil and
other
countries
steal from
their
poorest, the
Native
peoples, to
enrich
themselves,
simply
because
Native
people's
basic human
rights are
non-existent.
As a person
who's
Creek
ancestors
were
forcibly
evicted on
the Trail of
Tears, and
who's
Catawba
ancestors
were given
Smallpox
infected
blankets to
speed their
'eviction by
genocide,' I
am not at
all
impressed
that the
'civilized
world'
continues to
allow
Brazil's
government,
working in
the interest
of greedy
landowners,
to forcibly
steal land,
and the
ability to
survive,
from Native
Brazilians
in 2006.
Disenfranchising
Native
people leads
directly to
severe
poverty, and
to a high
risk of
falling into
prostitution
and sexual
slavery as
the only
means of
survival for
many
formerly
self-sufficient
peoples.
The sex
trafficking
of Native
women and
girls across
the nations
of the
Americas has
been driven
by this
insane and
racist
process for
over 500
years.
Shame
on the
perpetrators!
End
impunity
now!
-
ChuckGoolsby
Jan. 06,
2005
Added
Jan.
6,
2006
Ohio, USA
Antonio
Gonzalez,
Jr., 48, who
is HIV
positive,
was
sentenced to
48 years in
prison today
for
repeatedly
raping a
5-year-old
girl in his
home.
The victim
was
assaulted at
the
defendant’s
home
where he and
his wife
were hosting
a graduation
party.
Gonzalez,
who had been
drinking and
smoking
crack-cocaine,
took the
victim into
a bedroom,
barricaded
the door,
and sexually
assaulted
her.
The
defendant’s
wife found
her husband
in the room
with the
victim. He
fled through
a window and
was later
attacked by
some of the
party-goers
who had been
alerted by
the wife.
- Toledo
Blade
Jan. 03,
2005
Added
Jan.
5,
2006
El
Salvador
Trafficking
increases
 |
|
Salvadoran
migrants
hop
a
freight
train. |
Aumenta
tráfico de
personas en
El Salvador
- Las víctimas
son
maltratadas.
A recent
report
released by
José Ayala,
director of
the
anti-trafficking
unit of the
National
Civil Police
(PNC) of El
Salvador
indicates
that the
rate of sex
trafficking
of women and
girls
continues to
increase in
the Central
American
nation.
A large
number of
victims are
taken to
other
countries.
Large
numbers of
foreign
women are
also brought
into El
Salvador as
forced
prostitutes.
Benjamin
Smith,
representative
of the
International
Labor
Organization
(ILO)
indicated at
the PNC
press
conference
that the
United
States is
the top
destination
for women
trafficked
from El
Salvador.
Participants
from the
International
Organ-ization
for
Migration
(IOM), and
Casa Alianza
(the largest
street
children’s
advocacy
group in
Central
America and
Mexico)
noted that
the victims
are
typically
physically
mistreated
and are
forced to
take illegal
drugs by
their
captors.
Extreme
poverty and
a lack of
jobs in El
Salvador
makes women
and children
vulnerable
to sex
trafficking.
Fifty eight
percent of
the
population
lives in
poverty,
which
provokes an
annual
exodus of
720,000
persons.
Seventy
percent of
families
remaining in
the country
rely on
money sent
from family
members
abroad.
Traffickers
exploit
would-be
economic
migrants,
and offer to
transport
them to
fictitious
jobs in
foreign
countries.
During the
journey, the
cheated
victims are
enslaved and
are then
forced into
prostitution.
- CIMAC
Noticias
News for
Women
Mexico
City
Jan. 04,
2005
See also:
Native El
Salvador
LibertadLatina
note:
El Salvador
has long
been
recognized
as the
second
poorest
country in
the
Americas,
after Haiti.
Added
Jan.
4,
2006
Peru
Pro-Indigenous
Retired
Colonel Sees
Meteoric
Rise in the
Polls
Lima
- Retired
army colonel
Ollanta
Humala has
experienced
an
unexpected
surge in the
polls for
Peru's April
2006
presidential
elections.
He now has a
22 percent
rating,
putting him
just three
points
behind the
current
front-runner,
right-wing
candidate
Lourdes
Flores Nano,
with 25
percent.
Ollanta -
which means
"the
all-observing
warrior" in
Quechua -
was born
into a
well-off
middle-class
family in
Lima. He
puts a
strong
emphasis on
his Andean
indige-nous
roots, and
is
especially
popular
among the
rural poor.
-
Inter-Press
Service
Dec. 13,
2005
Added
Jan.
2,
2006
Native
United
States
 |
|
Photo:
Sacred
Circle
National
Resource
Center
to
End
Violence
Against
Native
Women |
Washington,
DC -
Congress has
passed
stronger
legislation
protecting
Native women
in the
reauthorization
of the
Violence
Against
Women Act
(VAWA).
The House of
Representatives
and the
Senate voted
with
overwhelming
support Dec.
17, 2005 to
reauthorize
the Violence
Against
Women Act
while adding
for the
first time a
tribal title
that
increases
the
resources
available to
tribal
governments
to combat
the abuse of
Native
women.
For tribes,
the tribal
title is a
historic
piece of
legislation.
In the bill,
Congress
acknowledged
that the
federal
government's
trust
responsibility
creates an
obligation
to assist
tribal
governments
in
protecting
Indian
women. It
further
reaffirms
tribal
sovereignty
in allowing
tribes to
strengthen
their own
legal
remedies
against
offenders.
The bill now
goes to
President
Bush for a
signature.
-
IndianCountry.com
Dec. 30,
2005
See also:
VAWA Tribal
Provisions
American
Indian and
Alaska
Native women
are
battered,
raped and
stalked at
far greater
rates than
any other
group of
women in the
United
States.
The U.S.
Department
of Justice
estimates
that 1 of 3
Native women
will be
raped; that
6 of 10 will
be
physically
assaulted;
that
approximately
9 in 10
rapes or
assaults
against
American
Indians are
committed by
non-Indian
assailants
and that
Native women
are stalked
at a rate at
least twice
that of any
other
population...
The U.S.
Department
of Justice
has general
jurisdiction
over felony
crimes by or
against
Indians,
including
homicide,
rape and
aggravated
assault, but
perpetrators
of such
crimes
against
Indian women
are rarely,
if at all,
prosecuted
given the
broad
caseload
faced by
U.S.
Attorneys.
- Sacred
Circle
National
Resource
Center to
End Violence
Against
Native Women
The National
Sexual
Violence
Resource
Center
Added
Jan.
2,
2006
Mexico
 |
|
Photo:
CIMAC |
Tamaulipas -
La primera
mujer
víctima del
2006: una
niña de 2
años.
Tamaulipas -
In what is
an obviously
bad start
for Mexico
in regard to
gender
violence,
police have
arrested
Uvaldo
Requena
Soto, age 32
on child
rape and
murder
charges.
Police state
that
Requena Soto
attacked and
then
asphyxiated
his niece of
2 years and
nine months
of age,
Edith
Alejandra
Ochoa
Requena,
while
he was
apparently
high on
alcohol and
drugs.
-
CIMAC
Noticias
Jan. / Enero
2, 2005
Added
Jan.
2,
2006
Mexico
Despite a
concerted
effort to
crack down
on
pedophiles
in both
Mexico and
the United
States,
child
prostitution
continues
unabated in
Mexican
tourist
resorts such
as Acapulco
and Cancun
as well as
border
cities such
as Ciudad
Juarez. Many
of those who
pay for sex
with the
boys and
girls are
American,
Canadian and
European
tourists.
A weak
justice
system,
police
corruption
and a lack
of
facilities
to help
homeless
children
have
hindered
attempts in
Mexico to
curb the
problem.
Investigators
say some of
the worst
abuses occur
in the
famous
seaside
resort of
Acapulco. In
strip clubs,
cantinas,
hotels and
private
houses
around the
beautiful
bay, about
1,000
children are
victims of
the illicit
trade,
according to
UNICEF.
-
Houston
Chronicle
Dec. 31,
2005
Added
Jan.
2,
2006
Mexico,
Texas, USA
Zero
tolerance
for illegal
entry in Del
Rio sector
leads to a
hearing and
a trip home
Del Rio, Texas -Since Dec. 12, 2005, alternating areas of the
Del Rio
Border
Patrol
Sector,
which covers
nearly
60,000
square
miles,
including a
60-mile
stretch of
the Rio
Grande, have
been subject
to the "zero
tolerance"
approach,
supervisory
patrol agent
Hilario Leal
said.
"It's little
segments at
a time, and
it will
expand," he
said.
Billed as a
homeland
security
initiative,
U.S. Customs
and Border
Protection
calls the
effort
"Operation
Streamline
II." When
Border
Patrol Chief
David
Aguilar
announced
the
initiative
in
Washington,
D.C., on
Dec. 16, he
said it was
"intended to
dramatically
reduce
illegal
activity and
deter future
activity."
The biggest
impact will
be felt
among
non-Mexicans
who will
have
squandered
significant
resources to
reach the
border, only
to be sent
home with a
criminal
record of
the federal
crime of
illegal
entry,
Sutton said.
-
Houston
Chronicle
Jan. 02,
2005
Added
Jan.
1,
2006
Mexico
Ciudad
Juarez
(Juarez
City) -
Mario Loya
Aguirre and
Jorge
Armando
Sifuentes
Martinez –
both
detained on
Dec. 25th,
2005 – and
Eleazar Pena
Navarro
have been
arrested for
the
Christmas
Eve, 2005
rape and
homicide of
a
17-year-old
girl.
According to
statements
from 2 of
the
suspects,
the three
men were
drinking
with Claudia
Flores
Javier in
her home in
the early
hours of
Dec. 24 when
one of them
proposed
having sex
with her.
She refused
and the
three then
raped her,
said Claudia
Elena
Banuelos,
spokes-woman
for the
state
Attorney
General's
office.
One of the
men
responded to
Flores'
resistance
by hitting
her several
times on the
head with a
blunt
object.
-
SignOnSanDiego.com
Dec. 29,
2005
See also:
Femicide
in Juarez
Added
Jan.
1,
2006
Bolivia
The
president-elect
of Bolivia,
Evo Morales,
has said he
will cut his
salary by
half when he
takes office
next month.
Mr. Morales
said his
cabinet
would follow
suit and
that members
of Bolivia's
parliament
would be
expected to
cut their
allowances.
He also
reaffirmed
his
commitment
to change
Bolivia's
economic
system.
At the
moment, Mr
Morales, an
Aymara
Indian born
into
poverty,
rents a
single room
in a shared
house.
Announcing
the salary
cut, he said
that in a
country as
poor as
Bolivia, the
president
and his
cabinet
should share
the burden.
The money
saved will
go on social
programs,
particularly
in the field
of
education.
- BBC News -
UK
Dec. 28,
2005
Added
Jan.
1,
2006
Mexico
Chihuahua -
El 80 por
ciento de
los
cultivos, de
cuya siembra
depende la
economía de
120 mil
familias en
las zonas
más pobres,
quedó
colapsado
por falta de
humedad,
informó
Reyes Ramón
Cadena,
secretario
de
Desarrollo
Rural del
gobierno
estatal. A
consecuencia
de esa
situación,
en la zona
serrana
donde viven
los grupos
indígenas
del estado,
podría
enfrentarse
una crisis
alimentaria
en los
primeros
meses de
2006.
Chihuahua -
Some 80
percent of
the grain
crop for
120,000
mostly
indigenous
families in
the
mountainous
regions of
Chihuahua
state has
collapsed
due to
drought,
according to
Reyes Ramón
Cadena,
state
secretary
for rural
development.
Secretary
Cadena
predicted
that a
hunger
crisis will
develop in
the region
during the
first months
of 2006.
César
Duarte, the
congressional
deputy for
the area has
asked for a
federal
declaration
of
emergency,
stating that
current aid
efforts
related to a
cold wave in
the region
will not be
enough to
prevent
hunger
caused by
massive crop
failures.
- La Jornada
Mexico
City
Dec. 30,
2005
Added
Jan.
1,
2006
Texas,
USA
San Antonio
-
Angel Ruiz
Bernal, 35,
convicted
sex
offender,
was arrested
in San
Antonio
after he
illegally
sneaked back
into the
United
States from
Mexico.
Ruiz Bernal
was arrested
eight years
ago and
served a
five-year
sentence for
rape.
After being
released
from prison,
Bernal was
deported to
Mexico.
Ruiz Bernal
will be
turned over
to
Immigration
and Customs
Enforce-ment
when his
sentence on
the state
charges is
completed.
Nina
Pruneda, of
Immigration
and Customs
Enforce-ment
(ICE):
|
"We
also
understand
that
he
[Ruiz
Bernal]
has
an
extensive
criminal
history
ranging
from
sexual
offense
on a
child
to
aggravated
assault,
so
this
is
not
a
person
we
want
out
in
the
community." |
- KSAT
Dec. 30,
2005
Added
Jan.
1,
2006
Illinois,
USA
Chicago -
Luis Mendez,
35 has been
charged with
the rape of
a
17-year-old
student who
was abducted
from a
street near
her house in
March 2004
while
walking to
school.
Mendez
allegedly
attacked the
victim from
behind,
knocking her
to the
ground and
threatening
her with a
gun,
although
none was
recovered,
police said.
- Chicago
Sun Times
Dec. 31,
2005
Dec. 2005 News
Nov. 2005 News
Oct. 2005 News
Sep. 2005 News
Aug. 2005 News
July 2005 News
June 2005 News
May 2005 News
April 2005 News
Mar. 2005 News
Feb. 2005 News
Jan. 2005 News |
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LibertadLatina
News /
Noticias |
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Updated:
June 13, 2010
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Últimas Noticias
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Honduras
Venden niñas por edades
En San Pedro Sula hay unas 10 mil menores que son víctimas de abuso sexual y comercial
Apenas tiene 16 años y “Elena” ya ha tenido relaciones sexuales con diferentes hombres. La menor era prostituida por su padrastro, ahora lo hace por su cuenta.
Desde pequeña empezó a sufrir los maltratos del hombre que apenas esperó a que el cuerpo de ella comenzara a notarse el desarrollo para poder lucrarse.
La niña recuerda que tenía cerca de 12 años cuando su padrastro le dijo que llegarían unos amigos de visita y que tenía que ayudarle a su madre a atenderlos...
Un día, cuando estaba cerca de cumplir los 13 y mientras sus seis hermanos jugaban en la calle, su padrastro la dejó en casa con un amigo.
“Sólo me dijo que no tuviera miedo y que fuera cariñosa, ahora sé que pagaron por estar conmigo y en vez de que gane dinero él, mejor me lo agarro yo”, expresó la menor, que ahora se prostituye en las calles de la ciudad.
Ella logró huir de su casa, pero no del camino al que la orilló su padrastro...
El caso de “Elena” es más común de lo que parece. Sólo en San Pedro Sula hay cerca de 10 mil menores que son víctimas de abuso sexual y comercial, según información en poder de la Fiscalía de la Niñez. Las cifras recogen datos hasta 2008, por lo que las autoridades temen que el número hasta la fecha sea mucho más alarmante. El 98% de las estadísticas corresponde a niñas...
In the northern coastal city of San Pedro
Sula, 10,000 minors are subjected to sexual abuse and commercial
exploitation
Elena has just turned 16, but she has ‘been’ with many men. She
was first prostituted by her stepfather. Now she does it to make
money for herself.
From an early age Elena suffered abuse from her stepfather, who
just waited long enough for her to show signs of maturing before
he started profiting from selling her body.
Elena recalls that she was almost 12 when her stepfather told
her that some of his friends would be coming over to visit, and
that she had to help her mother to attend to his visitors.
At that time, Elena didn’t know that type of ‘attending’ she
would have to do for her stepfather’s friends. She imagined that
she would have to cook for them. Girls her age were expected to
help out with the housework.
One day, when she was close to her 13th birthday,
while her six brothers played in the street, her stepfather left
her in the house with one of his friends. Elena: “He told me not
to be afraid, and asked me to be affectionate with him. Now I
know that this man paid my stepfather to be with me. Instead of
making money for him, now I make it myself.”
Elena was able to escape from her home, but could not escape the
path in life that her stepfather has set her upon.
Cases like Elena’s occur more frequently than one would think.
Just in the city of San Pedro Sula, there are 10,000 minors who
are victims of sexual abuse, including the Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children (CSEC), according to data collected by
the special prosecutor for crimes against children. Their
statistics only cover a period through 2008, leaving the
authorities believing that today’s figures are likely much
higher. Some 98% of cases involve girls.
Special prosecutor for crimes against children coordinator
Thelma Martínez indicates that the figures are worrying, given
that an increasing number of these cases involve pimping and
human trafficking.
Martínez declared that these girls and adolescents are
manipulated and recruited by adults who profit from them through
prostitution. The victims are selected for the marketplace based
on the color of their skin, their age and their height.
The obstacle that prosecutors face in going after pimps is that
minors are not willing to testify against them.
Martínez: “Many girls are fearful. Others, unfortunately, have
gotten used to earning money this way, and prefer to say
nothing.”
Due to the increase in these types of cases, a special office
was created to attend to the complaints involving sexual abuse,
kidnapping, pimping, human trafficking and rape, which is the
most commonly reported crime.
According to the special prosecutor’s office, in the month of
May, 2010 alone, 30 child sexual abuse cases were processed.
Although child sexual abuse cases involve a criminal penalty of
from 5 to 10 years of prison time, the damage caused to the
victim is irreversible.
“The worst part of these cases is that the [perpetrator] is in
the same family nucleus. They are fathers, stepfathers, cousins
or others” added Martínez.
In addition to attending to the cases of children who are
victims of crime, the special prosecutor’s office also deals
with at-risk minors and juvenile criminal perpetrators. When
they receive a complaint, they sent the child to one of several
centers run by the Honduran Institute for Children and Families
– IHNFA, while the case is being resolved...
La Prensa - Honduras
June 09, 2010
New York, USA
Smugglers kidnap girl bound for Long Island
A Long Island mom is racing against time to find her teenage daughter -- who is being held captive by immigrant-smugglers threatening to kill her unless a ransom is paid.
"Mom, save me! Please help! They are going to kill me," 14-year-old Eloisa Lopez, who left Honduras more than a month ago, told her mom by phone on Tuesday.
The terrified girl somehow managed to take a cellphone from her captors and call her mom. But she had no clear idea where she was being held, sending her family scrambling for help.
The devastated mom had saved up her earnings as a housekeeper and paid "coyotes" $5,000 to bring the girl to the country nearly a month ago, Eloisa's sister told the Post.
But 10 days later, a smuggler brazenly demanded $7,000 more from the family in exchange for Eloisa's life.
It was cash they didn't have.
Then on Tuesday, Dania received the terrifying call.
"I think I'm in Houston, but I don't know where I am!" Eloisa cried over the phone, fearful that her captors would discover she was calling for help.
"Don't worry, we will save you no matter where you are," Dania told her daughter, before phoning cops.
A law enforcement source told The Post yesterday that "authorities are investigating a claim that may have implications of human trafficking."
Federal authorities have since taken over the case, and Department of Homeland Security agents yesterday went to the Lopez family's home in Woodbury.
"She was due back this week," Ingrid Lopez, 18, said of her sister. "This is horrible. My sister is in danger of losing her life. These coyotes don't care. They will kill you and leave you in the desert."
Ingrid would know. She was smuggled from Honduras to Long Island three years ago on a similarly dangerous journey.
The 18-year-old, now a student, often went without food and water and walked for three days straight.
She now fears her younger sister has met a far worse fate.
"She is so small and slight. She would not be able to defend herself against them," Ingrid said.
Eloisa's mom has been working long and hard to bring all five of her children into the country.
Two, including Ingrid, have been safely brought to Long Island. The youngest two live in Honduras with their grandmother.
"We never imagined this would happen. We just wanted to be reunited as a family," Ingrid Lopez said. "We feel helpless but we have faith in God everything will work out."
Kieran Crowley and Emily Ngo
The New York Post
June 10, 2010
New Jersey, USA
Man admits sexually abusing boy, 5, in Parsippany
An illegal immigrant from Guatemala faces up to 15 years in state prison on his guilty plea Monday to sexually abusing a 5-year-old boy in Parsippany over a six-month period.
Through a Spanish interpreter, Jorge Mario Hernandez, 26, admitted to state Superior Court Judge Thomas V. Manahan in Morristown to one count of aggravated sexual assault on the child between May 1 and Oct. 23, 2009.
Morris County Assistant Prosecutor LaJuan Tucker has recommended that Hernandez be sentenced to 15 years in state prison, with 85 percent or 12 years and nine months to be served before parole consideration. Defense lawyer Neill Hamilton said he would argue for 10 years.
Hernandez, who told the judge he was educated until the 6th grade in his native Guatemala, said he understood he was likely to be deported upon release from prison. Sentencing tentatively was set for July 9.
Hernandez was arrested in October after an unidentified witness contacted police to say that he or she saw Hernandez assaulting the boy. Upon being confronted, the witness told police, Hernandez dropped to his knees and begged for forgiveness. He said in court Monday only that he assaulted the child on more than one occasion; police had accused him of molesting the boy more than 30 times.
Before he is sentenced, Hernandez must be evaluated at the state's Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Avenel to determine if he is a compulsive and repetitive sex offender who should be incarcerated there. According to the law, if he receives a sentence of more than seven years and is considered compulsive and repetitive, he still must serve a portion of his punishment in state prison before being transferred to Avenel.
Peggy Wright
The Daily Record
June 07, 2010
Pennsylvania, USA
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Jesus Marrero |
Man Charged with Child Sex Assault
A man from Scranton is accused of sexually assaulting a young boy over the course of a few months.
Jesus Marrero, 44, was arrested Wednesday. Police said he made a seven-year-old boy watch while he had sex with his girlfriend, then forced the boy to have sexual relations with him.
The boy was in Marrero's care at the time.
Police learned what happened when the boy told a school official.
WNEP-TV
June 10, 2010
Texas, USA
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Jose Arturo Lopez |
Former Teacher Charged With Indecency With a Child
El Paso County Sheriff's Officers arrest a former Fabens ISD teacher. Jose Arturo Lopez was arrested for an alleged incident that took place in December of 2008 involving a 15-year-old girl. At the time, Lopez was working at O'Donnell Elementary school as fifth-grade teacher. Lopez is charged with indecency with a child.
Oralia Ortega
KTSM
June 09, 2010
California, USA
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Pedro Hernandez |
Relative Caught In Girl's Sex Assault At San Francisco Elementary School
San Francisco - A 68-year-old man suspected of sexually assaulting his 8-year-old step-granddaughter at her San Francisco elementary school last week was arrested Thursday at a homeless shelter after reportedly being harbored by his children and altering his appearance, police said Friday.
San Francisco police arrested Pedro Hernandez, who allegedly assaulted the girl at Sanchez Elementary School in the Mission District around noon June 3, at a shelter at St. Bruno's Catholic Church in San Bruno Thursday night, police said.
Hernandez is expected to be arraigned Monday morning in San Francisco Superior Court on seven felony counts, according to district attorney's office spokeswoman Erica Derryck.
The charges include continuous sexual abuse of a child, sexual intercourse or sodomy with a child 10 years of age or younger, and oral copulation or sexual penetration with a child 10 years of age or younger. The last two charges are punishable by life in prison.
Three of Hernandez's adult children were also arrested Tuesday in connection with the alleged attack on the girl. Prosecutors filed charges against two of the children, but decided not to charge the third.
Marisol Lopez and Jesus Hernandez were arraigned in court Friday morning in on charges of being an accessory to the crime after the fact, according to Derryck. Both pleaded not guilty and were ordered held on $100,000 bail.
Police spokesman Officer Samson Chan said the children are believed to have helped their father get a motel room in Daly City after the alleged assault.
In addition, Hernandez shaved his moustache and cut his hair short in recent days, Chan said.
"He was actively trying to conceal himself," Chan said.
An investigation by the Police Department's Fugitive Recovery Team led police to the homeless shelter.
Following the alleged assault, police issued a $2 million warrant for his arrest and initiated a statewide and international search.
Police do not believe Hernandez was a member of the San Bruno church or that anyone at the shelter knew he was a fugitive, Chan said.
Hernandez has known the girl's family for several years and has lived with them on and off, according to police.
He had married the girl's grandmother but they are now separated, Chan said.
According to police, Hernandez arrived at the school to bring lunch to the girl and a female school district employee saw him "being overly affectionate toward the victim" and became suspicious.
The same employee then caught Hernandez allegedly sexually assaulting the girl in a secluded stairwell area inside the school and Hernandez ran away, police said. The woman called police.
Hernandez allegedly assaulted the girl in the stairwell multiple times and the acts were recorded on a video surveillance camera, police said.
CBS 5
June 11, 2010
Indiana, USA
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Roberto Vasquez |
A Chicago man convicted of child molesting in Elkhart County will be featured on the "America's Most Wanted" web page.
Roberto Vasquez, 54, was convicted last year. He was sentenced to 247 years behind bars for molesting a young girl from the time she was six until she was 12.
According to the America's Most Wanted website, Vasquez posed as a religious adviser in Elkhart to get into people's homes. He molested one girl from 1999 until 2006, when he was arrested.
On the day of his sentencing in 2009, Vasquez went into hiding and authorities have been looking for him ever since.
The Elkhart Police Department actually contacted “America’s Most Wanted”, hoping to get more publicity in the case on a national level.
“Just because of the severity of this crime; 9 different child molests charges of one child and it had been going on for six years, and the fact that he uses the “I'm a religious adviser” to get into him people’s homes. I mean, this family allowed him to live in their homes,” said Elkhart Police Lt. Ed Windbigler.
WNDU
June 02, 2010
Texas, USA
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Genny Granados |
Salvadoran immigrant gets 50 years for dumping baby in the thrash
On Thursday, in a Harris County courtroom, Genny Granados, 31, was sentenced to 50 years in prison for murder, after leaving her infant son in a Houston emergency room bathroom trash can.
According to prosecutors, sometime around midnight Feb. 9, 2008, Granados, who denied being pregnant, gave birth to a baby boy in an emergency room bathroom at Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital.
She cut the umbilical cord herself, dumped the infant into the trash, and left.
A custodian later found the baby.
Doctors revived the infant, and placed him on life support. The baby was found to be brain-dead and died 11 days later.
At her arraignment, prosecutor Kelli Johnson said of Granados: “She has such little respect for human life that she tells no one, to my knowledge, that she was pregnant. She goes to the hospital, has a pair of scissors in her hand, and cuts her own umbilical cord and looks at her baby and throws it in the trash.”
Granados’ defense attorneys blamed hospital staff for the child’s death, saying they should have known that Granados gave birth in the restroom.
Granados is a legal U.S. resident who came to this country from El Salvador, and has two other children.
This sad case is reminiscent of another in which an illegal alien abandoned her baby in a dumpster in California.
In December 2009, the staff at Anaheim Medical Center became suspicious of the story given them by Juana Perez Valencia, 19, who though showing all of the signs, claimed she had not just given birth. Orange County deputies arrived and questioned her, eventually finding the corpse of her newborn daughter in the dumpster behind Sombrero’s restaurant, where Valencia worked as a waitress.
Apparently, Valencia gave birth to the girl in the restaurant’s bathroom, and allegedly placed the baby into a plastic bag, before tossing her into the dumpster.
An autopsy concluded that the baby had in fact, been born alive and healthy.
Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh told the Orange County Register that the Mexican national had concealed her pregnancy, and was fully aware that she could have simply handed the baby over to authorities with no questions asked, but instead chose to let her die in a trash bin.
The Orange County District Attorney‘s Office issued the following statement: “The baby girl was born alive. Baby Doe weighed 6.3 pounds and was 17 inches long. The defendant is accused of murdering the baby, putting Baby Doe in a plastic bag, and throwing her body in a dumpster behind the restaurant.”
Valencia was charged with murder and currently sits in the Orange County Jail awaiting trial. If convicted, she faces a sentence of 25 years to life.
Dave Gibson
The Examiner
June 12, 2010
Ohio, USA
Police investigate the use of date rape drug at bar
A 31-year-old Grove City woman reported to Grove City Police that at 1:17 a.m. May 26 that she was the victim of rape while she was at a bar in the 3000 block of Southwest Boulevard. She told police that she believed someone slipped a date rape drug in her drink.
She woke up next to the trash receptacles behind the bar, bleeding copiously and complaining of internal pain. She told police that two to three men, one of whom had a scar above his right eye, raped her.
She told police she believed the men were Hispanic and mentioned a gang initiation. She also complained of confusion. The bartender reported seeing the woman in the company of a number of individuals during the course of the night.
One witness said she saw the victim vomiting and bleeding in the bathroom, but none of the bar patrons reported any awareness of a rape.
Columbus Local News
June 02, 2010
Southwest USA
U.S. Border Patrol Crime Blotter - May 27 - June 9, 2010
June 9, 2010 - Tucson Sector - Agents arrested an illegal alien from Honduras near Casa Grande, Arizona.
Records checks revealed the subject had a prior conviction for sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12 in the state of Kentucky and had previously been removed from the United States.
June 7, 2010 - El Centro Sector - Agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Calexico, California.
Records checks revealed the subject is a convicted sex offender and had previously been removed from the United States.
June 7, 2010 - El Centro Sector - Agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Ocotillo, California.
Records checks revealed the subject had a prior conviction for lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 in the state of California and had previously been removed from the United States.
June 7, 2010 - Tucson Sector - Agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Cowlic, Arizona. During processing, the subject admitted to being a Latin Kings gang member. Records checks revealed he had a prior conviction for statutory rape in the state of Georgia.
June 5, 2010 - Del Rio Sector - Agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Eagle Pass, Texas.
Records checks revealed the subject had a prior conviction for indecency with a child with sexual contact in the state of Texas, and had previously been removed from the United States.
June 4, 2010 - Tucson Sector - Agents arrested an illegal alien from El Salvador near Naco, Arizona.
Records checks revealed the subject was a Mara Salvatrucha 13 (MS-13) gang member and had a prior conviction for possession/purchase of cocaine and spousal abuse. He had also previously been removed from the United States.
June 3, 2010 - Tucson Sector - Agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Ajo, Arizona.
Records checks revealed the subject had a prior conviction for molestation of a child in the state of California and he had previously been removed from the United States.
June 2, 2010 - Del Rio Sector - Agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico in Weatherford, Texas.
Records checks revealed the subject had a prior conviction for delivery of a controlled substance and an active arrest warrant for aggravated sexual assault on a child issued in the state of Texas. The subject had also been previously removed from the United States.
May 29, 2010 - Yuma Sector - Agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Yuma, Arizona.
Records checks revealed the subject had an extensive criminal history, to include convictions for aggravated driving under the influence, assault and disorderly conduct. The subject was also a registered sex offender and had been previously removed from the United States.
May 29, 2010 - Tucson Sector - Agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Casa Grande, Arizona.
Records checks revealed the subject had a prior conviction for rape in the state of Washington and had been previously removed from the United States.
May 29, 2010 - Tucson Sector - Agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Douglas, Arizona.
Records checks revealed the subject had a prior conviction for lascivious acts and sexual penetration with foreign object of a minor in the state of California. The subject had also been previously removed from the United States.
May 27, 2010 - Laredo Sector - Agents assisted other Federal and local law enforcement officers in the arrest of an illegal alien from Mexico for kidnapping at a bus station near Laredo, Texas. The subject was en route to Mexico after kidnapping an 11-year-old female in the state of Illinois. The child was returned unharmed to proper authorities.
May 27, 2010 - Tucson Sector - Agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Gila Bend, Arizona.
Records checks revealed the subject had a prior conviction for rape in the state of California and had been previously removed from the United States.
U.S. Border Patrol
June 9, 2010
Delaware, USA
New Castle Police Investigate Child's Abduction and Rape
Hockessin - New Castle County police are investigating a late night abduction and rape of a 9-year-old girl who accepted a ride from a stranger after she was inadvertently locked out of her home.
The investigation revealed that around 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, a family friend drove the victim to her home on the 500 block of Homestead Road in Alban Park home. After the friend drove away, the victim initially entered her building but was unable to get into her home as the door was locked. Police learned she then walked back outside to search for her sister and her parents.
While walking along Alban Drive, near the rear of the Canby Park Shopping Center, the victim was approached by an unknown man who was driving a four-door vehicle. The man offered the victim a ride and after some conversation, she accepted. The two drove out of the community and then to an undisclosed location in the city of Wilmington where the car was parked.
Police say the male suspect then sexually assaulted the victim before she was able get out of the car and run. A good Samaritan found the young girl walking in the area and took her to a nearby convenience store. The victim was able to reach a family member by phone who responded to the store, picked her up and then drove her home. She then disclosed the assault to her mother, who in turned called 911.
The suspect is described as an Asian or Hispanic male with short black hair. Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact the New Castle County Police Department at (302) 395-8110 (attention Detective Brian Faulkner) or visit
www.nccpd.com. Citizens may also provide a text tip at: 847411 (TIP411); begin your message with NCCPD and then type your message. Tipsters may also call Crime Stoppers at (800) TIP-3333.
Police say investigators do not have any evidence at this point to believe this case is related to the two recent abduction and rape crimes that are being investigated by the Delaware State Police.
Kye Parsons
WBOC
June 10, 2010
California, USA
Man Tries to Grab Child Walking to School
San Diego - A 14-year-old girls escaped from a kidnapping attempt Thursday morning in City Heights.
The girl told San Diego Police she was walking to school when a man walked out of an apartment complex at 4029 44th Street near University Avenue at about 7:15 a.m. He reportedly tried to grab her and started chasing her.
A passing school bus driver saw the girl appeared to be in trouble and called police.
Police describe the suspect as a Latino male, about 25 years old, 6 feet tall with a medium build, shaved head, wearing dark blue shorts and long white socks.
While the driver called police, the man fled. He was described as Hispanic, about 25 years old, 6 feet tall with a medium build and shaved head.
He had on dark blue Dickies shorts and long white socks.
San Diego 6
June 10, 2010
New Jersey, USA
Police Arrest Summit Man in Luring Case
Summit Police arrested Jose Gerardo Mazariedo, a 23 year old city resident, and charged him with two counts of third degree providing obscene materials to a minor and one count of second degree Child Luring on Monday, according to Detective Steve Zagorski.
This arrest, Zagorski emphasized, is not related to the May attempted luring on Linden Place.
On Saturday, the mother of a 14-year-old female reported to police that her daughter and three of her classmates had been followed home from school, every day for the past week, by an unidentified Hispanic male in his late 20s or early 30s who was operating a newer model Honda, color blue, Zagorski said.
At school dismissal time on June 7, the police set up surveillance around the victim's school and in the area of her walking route home. At around 3 p.m. police observed a 2010 Honda, which was being operated by Mazariedo, driving in the area under surveillance, Zagorski said.
The police stopped the vehicle and identified Mazariedo as the suspect from the June 7 complaint. Mazariedo was arrested after police uncovered additional evidence linking him to an additional victim, a 13-year-old female.
Mazariedo was committed to the Union County Jail in Elizabeth where he is being held in lieu of $200,000 bail.
Chief Robert C. Lucid commended the actions and skills of the two detectives assigned to the case, Sgt. Thomas Rich and Det. John Padilla, for "quickly securing the necessary information for these criminal charges before this individual could perpetrate a sexual assault. Without their diligence we may have had a very different story to tell."
Heather Collura
Summit Patch
June 08, 2010
Illinois, USA
Cops seek suspect in assault on Waukegan bike path
Waukegan police are asking for the public's help in locating a man suspected in the sexual assault last week of a woman near a bike path in the far northern suburb, officials said today.
Police said a 38-year-old woman was attacked at about 5 p.m. on June 4, on the Robert McClorey Bike Path just north of Montesano Avenue.
The woman was riding her bicycle on the path when she a man on another bicycle knocked her off of her bicycle and forced her in to a wooded area, officials said. The man assaulted her at knife point, police said.
After the attack the man left the area on his bicycle, traveling southbound on the path from Montesano Avenue.
The man is described as Hispanic, about 26-years-old, about 5 feet 9 inches tall, with a thin build and short black hair. The bicycle he was riding is described as a dark colored BMX style bicycle with foot pegs on the front wheel.
Police officials said they have a possible suspect identified and are "actively looking for him." Officials are asking anyone with any information about the incident to call detectives at (847)599-2608.
Carlos Sadovi
The Chicago Tribune / WGN
June 09, 2010
Virginia, USA
Short Pump jogger fights off attacker whose genitals were exposed
Henrico - Scary moments for a [city of] Short Pump woman who says she was attacked while on a morning jog near Lauderdale Drive and Park Terrace Drive. Tonight, police say they're treating this as an assault, and, exposure case, because when the woman tried to fight back, it turns out the man wasn't entirely covered up.
It's a crime that is as stunning, as it is unusual...in the upscale, private, and peaceful Wellesley neighborhood.
Police say a woman was on a mid-morning jog, when she saw a man walking toward her. She said, "Good morning". But police say the man, all of a sudden, shoved her backward. Police say the woman responded with a push of her own...only to notice the man's genitals were exposed.
"Kind of, just, you know...shocked. You don't really hear that kind of thing going on in our neighborhood," said Wellesley resident Sharon Sachdeva.
After the initial tussle, police say the man tried to run away, so the woman and a passerby chased him. Police say the man then got into a pickup truck, and drove out of sight.
Those who grew up in the area say it makes them think twice about their personal safety, which they usually don't have to do...
Henrico Police are looking for a person who fits this description: Hispanic male. Approximately 6' tall and 230 pounds, wearing white painter-style pants and a dingy white t-shirt. Police say he was driving a pickup truck. If you have information that can help, call Henrico Police at 501-5000 or Crime Stoppers at 780-1000.
WWBT
June 10, 2010
California, USA
Woman fights off suspect in attack at San Jose storage facility
Police are searching for a man who attempted to sexually assault and rob a woman in a rented unit of a San Jose storage facility this afternoon.
The woman managed to fight off her assailant in the attack at about 4:30 p.m. at Public Storage in the 900 block of Felipe Avenue, police spokesman Dirk Parsons said.
He said the victim had entered her storage unit when an unknown man came up behind her, hit her with his elbow and attempted to lift her skirt.
The woman fought him off, but the suspect then threatened to steal her car. Parsons said the victim was holding keys to her Mercedes and that the suspect tried to grab them.
The victim, however, resisted and the suspect ran out the door of the storage unit, shutting it behind him, according to Parsons. The woman managed to quickly escape the unit, but the suspect then grabbed her.
Parsons said the victim again resisted and the suspect ran to his vehicle and drove off.
The victim was taken to a local hospital to be treated for minor injuries.
Police described the suspect as a Hispanic man in his 30s, about 5 feet 6 inches tall and 170 pounds. He was wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt, and a blue shirt and pants. A security camera at the business showed him driving away in a small Honda or similar vehicle, Parsons said.
Parson said the suspect could face charges of assault with attempt to commit rape, assault with a deadly weapon and attempted robbery.
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Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to call police at (408) 277-4102. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at (408) 947-STOP.
Bay City News Service
June 02, 2010
The United States
Female Migrants Charge Sexual Abuse in
Detention
New York
- In the wake of allegations that a male guard at a central
Texas detention facility sexually assaulted female detainees on
their way to being deported, immigrant advocacy groups say
stronger oversight and accountability is urgently needed to
prevent further abuse of female detainees.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), part of the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said last week that the
guard has been fired. It added that Corrections Corporation of
America, the private prison company that manages the Hutto
facility, has been placed on probation pending the
investigation's outcome. The consequences of probation were not
immediately clear.
ICE said
that several women who were held at Hutto facility in Taylor,
Texas, were groped while being patted down and at least one was
propositioned for sex.
"We
understand that this employee was able to commit these alleged
crimes because ICE-mandated transport policies and procedures
were not followed," David Sanders, DHS's contracting officer,
said in a letter to Corrections Corporation of America obtained
by The Associated Press.
ICE has
ordered Corrections Corporation of America to take corrective
actions. Among them is forbidding male guards from being alone
with female detainees.
"Hutto is
not an isolated incident," Jacki Esposito of Detention Watch
Network, a coalition of organizations that monitors ICE
treatment of detainees, told IPS. "Allegations of sexual assault
have plagued other facilities where immigrants are being held by
the federal government." ...
William
Fisher
Inter Press Service (IPS)
June 07, 2010
Maryland, USA
Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District
Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Jose Jhonson
Hernandez-Ramos, age 34, a Honduran national
living in Baltimore, today to 87 months in
prison followed by lifetime supervised release
for interstate travel to have sex with a minor.
Judge Bennett also ordered that Hernandez-Ramos
be removed from the United States by U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement after he has
completed his sentence.
The sentence was announced by
United States Attorney for the District of
Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in
Charge William Winter of U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement; Baltimore Police
Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III; and
Baltimore City State’s Attorney Patricia C.
Jessamy.
According to Hernandez-Ramos’
plea agreement, Hernandez-Ramos met the victim
in California, when she was 14 years old, and
they began to have a sexual relationship in May
2008. After the victim turned 15 years old, Jose
Jhonson Hernandez- Ramos brought her from
California to Baltimore in December 2008, where
they continued a sexual relationship until
August 4, 2009.
This case was brought as part of
Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative
to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual
exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by
the Department of Justice. Led by United States
Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's
Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS),
Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state
and local resources to better locate, apprehend
and prosecute individuals who exploit children
via the internet, as well as to identify and
rescue victims. For more information about
Project Safe Childhood, please visit
projectsafechildhood.gov
United States Attorney Rod J.
Rosenstein commended Baltimore Child Abuse
Center Executive Director Adam Rosenberg and his
staff, for their assistance in this
investigation and thanked Assistant U.S.
Attorney Bonnie S. Greenberg, who prosecuted the
case.
The Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force
June 07, 2010
Maryland, USA
Illegal immigrant pleads to sex abuse of 6-year-old boy
Man faces between 15 and 30 years in prison, deportation for crimes
An illegal immigrant caught on video sexually assaulting a 6-year-old boy has pleaded guilty to exploiting a child to make child pornography.
The arrest of 25-five-year-old Maynor Quintanilla-Leon occurred after someone found a videotape in a Hyattsville trash bin that showed Quintanilla-Leon sexually abusing a male child, according to charging documents.
Quintanilla-Leon faces between 15 and 30 years in prison, and will be deported after he serves his time, prosecutors said.
"Mr. Quintanilla-Leon's despicable acts committed on a 6-year-old boy cry out for a long period of incarceration," Prince George's Police Chief Roberto Hylton said.
On July 8, 2009, authorities were tipped off about the attack after someone turned over a video tape that had been found with a VCR in a trash bin.
The tape lasts 47 minutes and depicts acts of sadistic violence, charging documents said. During the video, the child refers to his assailant as "Maynor."
Three days later, a witness spotted the man on the videotape in Hyattsville and contacted police. Police identified the man as Quintanilla-Leon, but because they did not have a victim they did not immediately arrest him, police said.
Detectives were able to find the boy in the video by going back to the previous addresses where Quintanilla-Leon had lived. Quintanilla-Leon had rented a home near where the boy lived. The child told police that Quintanilla-Leon abused him 20 times.
Quintanilla-Leon had fled to Texas, but U.S. Marshals captured him in Houston on July 29.
In Greenbelt's district court on Friday, Quintanilla-Leon admitted to sexually assaulting the boy twice. He did not admit to videotaping the assault, but admitted to throwing away the videotape in the trash near his brother's house.
Scott McCabe
The Washington Examiner
June 06, 2010
California, USA
Manhunt for man who attacked 14-year-old in Kensington
San Diego - Police are looking for a man who tried to rape a 14-year-old girl in Kensington.
The girl says she was walking along on 41st Street near Monroe Avenue at about 9:30 p.m. Sunday when the man threw her to the ground and tore off her undergarments.
A nearby neighbor apparently heard the girl's screams and attempted to apprehend the suspect, but he got away.
The suspect is described as a Latino male in his 30s with a goatee and tattoo on his right forearm. He was last seen wearing a dark colored hooded sweatshirt and shorts.
CBS 8
June 07, 2010
New York, USA
Police Seek Suspects In Central Park Sexual Assault
Police released surveillance video that shows three men believed to be suspects in the sexual assault of a woman in Central Park early Sunday morning. The victim, 23, was near the crosstown bus stop at East 86th Street and Fifth Avenue around 3 a.m. when, according to the Daily News, "The men offered to walk her through the park." Police Commissioner Kelly said, "She was taken into Central Park, where she was attacked."
The News also reports, "Two of the men pushed her to the ground, while the third exposed himself. She was sexually assaulted, hit on the head and robbed, the source said." The men allegedly told her they were smoking marijuana with PCP. The woman was able to run out of the park, half naked, onto Fifth Avenue where a cab driver saw her, gave her a shirt and called 911.
Upon learning about the attack, one 24-year-old told the News, "I always walk this way at night, but no way I'm doing that now." And WABC 7 has descriptions of the suspects: "Suspect #1: Hispanic man, 5'5" tall, with a dark colored Yankee baseball cap, dark colored patterned shirt and khaki shorts; Suspect #2: Hispanic man, 5'5" tall, with a red Yankee cap, red shirt and black shorts; Suspect #3: Hispanic man, 5'5" tall, with a light blue baseball cap, light blue shirt and khaki pants." People with information are urged to call Crime Stoppers (800-577-TIPS), log onto the Crimes Stoppers website or texting 274637 (CRIMES) with TIP577.
Gothamist
June 07, 2010
Colorado, USA
Fort Collins police arrest suspect in attempted kidnapping
Luis Garcia-Gonzales, 24, of Greeley, was taken into custody at 10:47 p.m. Saturday after a Greeley police officer noticed the vehicle he was driving matched the description of a vehicle Fort Collins police believed was tied to Thursday's attempted kidnapping incident.
Garcia-Gonzales was originally arrested for driving under restraint, but after an interview with a Fort Collins police detective, he was arrested on suspicion of felony attempted second-degree kidnapping and felony menacing.
Police began searching for a suspect after a 21-year-old woman reported that she was riding her bike northbound about 6:30 a.m. Thursday on Shields Street near Hill Pond Road when she noticed a man near an older white station wagon trying to get her attention.
According to police, the man was described as being Hispanic, in his mid-20s with a shaved head or very short hair, about 5-foot-7 and about 200 or 250 pounds.
The woman said the unknown man obstructed her path as she rode along the sidewalk and she stopped thinking he needed assistance.
"It was then that she saw the man had a knife in his hand. She attempted to flee, fell to the ground and two passing motorists stopped to assist," police said in a press release last week. "The suspect fled northbound on Shields Street in his vehicle. The victim was not injured."
Coloradan.com
June 07, 2010
Mexico
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A
young child labors in a melon field
Photo: El Universal |
En México, 3.6 millones de niños son explotados
La mayoría de niños, mujeres, adolescentes que laboran en malas condiciones y sin la posibilidad de asistir a la escuela provienen de contextos de pobreza, derivada de la falta de oportunidades educativas
La presidenta de la Comisión Especial de Lucha Contra la Trata de Personas, la panista Rosi Orozco (PAN), informó que con base en datos del Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía, en México hay 3.6 millones de niños trabajadores entre cinco y 17 años en condiciones de explotación.
"El Instituto estima que en México hay 3.6 millones de niños trabajadores entre cinco y 17 años trabajando en malas condiciones, sin la posibilidad de asistir a la escuela y buscar un mejor futuro", dijo.
Aseguró que la trata de personas es un delito con un impacto social complejo, cuya principal característica es convertir a las personas en mercancías que se intercambian en mercados clandestinos nacionales e internacionales, que laboran al amparo de la impunidad que les brindan las autoridades.
Orozco dijo que se deben combatir las raíces que propician el fenómeno de la trata de personas, pues la mayoría de niños, mujeres, adolescentes víctimas de ese delito provienen de contextos de pobreza, derivada de la falta de oportunidades educativas y laborales.
In Mexico, 3.6 million children are exploited
The majority of girls, boys and adolescents who labor
in abusive situations, with no hope of being able to attend school, live in
poverty that is also caused by a lack of educational opportunities.
National Actional Party (PAN) Congressional deputy Rosi Orozco, who is the
president of the Special Commission to Fight Human Trafficking in the Chamber of
Deputies, has announced the results of a statistical analysis on conditions
facing working children, conducted by the National Institute for Statistics and
Geography (INEG).
Deputy Orozco: The INEG estimates that in Mexico, 3.6 million minors between the ages of
5 and 17 work in [deplorable] labor conditions, and are unable to attend school
or seek a better future for themselves.
Orozco added that human trafficking is a crime that has a complicated impact on
society. Its principal characteristic is that it converts people into
merchandise, who are then bought and sold in national and international
clandestine marketplaces with the assistance of the impunity that is offered by corrupt authorities.
The deputy added that human trafficking should be fought from the roots up. They
majority of children, adolescents and women who are victims of these crimes come
from backgrounds of poverty, which itself derives from a lack of educational and
labor opportunities.
Andrea Merlos y Juan Arvizu
El Universal
June 02, 2010
Texas, USA
Human trafficking decried as "a horrible problem" in Texas
Austin - In the 2008 film thriller Taken, two American girls on a pleasure trip to France are kidnapped from their apartment and thrown into a brutal world of modern-day slavery and forced prostitution.
On Thursday, Texas lawmakers heard grim real-life episodes of human trafficking as law enforcement officials described a burgeoning criminal enterprise that has spread across Texas and other states.
Bexar County District Attorney Susan Reed told of one case in which a homeless teenage girl was abducted from a parking lot and spirited away to a strip club in Corpus Christi.
Capt. Rick Cruz of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, a participant of a task force operation in Houston, said officers rescued nearly 100 girls from "basically forced slavery" in the break-up of a trafficking ring in Houston in 2005.
Victims are often told that their families will be killed or injured if they try to contact someone on the outside, Cruz said.
Dallas police Lt. Thon Overstreet opened testimony at a legislative hearing by revealing a coordinated law enforcement strike at three locations in the Metroplex on Thursday to arrest suspects in a human trafficking network in North Texas. Overstreet declined to divulge certain details or locations because the operation had not been completed...
"It's a horrible problem," said Rep. Paula Pierson, D-Arlington, a member of the state House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, citing estimates that more than a half-million young people -- boys as well as girls -- have been kidnapped and forced into prostitution. Pierson said human trafficking often surges around "big events," such as the Super Bowl at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington on Feb. 6.
Overstreet, interviewed after the hearing, said members of a North Texas task force on human smuggling are mapping strategy to combat it as the Super Bowl approaches. The game is expected to draw legions of visitors to North Texas...
Growing problem
During the joint hearing of the Criminal Jurisprudence and the Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence committees, lawmakers heard testimony that human trafficking rings have grown in sophistication and technological skill, often using the Internet to lure victims or conduct business. There are also strong indications that Mexican drug cartels are increasingly moving into human trafficking to expand their illicit profits.
"It's grown dramatically, and I don't think we've even scratched the surface on a lot of these organizations," Overstreet said.
Asked by Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, to rank where law enforcement stands against human trafficking organizations on a scale of one to 10, Overstreet responded, "two or three, right now."
Overstreet clutched a rolled-up chart that he said detailed the operations of
[a] human smuggling ring targeted by [a recent] raid.
The criminal network has ties in Nigeria, Colombia and Mexico, operates in more than 20 U.S. cities, and boasts $12 million in physical assets and more than $6 million cash, he said...
Dave Montgomery
The Star-Telegram
June 03, 2010
The Americas
|
 |
|
Isabel Allende |
Author Isabel Allende to visit New Orleans, hoping to draw attention to modern-day problem of human trafficking
Chilean writer Isabel Allende is no stranger to the rough currents of history. A cousin of Chilean President Salvador Allende, she was forced to flee her native country in the mid-1970s after a military coup overthrew his government. She lived for many years in Venezuela but now is a U.S. citizen, making her home in California with her second husband and extended family.
The author of 18 books -- fiction, memoirs and novels for young adults -- Allende's literary focus is primarily on families and interpersonal relationships, with an emphasis on the lives of women. While fluent in English, she writes in Spanish; her works are then translated into English. Her wildly successful first novel, "The House of the Spirits, " a complex, multigenerational saga set in Latin America, remains for many readers her most important work.
Her new novel, "Island Beneath the Sea, " coming 28 years and 16 books later, echoes in many ways her earliest. The story follows the complicated, often troubled intertwining of several families as they move from Saint Domingue (now Haiti) to New Orleans during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
The rich history of her settings exerted a natural attraction for Allende...
Allende writes, "The legacy of slavery is like an open wound. In the United States we are only beginning to deal with it. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 but it took 100 years for the Civil Rights movement to empower the blacks. To this day, they suffer from discrimination, racism and inequality.
"Unfortunately, in Haiti there are around 300,000 slave children, given away by their families because they can't feed them. It's a system that supposedly ensures that the children will be fed and sheltered, but in reality they are exploited as house servants and brutally abused; they don't receive education of any kind, no one cares for them."
The Isabel Allende Foundation, created in 1996 to honor the memory of her daughter Paula, who died in her late 20s, is focused on "social and economic justice" as well as "empowerment and protection" for women and girls.
The author connects the story of Zarite's journey from enslavement to freedom to contemporary concerns. She writes, "I hope that Zarité's story draws attention to the plight of modern slaves. Today there are 27 million slaves counted. Who knows how many more have not been counted? Some are victims of slave trafficking, but most are enslaved by debt bondage, kidnapping in war zones (child soldiers, for example), exploited under inhuman conditions in mines, fishing industry, sweatshops, agriculture, etc. Slavery is illegal and no country admits that it happens within its borders, yet there is slavery everywhere, even in the U.S. (Google 'Free the Slaves'). Before, slaves were an investment, and therefore valuable. Today slaves are so cheap that they are disposable, they have no voice; they are invisible.
"My foundation supports several grass-roots programs that empower women and girls in the U.S. and other countries. We do some work with clinics in Haiti. We also support programs that rescue women and girls from slavery in sex traffic and in bonded servitude."
...
Marigny Dupuy
The New Orleans Times-Picayune
May 13, 2010
The Americas
Tackle immigration problems at economic roots, bishops say
Washington, DC - Bishops of the United States, Canada, Central America and the Caribbean called on their governments to address the economic root causes of migration and seek policies that will help create jobs for people in their homelands.
During a regional consultation on migration held at the headquarters of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops June 2-4, Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City and bishops from Canada, Haiti and Latin America spoke with reporters about some of the issues being discussed at the meeting.
Addressing economic root causes of migration "in our mind, is the lasting and humane solution to the challenge of illegal immigration," said Bishop Wester, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration, in a statement he read at the June 3 news conference.
"Second, we believe that all governments, not only the U.S., should look at their immigration laws and reform them in a manner which respects basic human rights," Bishop Wester continued. The nations of the hemisphere also must "redouble their efforts against the scourge of human trafficking," he said.
He noted that in a globalized world, where capital, communications and goods are readily exchanged, the movement of labor has not been regularized, and the impact of globalization on human beings has not been acknowledged or addressed...
Guatemalan Bishop Alvaro Ramazzini Imeri said, for example, that the poor of his country have not benefited from the Central American Free Trade Agreement, known as CAFTA, which it ratified three years ago.
"The level of poverty in Guatemala is increasing," he said...
In an interview with Catholic News Service, Bishop Ramazzini said Guatemala is reeling from the twin effects in less than a week of a volcanic eruption near the capital, Guatemala City, that coated streets and farms with inches of ash and the inundation of much of the country with up to 3 feet of rain by Tropical Storm Agatha. The two have destroyed many farmers' entire production for the season, he said. That jeopardizes their income as well as the source of affordable food for Guatemalans, he said.
At the news conference, Bishop Rafael Romo Munoz of Tijuana, Mexico, chairman of the Mexican bishops' migration commission, said his country is becoming a collection of semi-abandoned small towns as working-age teens and men have gone to the United States to be able to provide for women, children and elderly people left behind...
Participants included more than two dozen bishops from the United States, Canada, Haiti, Mexico and Central America and other representatives of national bishops' conferences, including the migration program director for the Cuban bishops.
Patricia Zapor
Catholic News Service / U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
June 04, 2010
Costa Rica
Menor llegó violada y forense la manoseó
Cuando estaba en valoración médica, Cartago
A pesar de que estaba acostumbrado a ver y tocar mujeres desnudas, el irresistible cuerpo de una joven menor de edad lo llevó a la tentación.
Un médico forense del Poder Judicial de Cartago, de apellidos Durán Ramírez, fue detenido por sus propios compañeros de trabajo porque al parecer abusó sexualmente de una menor de edad, quien fue víctima de una violación.
La muchacha llegó a los Tribunales de Cartago para una valoración médica, por lo cual fue atendida por el funcionario, quien además del examen de rutina llevó sus manos más lejos y aparentemente le tocó las partes íntimas.
El incidente se produjo en setiembre de 2009, pero la afectada no interpuso la denuncia hasta la semana pasada...
A child sexual abuse victim is victimized again by a
forensic examiner
Despite the fact that a forensic medical examiner (last names
Durán Ramírez) was accustomed to examining unclothed women, he proceeded to
sexually abuse an underage sexual assault victim who he was assigned to examine.
The victim came to the judicial center of the city of Cartago for a medical
examination, which was conducted by
Durán Ramírez. After the exam, the doctor touched the victim's intimate areas.
The incident happened in September of 2009, but the victim did not file a
complaint until last week.
Surprised by the case, the forensic medical examiner's office immediately opened
an investigation.
In the hallways of the local judicial center, the accusations were not taken
seriously, given that the 38-year-old was well liked, and was considered to be
very professional by his colleagues.
After his arrest, the local prosecutor interrogated
Durán Ramírez, and recommend pre-trial detention. He was charged with the crime
of sexually abusing a minor.
Despite the prosecutor's recommendation in the case, the Cartago Criminal Court
ordered bail and a restraining order that does not allow
Durán Ramírez to approach the victim, or the Cartago Legal Medical Office, for a
period of three months...
Danny León González
Diario Extra
June 02, 2010
Virginia, USA
|
 |
|
Hugo Antonio Callejas |
Salvadoran immigrant sentenced to prison for pursuing 13-year-old Virginia girl
On May 26, Loudoun County Judge James Chamblin sentenced Hugo Antonio Callejas, 43, to seven years in prison for soliciting a 13-year-old Leesburg girl for sex. Callejas originally approached the girl at a lemonade stand she set up on Memorial Day 2009, trying to raise money for the Relay for Life charity.
Callejas, who was found guilty in January, was working in the girl’s neighborhood and visited the lemonade stand three times in one day. During his last visit, he gave the girl his phone number and told her she was beautiful.
The girl’s friend, told her parents, who called the police.
Loudoun County Sheriff’s investigator, Shannon Cumberledge, then called Callejas, pretending to be the 13-year-old girl.
She and Callejas had 11 conversations over a two-day period. Some of the recorded calls were played during his trial.
Callejas could be heard saying: “You’re beautiful, and I love you.”
During other phone calls, he talked about kissing and touching the teenager, and how he would like to see her without any underwear.
Callejas said: “If you want to touch a lot, I’ll touch a lot. If you want to touch a little bit, I’ll touch you a little bit.”
The investigator agreed to meet Callejas at a community swimming pool. When he showed up, Loudoun County Sheriff’s deputies too him into custody.
Initially, Callejas denied the allegations, telling detectives that he only gave the teenager his number so that he could buy more cookies and lemonade from her. However, once confronted with the taped phone conversations, Callejas admitted to his actions.
Callejas came to this country from El Salvador, eventually becoming a U.S. citizen. He is married with three children.
Dave Gibson
The Examiner
June 05, 2010
Deleware, USA
|
 |
|
Gino Alfonso Laflora |
North Carolina Man Charged With Raping Deleware Teen
Frederica, Deleware - Delaware State Police have charged a North Carolina man with sexually assaulting a teenage girl.
Gino Alfonso Laflora, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, is facing several charges in connection to the alleged incident on May 16.
According to investigators, Laflora was visiting family in Kent County, Delaware when the assault occurred. The victim told police that the assault occurred near an open lot between Willow Drive and Maple Drive in Frederica.
The victim said she knew the suspect from a friend in the neighborhood. She said she was alone with Laflora in his car when the assault happened.
Laflora surrendered to authorities on June 3. He has been charged with Rape and Unlawful Imprisonment.
Laflora is being held on $52,000 bail pending a preliminary hearing.
CBS 3
June 05, 2010
Oregon, USA
|
 |
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Hernan Hernandez Vera |
High school student charged with sexual assault on graduation day
An Eastern Oregon high school senior who planned to attend his own graduation today, instead is in jail, facing felony sexual assault charges.
The Bellingham Herald reports that 19-year-old Hernan Hernandez Vera was charged with first-degree sodomy, rape and sexual abuse.
The sexual assault was reported around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday by staff at Good Shepherd Hospital.
Deputies learned the victim had been assaulted earlier in the day in Irrigon and around 1 a.m. Wednesday tracked Vera down at his home.
Vera, an Irrigon High senior, was jailed on suspicion of three counts of first-degree sodomy.
Kimberly A.C. Wilson
The Oregonian
June 04, 2010
Mexico
|
 |
|
Mexican congressional deputy Rosi Orozco, president of the Special
Commission to Fight Human Trafficking in the Chamber of Deputies |
México, número uno en pornografía infantil
Este fenómeno tiende a incrementarse más.
Ciudad de México.- El país ocupa el primer lugar en apertura de páginas web de pornografía infantil, y tiende a incrementarse más de 5% la distribución de videos de imágenes de abuso a recién nacidos, afirmó la diputada Rosi Orozco, presidenta de la Comisión Especial de Lucha contra la Trata de Personas.
La legisladora dijo que las denuncias telefónicas por delitos de pornografía infantil aumentaron 200% entre el 2008 y el 2009, y que otro problema radica en el uso de internet para la comercialización y funcionamiento de redes de trata de niños y niñas y de explotación sexual comercial...
Mexico is Number 1 in Child Pornography
The problem is continuing to grow
Mexico City - Mexico occupies first place [globally] in access of child
pornography by way of the Internet. The problem includes a [recent] 5% increase
in the distribution of obscene photos of recently born babies, according to
Mexican congressional deputy Rosi Orozco, president of the Special Commission to
Fight Human Trafficking in the Chamber of Deputies.
Deputy Orozco stated that phoned-in complaints about child pornography increased
200% between 2008 and 2009. She noted that another Internet-based aspect of the
problem involves the fact that child sex trafficking networks in Mexico are
using the Web to commercialize and operate their illicit businesses.
She warned that currently, no [anti-pornography] filters exist for cell phone
users who browse the Web, which is concerning, given that 75.6 million cell
phone users exist in Mexico, 29% of those have Internet access, and 55% of youth
between the ages of 12 and 18 use those services.
In response to this problem, Deputy Orozco has presented a non-binding
resolution calling upon the nation's state legislatures to reform their penal
codes to include crimes that involve public and private telecommunications
[networks].
Deputy Orozco also stated that the top criminal activities that take place on
the Internet involve, in order of importance: 1) fraud; 2) threats; and 3) child
pornography.
The Deputy concluded by noting that 11 million computers have Internet access in
Mexico. Some 55% of them are installed in homes, which represents 3.5 computers
for every 10 households. Thirty nine percent of the nation's 23 million
computer-based Internet users are between the ages of 12 and 18.
El Manana
May 14, 2010
New York, USA
Mayor Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Robles-Roman launch new public education campaign to end human trafficking
“Let’s Call an End to Human Trafficking” Campaign Encourages New Yorkers To “See It. Know It. Report It.”
Press Release (excerpt)
New York City - Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor Carol A. Robles-Roman and Chief Advisor for Policy and Strategic Planning John Feinblatt today launched a new public-education campaign to raise awareness about human trafficking and encourage New Yorkers to report potential trafficking situations. The multi-media campaign called “Let’s Call an End to Human Trafficking,” features silhouettes of everyday people who may be affected by trafficking. Human trafficking is a horrible crime that involves the recruiting, transporting, selling, or buying of people for the purpose of various forms of exploitation. These victims are often controlled through force, fraud, or coercion. The print advertisements in English and Spanish, created by Grey New York, in partnership with the Somaly Mam Foundation and the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, will appear on bus shelters in the five boroughs from May 20 – June 13. As part of the new campaign, the City’s new anti-trafficking website, which can be found on
www.nyc.gov, was also launched to provide more information about the plight of human trafficking...
“Human Trafficking is happening here, but we don’t know it because we don’t see it,” said Alice Ericsson, Executive Creative Director of Grey New York. “If we want New Yorkers to see the problem, we have to put it in plain view. And, in plain language. The silhouettes will tell the stories of human trafficking that can happen right here in our own town.” ...
The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs will also help to disseminate information and materials to vulnerable communities in the city, and bring broader awareness about human trafficking and where to go for help. Outreach to community and faith- based organizations serving immigrants as well as ethnic media will reinforce these efforts...
If you are a victim of human trafficking or would like to report a tip regarding suspected human trafficking, call 911. If you would like more information about human trafficking or would like to learn about how you can help, call 311 or visit
nyc.gov/ humantrafficking...
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
May 20, 2010
Washington State, USA
Crime Spree in Washington State
One woman is dead and two others were raped recently and police say each crime was committed by a different illegal immigrant. One of the sexual assaults happened just hours before the Seattle city council passed an ordinance boycotting Arizona over its new immigration law.
Gregorio Luna Luna had a history of beating up his live-in girlfriend Griselda Ocampo Meza. He was also in the U.S. illegally. On May 1,
[2010] Luna Luna was deported to Mexico. Three weeks later Meza was murdered in her apartment in a violent knife attack.
Franklin County prosecutors say Luna Luna slipped past the border again and killed Meza in front of their five year old son. He's in the county jail awaiting trial.
A suspected rapist in Edmonds, Washington has been deported at least 4 times according to Snohomish County prosecutors. Jose Lopez Madrigal has been charged with raping a woman next to a dumpster behind a Safeway store. A witness to the attack alerted police and Madrigal was taken into custody.
An illegal immigrant just convicted of his possible 3rd strike in Whatcom county- a rape of a homeless woman- has been deported to Mexico five times.
Dan Springer
Fox News
June 01, 2010
Texas, USA
|
|
|
Joe Chavez |
Former TABC officer indicted on sexual assault charges
Bastrop - A former Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission officer was indicted by a Bastrop County grand jury on Tuesday on charges of sexual assault of a child.
During a TABC undercover investigation of alcohol sales in May 2009, 41-year-old Joe Chavez allegedly sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl hired to assist in the sting.
Investigators say that the incident took place in Chavez's state-issued vehicle immediately after the sting. He also reportedly texted explicit photos of himself to the teen a day before the operation.
He was arrested on Friday by investigators with the Office of the Attorney General.
Prior to being stationed in Bastrop, Chavez was a TABC officer in Waco from June 2004 to August 2005.
Chavez is charged with two counts of Sexual Assault of a Child and one count each of online solicitation of a minor, abuse of official capacity and official oppression.
Louis Ojeda Jr.
KXXV
June 01, 2010
Mexico / The United States
 |
|
Mexican congressional deputy
Cora Pinedo Alonso, of the New Alliance Party, speaks
with reporters as she calls for the nation's current
federal anti-trafficking law to be enforced at the
federal level (it currently is limited to being enforced
by states in most circumstances. |
Segundo proveedor de EU de víctimas de trata
Entre 16 mil y 20 mil niños y niñas son víctimas de explotación sexual cada año en México, lo que convierte al país en la segunda nación que más víctimas de trata provee a Estados Unidos, superado únicamente por Tailandia, afirmó la diputada, Cora Pinedo Alonso, del Partido Nueva Alianza.
La también secretaria de la Mesa Directiva de la Cámara baja precisó que el municipio de Tapachula, Chiapas, es el lugar donde se realiza la mayor venta de mujeres, niñas y niños con fines de trata.
Muchos de esos menores son "redistribuidos" a los estados de Oaxaca, Michoacán, Guerrero, Jalisco, Nayarit, Sinaloa y el Distrito Federal, señaló con base a estudios de la organización internacional End Child Prostitution Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT).
Mexico is the second largest provider of human trafficking
victims to the United States
Between 16 and 20 thousand boys and girls are victims of sexual exploitation in
Mexico each year. As a result, Mexico has become the second largest provider of
human trafficking victims to the United States, according to congressional
deputy Cora Pinedo Alonso of the New Alliance Party.
Pinedo Alonso, who is the secretary of the governing council in the Chamber of
Deputies, also stated that Mexico's southern border city of Tapachula,
located in Chiapas state, is the largest center for the sale of women, girls and
boys for purposes of human trafficking in the nation.
Many of child victims are "redistributed" to the states of Oaxaca, Michoacán, Guerrero, Jalisco, Nayarit and Sinaloa, as well as to Mexico City.
Pinedo Alonso based her statements on a research study conducted [in 2007] by the organization End Child Prostitution Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT).
In response to this situation,
Pinedo Alonso has presented a non-binding resolution that has been submitted to the
Second Permanent Commission
of Congress (37 members of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies who conduct
congressional business when Congress is not in session) for consideration. The resolution calls
for the creation of stricter measures than now exist to investigate trafficking
crimes and to punish those responsible.
The resolution calls upon the
director of the National Institute of Migration (INM) to assign staff to
supervise and evaluate anti-trafficking activities on Mexico's southern border,
and specifically in the city of Tapachula, with reports on conditions there to
be sent to Congress.
According the the ECPAT study, Central American adolescents, the
majority of whom are minors, "are prostituted in 1, 552 bars and
brothels in Chiapas, and also in other cities and towns along the nation's
southern border [with Guatemala
and
Belize.]"
Pinedo Alonso added that in 50% of these cases, the victims are Guatemalans. [Salvadorans, Hondurans and Nicaraguans
are also victims]. The victims are usually between
the ages of 8 and 14. "They are sold by traffickers [to brothels] for $200
dollars each," Pinedo Alonso denounced.
Joining in the call for action, Chiapas state governor Juan Sabines has asked
for working groups to be created that coordinate the work of non-governmental
organizations, state agencies, the Chiapas state Human Rights Commission and
the state's office of the Special Prosecutor for Crimes of Violence Against
Women and Human Trafficking. The goal of the working groups would be to evaluate
the effectiveness of policies implemented to fight human trafficking.
Governor Sabines also called for an analysis to be conducted to track actions
taken in regard to cases of human trafficking that involve both Mexican and
Central American girls, boys and adolescents, and to document the number of
prosecutions pursued.
Governor Sabines: "We wish to express our indignation and complete repudiation
of these criminal practices. We energetically condemn
those public servants who, through acts of omission or commission, have been
complicit in collaborating with human trafficking networks. We call upon
the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government to join forces
[to combat these crimes]."
Cronica
May 31, 2010
See also:
Central America and Mexico
María de Jesús Silva,
Jackeline's mother
Trata de
blancas en Centroamérica
For
non-governmental organizations, the child
kidnapping and sex trafficking case of
11-year-old Jackeline Jirón Silva fom
Nicaragua is emblematic, as the case shows
clearly how the third most profitable
criminal enterprise in the world operates.
...Jackeline has been forced to work in
brothels all over Central America. Her
pimps now have her in
Tapachula, in Chiapas
state [near Mexico's southern border with
Guatemala].
María de Jesús Silva [Jackeline's mother,
who searched all over Central America and
southern Mexico for her daughter]: "I saw
things that I never imagined existed... The
brothels are full of children, sold by
traffickers and abandoned by their parents.
I saw them prostitute themselves and wished
that any one of them would have been my
daughter. I settled for caressing the hair
of these girls, and I imagined that in the
'next' brothel, I was going to find my
daughter. Everything that I have suffered
through is nothing compared to what my girl
is going through."
Mexico - The Hot Spot
Save the Children has
identified the border region between
Guatemala and Mexico as being the largest
hot spot for the commercial sexual
exploitation of children globally.
Ana Salvadó: "It is the neck in the bottle,
because many children attempt to migrate
from Central America [and South America] to
the United States, and they never get past
[southern] Mexico, where they are sold by
pimps and sometimes are returned to Central
America."
A study by the international organization
ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child
Pornography and Trafficking of Children for
Sexual Purposes)... reveals that over 21,000
Central Americans, with the majority being
children, are prostituted in 1,552 bars and
brothels in Tapachula, Mexico (near the
Guatemala border).
Traffickers sell these children to
Tapachula's pimps for $200 each.
Prostitution in cities like Tapachula
operates openly. Contralínea Magazine has
documented the fact that traffickers work
with corrupt federal and local officials in
exchange for bribes or as direct
participants in the criminal networks...
According to ECPAT's report "Ending Child
Prostitution, Child Pornography and
Trafficking of Children for Sexual
Purposes," from Tapachula, where these
children are sold, the victims are
transported to the Mexican cities of Oaxaca,
Michoacán, Guerrero, Jalisco, Nayarit,
Sinaloa and Mexico City.
More that 50% of these child victims are
from [indigenous] Guatemala. The rest are
Salvadorans, Hondurans and Nicaraguans. They
range in age from eight to
fourteen-years-old.
-
Ana Lilia
Pérez
Revista Contralínea
Oct. 22, 2007
See also:
LibertadLatina
Note
About the numbers used
to discuss minors involved in sex
trafficking in Mexico
We reiterate our belief that the official
Mexican Government estimates in regard to
the numbers of underage sexual exploitation
victims is unbelievably low. The above
article about child sex trafficking in the
southern border city of Tapachula states
that an estimated 10,000 underage victims
are prostituted in that city alone.
As we noted in our March 1, 2010 essay -
Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way:
|
A note
about the figures quoted to
describe the number of child
sexual exploitation victims in
Mexico...
Widely
quoted 'official' figures state
that between 16,000 and 20,000
underage victims of sex
trafficking exist in Mexico.
We believe that, if the United
States acknowledges that 200,000
to 300,000 underage children and
youth are caught-up in the
commercial sexual exploitation
of children - CSEC, at any one
time, based on a population of
310 million, (a figure of
between .00064 and .00096
percent of the population), then
the equivalent numbers for
Mexico would be between 68,000
and 102,000 child and youth
victims of CSEC for its
estimated 107 million in
population.
Given Mexico's vastly greater
level of poverty, legalization
of adult prostitution, and given
that southern Mexico alone is
known to be the largest zone in
the world for CSEC, with 10,000
children
being prostituted just
in the
city of Tapachula (according to
ECPAT figures), then the
total number of underage
children and youth caught-up in
prostitution in Mexico is most
likely not anywhere near the
16,000 to 20,000 figure that was
first released in a particular
research study from more than
five years ago and continues to
be so widely used.
- Chuck
Goolsby
LibertadLatina
March 01,
2010
|
June 01,
2010
See Also:
Mexico
Víctimas del tráfico
de personas, 5 millones de mujeres y niñas
en América Latina
De esa
cifra, más de 500 mil casos ocurren en
México, señalan especialistas.
Five million victims
of Human Trafficking Exist in Latin America
Saltillo, Coahuila state -
Teresa Ulloa Ziaurriz, the director of the
Coalition Against Trafficking in Women's
Latin American / Caribbean regional office,
announced this past Monday that more than
five million women and girls are currently
victims of human trafficking in Latin
America and the Caribbean.
During a forum on successful
treatment approaches for trafficking victims
held by the Women's Institute of Coahuila,
Ulloa Ziaurriz stated that 500,000 of these
cases exist in Mexico, where women and girls
are trafficked for sexual exploitation,
pornography and the illegal harvesting of
human organs.
Ulloa Ziaurriz said that
human trafficking is the second largest
criminal industry in the world today, a fact
that has given rise to the existence of a
very large number of trafficking networks
who operate with the complicity of both
[corrupt] government officials and business
owners.
Mexico is a country of
origin, transit and also destination for
trafficked persons. Of 500,000 victims in
Mexico, 87% are subjected to commercial
sexual exploitation.
Ulloa Ziaurriz pointed out
that locally in Coahuila state, the nation's
human trafficking problem shows up in the
form of child prostitution in cities such as
Ciudad Acuña as well as other population
centers along Mexico's border with the
United States.
- Notimex /
La Jornada Online
Mexico City
Dec. 12, 2007
See Also:
Mexico
Presenta diputada Cora Pinedo Alonso iniciativa de ley para tipificar trata de personas como delito federal
MEXICO, D.F., - Palacio Legislativo 23 de Febrero de 2010./Notilegis.- La vicecoordinadora de Nueva Alianza, Cora Pinedo Alonso, propuso tipificar la trata de personas como un delito federal y modificar la denominación de la Ley para Prevenir y Sancionar la Trata de Personas, para elevarla a rango federal, ya que actualmente sólo puede ser aplicada por las autoridades federales bajo cuatro supuestos...
Congressional deputy Cora Pinedo Alonso presents an
initiate to require the national anti-trafficking law to be enforced at the
fedeal level.
Congressional deputy Cora Pinedo Alonso, who is the vice-coordinator of the New
Alliance Party in the Chamber of Deputies, has called for the nation's current
anti-trafficking law, the Law to Prevent and Punish Human Trafficking, to be
changed, to allow its enforcement at the federal level. Currently [states
enforce the law]. Federal authorities may only enforce its provisions under four
circumstances. First, if the human trafficking crime was committed outside of
Mexico, federal action may be taken. Second, when the trafficking crime is
perpetrated within Mexico, but is intended to have an impact outside of Mexico,
federal agents may also act. Third, federal action may be taken when the
criminal act falls within Article 50, Section I, Subsection 'b) a j)' of the
Organic Law of the Power of Judicial Power of the Federation. Fourth, when the
criminal act is a violation of the Federal Law Against Organized Criminal
Delinquency.
Deputy Pinedo Alonso stated that currently, [the federal law differs
significantly from the anti-trafficking laws enacted in the majority of states.
Therefore, the federal law should be changed to allow for the uniform
application of anti-trafficking law across the nation, and especially in regard
to the application of criminal penalties.
Deputy Pinedo Alonso referred to the United Nations human trafficking study
Human Trafficking: A Global Panorama. The study identifies 127 countries of
origin, 98 transit nations and 137 destination nations in regard to victims of
human trafficking. Mexico is ranked very high among the countries of origin
listed in the report. Mexico is rate in 28th place among nations where
traffickers entrap victims, and is in 5th among nations in Latin America.
Deputy Pinedo Alonso's initiative proposes to reform Article 73 of the
Constitution, and will update Article 3 of the Law to Prevent and Punish Human
Trafficking. It has been referred to the Chamber's Commission on Constitutional
Law for review.
Notilegis
Feb. 23, 2010
Note: Mexico's federal system does not impose federal legal
jurisdiction on the federated entities (Mexico's 31 states and Mexico City) for
federal criminal laws that are passed as 'general laws.' The
Law to Prevent and Punish Human Trafficking is a general law. -
LL
Note:
Deputy Pinedo Alonso's initiative has been superseded by a more recent proposal,
submitted by the ruling National Action Party, to update the now ineffective Law
to Prevent and Punish Human Trafficking. Earlier in 2010, Mexico's Interior
Secretary,
Fernando Gómez Mont, expressed his adamant
opposition to federalizing anti-trafficking law. - LL
Brazil
Descubren red trafico personas en Amazonia Brasileña
Autoridades brasileñas informaron que organizaciones dedicadas al tráfico de personas se instalaron en la región amazónica por donde decenas de haitianos ingresan al país tras el terremoto ocurrido en el país caribeño en enero.
"Coyotes braileños" (traficantes de inmigrantes) cobran 600 dólares por introducir a cada haitiano en el estado de Acre, indicaron fuentes de la Policía Federal.
"El destino preferido en Brasil es Assis Brasil (localidad fronteriza con Perú) desde donde continúan camino hacia otras regiones del país" dijo el comisario Flaveio Avelar, jefe de la delegación de Migraciones de la Policía Federal en Acre.
El número de inmigrantes haitianos llegados a Brasil se incrementó tras el terremoto que devastó a ese país en enero pasado y dejó más de 200 mil víctimas fatales.
La legislación brasileña establece que los inmigrantes sin papeles sean deportados a su país de origen, pero las autoridades decidieron hacer una excepción con los haitianos.
"Se trata de una cuestión humanitaria, ellos dejaron su país debido al terremoto y podrán permanecer en Brasil como refugiados" explicó el comisario Avelar, consultado por el diario Correio Braziliense.
A human smuggling network is discovered in the Brazilian
Amazon
Brazilian authorities have announced that human smuggling networks have
established themselves in the Brazilian Amazon. These groups have smuggled
dozens of Haitians into Brazil through the Assis Brazil area on the Peruvian
border. Brazilian coyotes have charged Haitians $600 to bring Haitians to the
Brazilian state of Acre, from which they travel to other regions of Brazil. The
smuggling of Haitians has increased significantly since the January, 2010
earthquake.
Although Brazilian law calls for the deportation of undocumented immigrants, the
government has announced that Haitian migrants will be allowed to stay as
refugees,
"It is a humanitarian issue. They left Haiti due to the earthquake, and they may
remain in Brazil as refugees," explained the federal immigration police's
commissioner in the state of Acre, Flaveio Avelar.
Ansa (Italy)
May 31, 2010
Mexico / Brazil
Mexican officials arrest German citizen wanted in Brazil on human trafficking charges
Mexico City - Mexican authorities have arrested a German citizen wanted in Brazil on human trafficking charges.
Mexico's Public Safety Department says Dieter Erhard Fritzchen Stieleke was arrested while waiting to board a flight to Germany out of the resort city of Cancun.
The department says Stieleke was handed over to Interpol for extradition to Brazil. A statement released Wednesday gives no details on the human trafficking charges against Stieleke. He was arrested Sunday.
The German Embassy did not return phone calls seeking comment. The Brazilian Embassy declined to comment.
The Associated Press (Canadian Press)
May 26, 2010
Mexico
|
 |
|
A photo of Valentina Rosendo Cantú from earlier in her life |
Carta abierta de apoyo para Valentina Rosendo Cantú
Valentina:
El día de hoy, cuando se lleva a cabo la audiencia en la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, el equipo de la CMDPDH queremos enviarte un mensaje con nuestro profundo respeto y apoyo.
Sabemos que has asumido, junto con las organizaciones que te acompañan en esta lucha, la tarea de denunciar las violaciones a los derechos humanos cometidas por el Ejército Mexicano, en particular la violencia sexual como una forma de tortura. Por tu voz hablan decenas de mujeres que han sufrido la violencia del Estado, pero no han tenido acceso a denunciar. Al mismo tiempo, también nos sentimos representadas las organizaciones de la sociedad civil que trabajamos por el respeto de los Derechos Humanos y por una sociedad libre y democrática.
Asimismo, estamos conscientes de que esta denuncia y todo el proceso de defensa en su conjunto, ha significado una enorme carga para ti y que en este camino has enfrentado amenazas, contra ti y tus seres queridos, que buscan hacerte desistir. Sin embargo, te has mantenido firme en la búsqueda de justicia, reivindicando tu dignidad de mujer indígena, y la de cientos de comunidades que han sido afectadas en su tejido social por la militarización.
Por todo esto, recibe hoy nuestro abrazo solidario y nuestro compromiso de seguir, inspirados en tu ejemplo, en esta lucha.
Atentamente,
El equipo de la Comisión Mexicana de Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos A.C.
An open letter to
Valentina Rosendo Cantú
Valentina,
On this day, the day when your case will be presented before the Inter-American
Court of Human Rights, we of the Mexican Commission for the Defense and
Promotion of Human Rights wish to send you this message expressing our profound
respect and solidarity.
We know that you have taken on, together with the organizations who are
assisting you in this struggle, the task of denouncing the violations of human
rights that have been committed by the Mexican Army, and in particular the use
of sexual violence as a form of torture. Your voice speaks for dozens of women
who have suffered violence perpetrated by the State, but do not have access to a
forum to denounce these crimes. At the same time, we who work for human rights
organizations, who seek to achieve a fee and democratic society, feel well
represented by you.
We are aware that your case, and all of the efforts in your defense, have
amounted to being a huge burden for you. We know that you have faced threats
against yourself and your family, that are designed to force you drop your case.
Nonetheless, you have remained steadfast in your search for justice, vindicating
your dignity as an indigenous woman, as well as that of hundreds of communities
whose social fabric has been affected by [domestic] militarization.
For all of these reasons, today we ask you to accept our hug of solidarity and
our commitment to continue, inspired by your example, in this struggle.
Sincerely,
The
staff of the
Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights (CMDPDH)
CIMAC Women's News Agency
May 28, 2010
|
 |
|
Tlapaneca
Indigenous human rights activist Obtilia Eugenio Manuel denounces
death threats against herself, her family and Indigenous rape
victims
Inés Fernández Ortega and Valentina
Rosendo Cantú - who were raped by soldiers in 2002.
Photo: March 24, 2010 - Cronica |
 |
|
Tlapaneca
Indigenous victim Inés Fernández Ortega |
Exigen Cese de Agresiones Contra
Tlapaneca Violada por Militares
Lanzan activistas campaña contra la impunidad
militar
Defensoras y defensores de derechos humanos exigieron hoy
al Estado mexicano que cesen las agresiones y amenazas contra Inés Fernández
Ortega, indígena tlapaneca violada sexualmente por militares en 2002, y quien
ante la falta de justicia, se presentará en una audiencia pública en la sede de
la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (CoIDH) en Lima, Perú, el próximo 15
de abril...
Activists Demand an End to the
Harassment of Indigenous Woman Who Was Raped by Soldiers
Human Rights Defenders Launch
Campaign Against Military Impunity
Human rights activists have today demanded that the Mexican
Government cease and desist from its campaign of aggression and threats directed
against Inés Fernández Ortega, a Tlapaneca Indigenous women who was the victim
of rape perpetrated by Mexican servicemen in 2002. Due to the inability to
receive due process within Mexico, Fernández Ortega's case will be presented to
the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) on April 15th, 2010.
During a press conference held by Amnesty International and
the Tlachinollan Mountain Human Rights Center, activists announced their new
campaign "Break Down the Walls of Impunity!" The project aims to develop a
network of solidarity and add voices to the outcries for justice in the cases of
both Fernández Ortega and also Valentina Rosendo Cantú, another Tlapaneca woman
who was also raped by soldiers in 2002.
Vidulfo Rosales Sierra, a lawyer working in the
Tlachinollan region stated that both Fernández Ortega and Rosendo Cantú began
their efforts to find justice 8 years ago. Not only did they suffer rejection,
discrimination and stigmatization in their own communities after they were
raped, but the government conducted an ineffective investigation.
Because of the government's reaction to their plight, the
victims hope that the IACHR finds the Mexican state guilty in the case of
Fernández Ortega. Rosendo Cantú's case will be presented before the IACHR on May
27th and 28th of 2010.
Rosales Sierra declared that the military leaves women
[victims] completely defenseless. They put women's security and lives at risk
when they attempt to seek justice...
On October 30, 2008, the Commission issued their findings
[in the case of Fernández Ortega]. The Mexican state was informed on November 7,
2008 that the Commission regarded the State as being responsible for the
violations of the integrity of the victim. Due to a refusal by Mexico to
implement the Commission's [legally binding] recommendations, the case was
forwarded to the IACHR.
During the press conference, Indigenous human rights
activist Obtilia Eugenio Manuel stated that, after May 7th, 2009, when the IACHR
accepted the case de Fernández Ortega, she (Eugenio Manuel) and her family
became the victims of threats. The threats doubled in December of 2009, when the
IACHR notified the Mexican state of the specific date of its hearing of the
case.
Because of this history of threats, a well-founded fear
exists that victims Inés Fernández Ortega and Valentina Rosendo Cantú, or their
legal representatives could face some type of violence. Obtilia Eugenio Manuel
emphasized that they will continue their struggle for human rights. She hopes
that the IACHR hearing will demonstrate that lack of responsible action by the
Mexican state to protect human rights.
Anayeli García Martínez
CIMAC Women's News Agency
April 06, 2010
See also:
Mexico
This is your war on drugs
...On 16th February 2002, Valentina Rosendo Cantú was washing her clothes in a stream near her home in Caxitepec, Mexico, when six soldiers approached. Seemingly too busy for pleasantries, the men started barking questions at her: Who was she? Where was she from? Had she seen the people they were looking for? Did she recognize the names on the list they thrust in front of her?
Her answers weren’t good enough, so one soldier pulled a gun and threatened to shoot. Another punched her so hard that she passed out. When she came to, two men tore off her underwear and raped her, one after the other. She was sixteen years old.
It took several months for Valentina to find a doctor willing to treat her; her nearest hospital turned her away because they didn’t want any trouble from the military. The next nearest, which she walked for eight hours to reach, examined her but offered no medicine. Only after legal action was threatened did she finally receive the gynecological care she needed.
At the time of writing, no criminal prosecution has ever been brought against these men and no one has been formally disciplined by a military which has perpetually dragged its feet over investigations. Some 7 years later, she still hasn’t found justice.
This case is just one of many allegations of human rights abuses leveled at the Mexican military in pursuit of an expensive, bloody and failed war on drugs. As well as rape, the allegations include enforced disappearance, torture, arbitrary detention and unlawful killing. And it’s all being bankrolled by the United States of America...
This is your war on drugs
August 13, 2009
Georgia, USA
|
 |
|
Samuel Sanchez |
Man Charged in Cherokee County Sex Assault
Cherokee County deputies say a Woodstock man is behind bars after allegedly breaking into a mobile home and crawling into bed with a woman he didn’t know as she slept with her 1-year-old son.
Deputies say 22-year-old Samuel Sanchez broke into a mobile home off of Dupree Road in Woodstock on Friday morning. They say 19-year-old Bridget Gonzalez was asleep in her bed with her son when the suspect came into the room and got in bed with them. Then, he attempted to sexually assault her, investigators say.
Gonzalez told FOX 5 she thought the man was her boyfriend, but soon realized it was a stranger instead. She says she and her son don’t know Sanchez.
After Gonzalez realized the man wasn’t her boyfriend, she screamed and he ran out of the house. But, much to her surprise, she says he came back.
Sanchez was later picked up while walking along Dupree Road. They say when they spotted him, he began running, but deputies were able to catch up to him.
According to deputies, Sanchez told them he wanted to see someone he knows who lives at the home, so he just went inside.
Sanchez is charged with sexual battery, criminal attempt to rape, and burglary. He is being held without bond at the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center.
Fox 5 Atlanta
May 28, 2010
Mexico
|
 |
|
Valentina Rosendo Cantú |
Niega Estado mexicano violación de Valentina Rosendo Cantú
Argumenta ante la CoIDH falta de “pruebas fehacientes”
San José, Costa Rica - Durante la audiencia de la Corte Interamericana de
Derechos Humanos (CoIDH) sobre el caso de Valentina Rosendo Cantú, el Estado
mexicano insistió categóricamente que “no existen pruebas fehacientes de la
presunta violación sexual”, por lo cual pidió a este tribunal internacional tome
en cuenta este elemento a la hora de emitir su sentencia.
Si bien es cierto que la integración de la investigación de los hechos ocurridos
el 16 de febrero de 2002 no se hizo de manera eficaz y eficiente, no se puede
responsabilizar al Estado mexicano por tortura y tampoco por violar el derecho a
la salud y al debido proceso de Valentina, así lo dijo Armando Vivanco
Castellanos, director de Democracia y Derechos Humanos de la Secretaría de
Relaciones Exteriores (SRE)...
Después de esta audiencia, tanto la defensa de Valentina como el Estado mexicano
deberán entregar sus alegatos finales por escrito, de acuerdo con la CoIDH el
próximo 28 de junio y advirtió que no habrá prórroga.
Mexico’s government denies the fact of the rape of
Valentina Rosendo Cantú
Mexican state argues that no compelling proof of the
rape exists
San Jose, Costa Rica – During a hearing held by the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights (IACHR) in regard to the case of indigenous rape victim Valentina
Rosendo Cantú, the Mexican State declared categorically that no compelling proof
exists to show that the rape occurred. Mexico asked that the Court take this
into consideration when deliberating their decision.
Armando Vivanco Castellanos, director of Democracy and Human Rights in the
Secretary of External Relations (SRE), argued part of Mexico’s case before the
Court. He declared that Mexico cannot be held responsible if the investigation
into the events of February 16, 2002 was not efficient and effective, and that
the State also cannot be held responsible for the torture and violation of the
right to health and a lack of access to the proper [judicial] process.
Full English Translation to follow.
Anayeli García Martínez
CIMAC
May 27, 2010
See also:
Mexico
Raped with impunity - Inés Fernández Ortega and Valentina Rosendo Cantú
...Inés Fernández Ortega and Valentina Rosendo Cantú are still waiting for
justice. The two women, who belong to the Tlapaneca Indigenous community, were
raped by members of the Mexican army in February and March 2002 respectively in
the state of Guerrero, Mexico.
Inés Fernández Ortega, who speaks little Spanish, was reportedly raped on 22
March 2002. Soldiers entered her home to interrogate her about some meat they
claimed had been stolen. When she did not answer their questions, they raped
her. Valentina Rosendo Cantú, then aged 17, was approached on 16 February 2002
by soldiers near her home, who questioned her about the activities of some
"hooded men" (a reference to armed opposition groups). When she replied that she
did not know any, she was threatened and two of the soldiers raped her.
The Mexican authorities claim that both women have failed to co-operate with the
military investigation. However, the fact that both cases remain under military
jurisdiction places the women at serious risk of reprisals. The women are
required to go into the barracks to ratify their complaints before the military
prosecutor. There, they may face a real risk of intimidation.
The women have shown great courage in speaking out, demanding that their cases
be transferred to the civilian authorities. Amnesty International supports their
demands as the military justice system lacks the impartiality and independence
to properly investigate such cases. The Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights is now investigating the Mexican government’s failure to ensure effective
access to justice for both women.
Amnesty International
March 8, 2007
North Carolina, USA
He Did the Right Thing; Now He Faces Deportation
Charlotte - Just like the police tell you to do, Abel Moreno called 911 when a
man began assaulting his girlfriend. Before the end of the year, he could be
deported to Mexico for his trouble.
Moreno, 29, of Charlotte made the call Dec. 29 because, he alleged, a Charlotte
police officer was trying to fondle his girlfriend after a traffic stop. The
officer ordered Moreno to drop the call and arrested him and his girlfriend for
resisting arrest.
Several things then happened. Five other women came forward to allege that the
officer, identified as Marcus Jackson, now 26, had tried to molest them, too.
Moreno was released after investigators debunked the resisting arrest charge. So
was his girlfriend.
Jackson was fired and faces 11 counts of sexual battery, extortion and
interfering with emergency communication. Police Chief Rodney Monroe admitted
that Jackson should never have been hired in the first place because of previous
charges related to a restraining order filed by an ex-girlfriend. The local 911
system is under review because Moreno’s call wasn’t acted upon.
And Abel Moreno now has a six-month deadline to show why he shouldn’t be
deported, even though police acknowledge that his 911 call was crucial to their
uncovering a dirty cop, and even though they agree that he shouldn’t have been
arrested...
A judge granted Moreno a six-month deferment on his deportation because he is a
witness in the criminal investigation. But that reprieve runs out in November.
Moreno’s attorney, Rob Heroy, said he was confident Moreno would eventually be
granted a so-called U visa, which allows illegal immigrants who are victims or
witnesses in criminal investigations to stay in the country for up to four
years. But only 10,000 such visas are available in any year, and while that
process works its way through the system, Moreno remains in limbo.
“Now I’m unemployed,” Moreno said, speaking in Spanish through an interpreter.
“I don’t have any money, not even for rent, not even for my phone — anything.
... The truth is I’m scared.” ...
MSNBC
May 26, 2010
See also:
Abel Moreno Might Get Deported After Reporting
Police Groped His Girlfriend
Cindy Casares
Guanabee.com
May 26, 2010
New York, USA
Rape Victim's Mother Arrives In U.S. To Claim Body
The mother of the Chinese immigrant who died after being brutally beaten and
raped in a Queens alley arrived yesterday. The Daily News reports, "Sobbing
inconsolably as she stepped off a plane at Newark Airport, the mother was too
distraught to speak of her daughter, Yu Yao, 23, who was raped and fatally
beaten in Queens by a pipe-wielding madman. Escorted through the airport
terminal by relatives, the heartbroken mother collapsed into a chair and laid
her head in a cousin's lap."
Yao, who had arrived in NYC two months ago on a student visa, was taken off life
support on Friday, after being struck with a metal pipe and then sexually
assaulted in Flushing on Sunday May 16. According to the Queens DA's office, she
suffered a "fractured skull, bleeding on the brain and trauma to the vagina."
While one witness's call to the police enabled the arrest of suspect Carlos
Salazar Cruz, Assemblywoman Grace Meng said other people witnessed the attack
but did not do anything.
NY1 reports that community activists held an anti-violence vigil at the attack
site on 41st Road, urging residents to report violent acts. Community Prevention
Alternatives' Martha Florez-Vazquez said, "I feel that it's important to send
out a message to the community that it takes a village and that it's up to our
neighbors to prevent crime.” One resident added, "I'm very concerned... no one
should be beaten to death the way this young lady was."
Jen Chung
Gothamist
May 25, 2010
Arizona, USA
|
 |
|
Kyleigh Ann Sousa |
Woman dragged by car during robbery dies
Tempe - A young woman who was run over and dragged by a car during a robbery in
Tempe early Wednesday morning has died.
The incident happened shortly before 2 a.m. in the area of Apache Boulevard and
Mill Avenue near the Arizona State University campus.
The victim has been identified as Kyleigh Ann Sousa, a 21-year-old Arizona State
University student. She died of her injuries Wednesday night.
According to police, a man approached Sousa outside of a hotel and grabbed her
purse. He then tried to drive away.
Sousa held on to her purse. She was dragged by the suspect's car.
The suspect is described as a heavyset Hispanic man. The car he was driving is a
newer model Chrysler 300.
Police and Sousa's parents are asking for the public's help in finding the
suspect.
Anybody who has information about the incident should call the Tempe Police
Department at 480-350-8311 or Silent Witness 480-WITNESS (480-948-6377).
Catherine Holland
Fox 11
May 27, 2010
Pennsylvania, USA
|
 |
|
Omar Shariff Cash |
Cash guilty of murder and rape
Jurors must now sentence Omar Shariff Cash to life in prison or death by lethal
injection.
After hearing two weeks of testimony that one prosecutor likened to the musings
of a horror writer, a Bucks County jury in Doylestown Thursday found Omar
Shariff Cash guilty on all counts, including first- and second-degree murder,
rape, kidnapping, robbery, theft and other crimes...
The 43-year-old woman [victim] told the jury that Cash laughed as he forced her
to perform oral sex at gunpoint, then turned up the volume on the car radio and
swayed to hip-hop music after leaving her boyfriend, Edgar Rosas-Gutierrez, dead
alongside a Bensalem exit ramp.
In the front row of the courtroom, the rape victim wept softly as the verdict
was read. A native of Brazil who doesn't speak English, she listened to the
verdict with the help of a Portuguese interpreter.
Rosas-Gutierrez's family also had interpreters to help them understand the
verdict. They passed around a box of tissues and cried as each "guilty" was
announced...
Prosecutors Marc Furber and Maureen Flannery-Spang laid out a convincing case
against Cash...
The prosecution said Cash was on the run from Philadelphia police when he
carjacked the victims as they left Jalapeno Joes, a northeast Philadelphia
nightclub round 3:30 a.m. on May 11, 2008.
Cash forced Rosas-Gutierrez to drive into Bucks, and trained a gun on his head
while he raped the woman in the back seat.
Cash told Rosas-Gutierrez to pull over on the Street Road exit ramp from
northbound Route 1, the woman told the jury. While she screamed his name from
one of the passenger seats, Rosas-Gutierrez was marched up a steep embankment by
the killer and shot in the back of the head.
The woman testified that Cash raped her again at an abandoned office complex
immediately after the slaying, and then brought her to the Comfort Inn in
Lawrenceville, N.J., where the sexual assaults continued.
Unable to communicate with hotel staff, the woman finally made a break for it
when Cash brought her back down to the hotel lobby for breakfast. Footage of her
dashing through the lobby and vaulting a four-foot check-in counter was shown to
the jury...
Furber called Rosas-Gutierrez and the woman "the perfect victims." He said that
once Cash looked through their belongings and learned they were both illegal
immigrants, he believed that they wouldn't be missed...
Laurie Mason Schroeder
Bucks County Courier Times
May 28, 2010
Georgia, USA
Police: Lilburn Middle student hit with bleach-filled balloon
A 14-year-old Lilburn Middle School student was struck by a bleach-filled water
balloon Wednesday afternoon, police said, sending him to the hospital with burns
to both eyes and putting a traumatic damper on what have should been a joyous
start to summer vacation.
Just after leaving his last day of school, the student was walking down the
sidewalk on the 4000 block of Lawrenceville Highway, Lilburn Police spokesman
Capt. Bruce Hedley said.
A water balloon filled with bleach was thrown from a moving vehicle, Hedley
said, striking him in the face at around 4:40 p.m.
“From time to time, especially on the last day of school, you see pranks, and
maybe a water balloon is just having fun,” Hedley said. “But to see one that is
filled with bleach is beyond comprehension ... A kid leaving school for the last
day for what could have been a perfect summer, this is just crazy to me.”
The child was transported to Gwinnett Medical Center and was treated for severe
trauma to his face and burns to both eyes. He has since been released and is
“resting comfortably” at his mother’s Norcross home, Hedley said.
“He was in bad shape, but aware of his surroundings (during a visit Wednesday
night),” Hedley said.
Witnesses have reported that the suspects were three Hispanic males driving a
gray minivan with a black stripe down the lower portion of the vehicle...
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the van or the identity of
the suspects is asked to call 770-921-2211.
Tyler Estep
The Gwinnett Daily Post
May 27, 2010
Texas, USA
|
 |
|
Danny Mariel Suarez |
Man accused of sexual assault of a 12-year-old
WACO - A man was arrested Tuesday on accusations he sexually assaulted a child.
Officers reportedly began an investigation after they were notified in April
that a 12-year-old girl had told a school counselor she had been sexually
assaulted.
After the investigation, officers arrested Danny Mariel Suarez, 35, of Waco, in
connection with the alleged assault which reportedly occurred on multiple
occasions.
Suarez is charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault and bond has been set at
$250,000.
Louis Ojeda Jr.
KXXV
May 26, 2010
California, USA
Police suspect 2 men tried to pull girl into car
The Hollister Police Department is searching for two men suspected of trying to
force a 17-year-old Hollister girl into a car Wednesday night near the 1500
block of San Juan Road.
Just after 7 p.m., the teenager was walking to a relative's house near the Plaza
156 gas station before police allege that two men inside a black Volkswagen Bug
pulled alongside the girl and grabbed her arm, trying to force her inside the
car.
The men whistled and spoke Spanish to her as they grabbed her, according to
police.
The girl wrestled of their grasp and took off running to her relative's house,
police spokesman Sgt. David Westrick said. The car did not follow her.
"Once she was able to break free of the suspects, she ran and never looked
back," Westrick said.
The girl didn't know in what direction the car took off after she had left,
Westrick said.
The suspects are described as two Hispanic men in their 40s. The passenger wore
a black hooded jacket and sunglasses. The girl had no other identifying
information about the driver.
The Volkswagen Bug is described as an older model with a loud engine and rusted
black paint.
The police department is still searching for more information, Westrick said.
"We are trying to get this handled as soon as possible," Westrick said. "We have
as many detectives working on it as we can."
Anyone with more information is urged to call the Hollister Police Department at
630-4330. People who wish to remain anonymous can call WeTIP at (800) 58-CRIME.
Connor Ramey
Freelance News
May 28, 2010
California, USA / Jamaica
|
 |
|
Herbert Morrison |
Illegal Immigrant a Suspect in Continuous Molestation of Santa Maria Girl Police
say the child was victimized over nine years
In April, the Santa Maria Police Department began investigating the
sexual-assault case involving a minor female. [Herbert] Morrison was arrested in
May, but charges were not filed at that time because of insufficient evidence.
However, evidence gathered in recent weeks led to the issuance of a warrant for
the arrest of Morrison, who was being held in a federal detention facility in
Los Angeles pending deportation for being in the country illegally after a
previous deportation.
He was picked up at the detention facility, transferred back to Santa Maria and
booked into jail.
He faces charges of continuous sexual molestation of a child under 14 years old,
sexual battery, aggravated sexual assault, rape by force or duress, lewd acts
with a child under 14 years old, convicted felon in possession of a firearm,
convicted felon in possession of ammunition.
Bail was set at $500,000.
Police have not released how the suspect knew the victim.
Michelle Nelson
Noozhawk
May 26, 2010
See also:
California, USA
Undocumented immigrant can't bail out of jail, officials say
An undocumented immigrant and previously deported felon from Jamaica whose
anticipated deportation has been put on hold because he is facing new criminal
charges in Santa Barbara County, is not able to bail out of jail.
Herbert Morrison, 49, who had been living in Santa Maria, was picked up Tuesday
from a federal detention facility in Los Angeles where he was being held pending
deportation for being in the country illegally. He was arrested on suspicion of
various charges including continual sexual molestation of a child under 14 years
old, sexual battery and rape by force or duress, according to Santa Maria
police.
Morrison was booked into county jail with bail set at $500,000.
However, Lt. Dan Ast said that Morrison is not able to bail out of jail because
of an immigration hold, and he will eventually once again face deportation.
"If we allowed him to be deported without filing the charges, he could
potentially re-enter the country at some later time after arriving back in
Jamaica and continue to victimize people in this country," Ast said. "Or, he
could stay in Jamaica and potentially victimize others there without ever facing
justice."
The Lompoc Record
May 27, 2010
Texas, USA
Man Accused of Kidnapping, Attempted Sexual Assault of a Child
Houston - An accused child predator was behind bars Tuesday, charged with the
kidnapping and attempted sexual assault of a 7-year-old girl.
According to investigators, Al D. Checo lured the child into his green Dodge
pickup while she was walking home from school in the 9300 block of Pagewood Ln.
on Friday. He then drove her to his apartment nearby, forced her to watch
pornographic images and tried to sexually assault her, but stopped short of the
act.
"It could have been the first time for him to do something like this and he was
testing the waters, could have been were something might have spooked him. We
don't really don't know exactly yet," said Officer John Colburn with HPD's
Juvenile Sex Crime Division.
Checo, 32, held the child at his apartment for several hours before dropping her
off near where she was abducted, police said.
According to officials, Checo warned the child not to tell anyone what happened,
but she went home and told her mother and was able to identify her abductor.
Checo is charged with aggravated kidnapping and attempted aggravated sexual
assault of a child. He was being held Tuesday without bond.
KIAH
May 25, 2010
California, USA
SFPD searching for girl, 12, reported missing
San Francisco police are asking for the public's assistance in locating a
12-year-old girl reported missing.
Police said Mireya Zapata was last seen Thursday morning when she went to
school. At about 2:50 p.m., she sent a text message to her mother, saying she
was at a bus stop and on her way home.
However, Zapata, who goes to school in the Sunset District and lives downtown,
never showed up at her home, police said. The girl exchanged text messages with
her mother over the next several hours, but did not text a secret code letting
the mother know she was OK upon request, according to police.
At about 7 p.m., Zapata's mother received a text message reading, "Don't look
for me no more," and when her mother asked why, the response read, "Just don't,"
police said.
Police spokesman Officer Boaz Mariles said Zapata does not have a history of
running away and she is considered to be at risk. Police are actively searching
for the girl and ask anyone with information regarding her whereabouts to call
police at (415) 553-1071.
"It's a continuous search, meaning there are officers assigned strictly to
this,'' Mariles said.
Zapata is described as a light-skinned Hispanic girl, 5 feet 3 inches, 140
pounds with brown eyes and brown hair. She was last seen wearing a white hooded
sweatshirt, blue jeans, black and white Nike shoes and had a white backpack.
BCN
May 27, 2010
Indiana, USA
Suspect faces string of sex assault charges
4 alleged victims range in age from 11 to 49
Luis Alberto Gonzales was armed with a BB gun when he targeted numerous Hispanic
women and girls for sexual assaults on Indianapolis' Westside, prosecutors say.
But he didn't even bother to cover his face -- and that lack of a disguise
enabled police to arrest Gonzales last weekend. One victim from months ago
spotted him sleeping in his red truck in an apartment court off West 30th Street
near Moller Road, according to court documents filed Thursday in Marion Superior
Court.
Still more alleged victims have come forward after seeing Gonzales' mug shot in
media reports...
So far, he faces charges in connection with four victims ranging in age from 11
to 49. He is in the Marion County Jail with a combined bond set at $700,000.
Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi said his office was still readying charges
representing two more victims, including one younger than 18; police were
investigating allegations by three others.
That could make for nine victims, with convictions bringing up to hundreds of
years in prison.
"Mr. Gonzales has essentially been preying on Hispanic
adults and children since at least January 2010," Brizzi said. "He was going
back to the same area. It seems he was unafraid about being arrested or caught."
The lead charges on the four cases that have been filed are Class A felony child
molesting of an 11-year-old girl; Class A felony rape of a 40-year-old woman;
Class A felony criminal deviate conduct against a 49-year-old woman; and Class D
felony sexual battery against a 23-year-old woman...
Jon Murray
IndyStar.com
May 28, 2010
Nevada, USA
|
 |
|
Joel Eliazar Ortega |
Illegal immigrant sentenced in Reno rape of paralyzed woman
A life in prison term was imposed Wednesday upon a married father of one who
dragged a paralyzed woman out of her wheelchair, raped her, and then left her
lying nude in an alley.
The woman, who suffers from cerebral palsy, had been in a shopping center Oct.
30 in the 3300 block of North McCarran Boulevard when Joel Eliazar Ortega, 30,
led her behind a business and attacked her. Soon after, Reno police officers
responding to a call that Ortega was battering his wife in their nearby
apartment, recognized Ortega as fitting the description of the suspect. He was
arrested after the victim identified him.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Bruce Hahn described the
crime as among the most ghastly sexual assaults he’s ever seen.
“She was dragged from her wheelchair, her clothes taken off, sexually assaulted
and then left lying in an alley,” said Washoe District Judge Patrick Flanagan.
“I have listened to you carefully, and you said ‘things happen’ and you get in
trouble based on your behavior and doctors say you can’t take care of your
daughter.
“You are a danger,” Flanagan said. “...you are lucky there is only one life
sentence I can impose in this case.”
In rendering a sentence of life against Ortega, Flannagan said he would be
eligible for parole after serving at least 10 years in prison. Ortega is also an
illegal immigrant who also must face immigration charges.
“You will be deported at the earliest opportunity and will never return to this
country again, except lawfully,” Flanagan said.
Ortega had apologized for the crime and said “I need help.”
His public defender, John Malone, said Ortega has been receiving treatment at
the state’s mental hospital for several years. He blamed the rape on Ortega not
taking his psychiatric medicines and drinking alcohol.
Ortega pleaded guilty to the rape, and was also convicted of domestic violence,
related to when police responded to his apartment after the assault.
The victim was not present in court, although her father was and said he was too
emotional to speak about the incident.
Jaclyn O'Malley
RGJ.com
May 26, 2010
Virginia, USA
|
 |
|
Arturo F. Lopez |
Henrico judge sends rape charge to grand jury
A woman testified at a preliminary hearing in a Henrico County court today that
her foster son sexually assaulted her at knifepoint and threatened to kill her
and her husband.
Arturo F. Lopez, 18, had been living with a foster family in the Interstate
64-Staples Mill Road area since sometime late last year, according to Henrico
police. He was charged with rape in the April 9 incident and appeared at a
preliminary hearing in General District Court this morning.
At the hearing, the judge certified the rape charge to a grand jury, which will
hear the case on July 12. He faces life in prison if convicted.
Lopez came to the Richmond area sometime last year. His attorney said he was a
homeless immigrant from Mexico and has no family in the U.S. Lopez was placed in
the home by the Richmond Department of Social Services, because Spanish is
spoken in the home.
Bill Mckelway
The Richmond Times Dispatch
May 27, 2010
Pennsylvania
|
 |
|
Officer Jose Manuel Santiago
Photo |
Pennsylvania Cop Charged With Sex Offenses
A southeastern Pennsylvania police officer is charged with
hundreds of sex-offense counts including rape, incest, statutory sexual
assault and endangering the welfare of children.
Chester County prosecutors say 54-year-old Kennett Square police Officer Jose
Manuel Santiago was arrested Thursday at his home in Newark, Del.
Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Callahan says Santiago had sexual
encounters with three juveniles under the age of 14 between 1991 and 2000.
Borough officials say Santiago joined the department in 1998. He had been on
disability leave since December 2008 and is now suspended without pay.
Santiago is in New Castle County prison awaiting extradition to Pennsylvania.
His phone number is unlisted and it was not clear if he had an attorney.
MyFoxPhilly
May 28, 2010
Indiana, USA
|
 |
|
Luis Gonzales |
Alleged rapists' victims afraid to tell
Indianapolis - Prosecutors expect to file more charges against a man suspected
of molesting and raping as many as nine women and girls on the northwest side.
Police say 27-year old Luis Gonzales was a serial rapist - preying solely on
Hispanic victims for at least five months.
Police say investigating this case was challenging. They didn't begin to put the
pieces together until an 11-year-old girl reported being assaulted in May. But
the first known attack occurred five months before that.
It was a January evening at about 10:00 at the La Joya apartments on the
northwest side of Indianapolis. A 23-year-old woman walked into her building
carrying bags and her baby. She says an attacker waited - pretending to be
talking on his cell phone. After she went in the building, she says he grabbed
and groped her in the stairwell.
An affidavit states she was holding her baby tightly during the attack, and the
infant began to cry. At that point her attacker ran away.
But no police report was filed. Detectives believe for the next five months,
Luis Gonzales terrorized, molested, and raped as many as nine Hispanic women and
girls in west side apartment complexes. The youngest known victim is 11-years
old.
Asked why the public wasn't made aware of a serial rapist, IMPD officer Lt. Jeff
Duhamell responded, "The lack of reporting from some of our victims, and
probably the language barrier and maybe some of them were afraid to come forward
because they may be in our country illegally."
Marion County prosecutor Carl Brizzi believes there are likely more victims out
there, and at a press conference on Thursday, he had a clear message to victims.
"There is absolutely no threat of immigration and customs enforcement, ICE, of
us reporting that documentation status as a result of reporting a crime," Brizzi
said.
Luis Gonzales has ties to Indianapolis. The probable cause affidavit states he
graduated from Lawrence North High School and has lived in the city for six
years. He's being held on a $100,000 bond, and has declined our request for an
interview.
WISH TV
May 28, 2010
California, USA
Teen Assaulted In Arroyo Grande
Arroyo Grande, CA -- Police arrested a parolee who allegedly assaulted a teen
yesterday afternoon. This happened at about 4:30 in the area near Arroyo Grande
Community Hospital and Arroyo Grande High School. Authorities received several
reports by phone that a girl was thrown to the ground near the hospital. Many
later calls told officers that within minutes several witnesses chased the
suspect, 23-year-old Fernando Frias, and cornered him in the back of a home on
Cerro Vista Circle.
Meanwhile, according to the Tribune, officers found the 17-year-old victim, near
the Fair Oaks bridge with injuries to her head and face. They arrested Frias who
is currently on parole. Frias was booked into the San Luis Obispo County Jail on
suspicion of kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon and violating the terms of
his parole.
King Harris
KVEC
May 27. 2010
Oregon, USA
|
 |
|
Ismael Recinos-Velasquez |
Reward Offered for Sex Assault Suspect
Crime Stoppers and the Washington County Sheriff's office are offering a $1,000
reward for information leading to the arrest of a man wante for sexual assault.
Investigators say Ismael Recinos-Velasquez, who may also go by Jose Perez-Perez,
or the name 'Carlos', sexually abused his girlfriend's 14-year old daughter and
another 12-year old girl.
A warrant was issued for Recinos-Velasquez's arrest on May 13th. He's wanted on
charges of first-degree rape and sodomy, along with numerous other charges.
Recinos-Velasquez is 5' 3" tall and 140 pounds. If you see him, call Crime
Stoppers at 503-823-4357, go online to crimestoppers oforegon.com, or text
message to 823HELP.
Chris Brown
KXL
May 27, 2010
California, USA
Police seek man accused of the assault and attempted kidnap of his ex-girlfriend
Pasadena - Police are searching for a 53-year-old man who allegedly beat and
tried to kidnap his ex-girlfriend Thursday afternoon.
At about 1:07 p.m. a 45-year-old female Hispanic, of Temple City, was waiting at
a bus stop in the 200 block of South Lake Avenue when the man allegedly grabbed
her by the hair and began striking her, Pasadena Police Lt. Chris Russ said.
The victim suffered minor bruising to her face and arms and also complained of
back pain, he said.
After a struggle, the man dragged her through a nearby parking lot and attempted
to force her into his 2000 Honda Odyssey, but he fled on foot after several
passersby came to her assistance, Russ said.
The man is described as a 5-foot-6-inch male Hispanic weighing 186 pounds.
The Pasadena Star News
May 28, 2010
Texas, USA
Midland Police Searching for Suspect Wanted for Inappropriate Conduct
Midland Police are trying to track down a man who has a problem keeping his
hands to himself.
A suspect is wanted for inappropriate conduct.
The man in question is Hispanic, who apparently goes around touching women in
stores.
He reportedly rubs or bumps into them, making it seem like an accident.
If this has happened to you in an offensive manner or if you have any
information, call Midland Police or CrimeStoppers at 649-TIPS.
NewsWest 9
May 28, 2010
Southwest USA
U.S. Border Patrol Weekly Blotter: May 20 - May 26
Excerpt
May 26, 2010 - Tucson Sector - Border Patrol agents
arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Amado, Arizona. Records checks
revealed the subject had prior convictions for rape, the sale of marijuana,
domestic violence, and possession of a controlled substance. The subject had
also been previously removed from the United States.
May 25, 2010 - El Centro Sector - Border Patrol
agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Calexico, California. Records
checks revealed the subject was a convicted sex offender in the state of
California, and had been previously removed from the United States.
May 25, 2010 - El Paso Sector - Border Patrol
agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near El Paso, Texas. Records checks
revealed the subject had prior convictions for rape with threat in the state of
California, assault with intent to cause serious injury/sexual abuse in the
state of New York, and had been previously removed from the United States.
May 22, 2010 - El Paso Sector - Border Patrol
agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near El Paso, Texas. Records checks
revealed the subject had a prior conviction for fondling, and lewd and
lascivious acts against a child in the state of Florida. The subject had also
been previously removed from the United States.
May 21, 2010 - Tucson Sector - Border Patrol agents
arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Sells, Arizona. Records checks
revealed the subject had a prior conviction for lascivious acts with a child /
false imprisonment with violence in the state of California. The subject had
also been previously removed from the United States.
May 20, 2010 - Tucson Sector - Border Patrol agents
arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Arivaca, Arizona. Record checks
revealed the subject had prior convictions for aggravated child molestation and
felony sodomy in the state of Georgia. The subject had also been previously
removed from the United States.
U.S. Border Patrol
May 26, 2010
Illinoid, USA
|
 |
|
Jennifer Hurtado |
11-Year-Old Girl Missing With 22-Year-Old Paramour
An 11-year-old girl is missing from her Brighton Park neighborhood home, and police say she may have disappeared with a much-older man she calls her boyfriend.
Jennifer Hurtado is missing... She was last seen wearing a yellow shirt with the word "Shields" in purple lettering.
She was also wearing blue jeans, black slip-on shoes and was with her 22-year-old "paramour" Jose "Carlos" Contrerras, the release said.
She is described as 4 feet 8 inches tall, 100 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, according to the release, which said the two may be heading for Mexico or North Carolina.
Anyone with information should contact the Chicago Police Wentworth Area Special Victims Unit, at (312) 747-8385.
CBS
May 26, 2010
See also:
Illinois, USA / Mexico
Police seek girl, 11, who vanished from Southwest Side with man
A missing persons alert has been issued for an 11-year-old girl who has gone missing from the Southwest Side and may be heading to Mexico or North Carolina with her 22-year-old boyfriend, police said.
Jennifer Hurtado, 11, is missing... according to release from police News Affairs. She was last seen wearing a yellow shirt with purple lettering that said, “Shields” that was worn over a black t-shirt.
She was wearing blue jeans, black slip-on shoes and was with her 22-year-old boyfriend Jose “Carlos” Contrerras, the release said.
She is described as 4-foot-8, 100 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, according to the release, which said the two may be heading for Mexico or North Carolina.
Anyone with information should contact Wentworth Area detectives are (312) 747-8385.
The Chicago Sun TImes
May 26, 2010
0
The Americas
|
 |
|
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton |
40th Washington Conference on the Americas
Remarks of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Council of the Americas was pleased to hold its 40th Washington Conference on the Americas. For 40 years, the Washington Conference on the Americas has been honored to host presidents of the United States, foreign heads of state, U.S. cabinet officials, ministers from the region, and congressional leaders...
As the opening speaker at the 40th Annual Washington Conference, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talked about the primacy of hemispheric issues on the Obama administration’s agenda. She... stressed three priority areas for cooperation between the United States and Latin America: trade and energy partnerships, public security, and inequality and immigration...
[An] area of concern stressed by the secretary was public security... She referred to the “barbarism” of organized crime syndicates, comment[ed] on Washington’s support for Plan Colombia and the Merida Initiative, but also urged for “smarter, more effective strategies.”
...Clinton referred to the twin issues of inequity and immigration. “We don’t have the poorest people in the world in Latin America, with the exception of Haiti, but we have the most inequity,” said the secretary. “Therefore we need to have a partnership between the public and private sector to address this.” In particular, she spoke of the need to increase tax revenues in the region. “We can take a lot of joy in the positive GDP growth, but income disparity continues to grow,” she said, noting it is “a source of social and political instability” that feeds criminal activity. “We have to do a better job.”
...
|
 |
|
U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis
|
Remarks of
Hilda Solis, U.S. Secretary of Labor
One of [U.S. Labor Secretary] Secretary Solis’ main concerns is the 12.5 percent unemployment rate among the Latino population. Latinos-who Solis termed the “new entrepreneurs”-are the fastest growing demographic in the U.S. and will account for over 25 percent of the population by 2050. This population, however, accounted for only 5 percent of the 3.6 million STEM (science, technology, education, and math) jobs in 2008. Solis and the Department of Labor are focusing on creating more of these jobs for Latinos as STEM fields are the future of innovation and competitiveness.
Latino workforce development also extends to training workers in the renewable energy sector and to breaking down the barriers between employers and employees.
The Department of Labor has launched a multilingual help line as a resource for workers that have been unfairly treated on the job and is focusing on bringing to light “good business practices” that help to prevent on-the-job injuries. Just recently Secretary Solis and Mexican Ambassador to the United States Arturo Sarukhán signed a declaration reaffirming their joint commitment to work collaboratively on informing Mexican workers about their labor rights. She hopes to extend this type of agreement to El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, and other Latin American countries...
Prepared by Jason Marczak and Carin Zissis
Americas Society
May 12, 2010
The Americas
|
 |
|
OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza |
OAS Secretary General Takes Office for Second Term
The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, today...
[took] office for his second term at a special session of the Permanent
Council...
Reelected by acclamation for the period 2010-2015 in an election held March 24, Insulza
described in a speech this morning delivered in the Hall of the Americas the
main goals for his new term, reiterating the convictions that will guide his
leadership...
Among the successes of his first term, the top OAS official mentioned the effective role of the Organization in nearly a dozen political crises in the continent, as well as the observation of more than fifty electoral processes, asserting that “nobody can in good faith affirm that the OAS in these years has failed in having, in all of these events, a conciliatory and unifying attitude.” In this context, Insulza renewed his commitment to what he called “the three basic pillars of OAS activity: democracy and human rights, integral development and multidimensional security, and the aspects most relevant to the people of the continent.”
With respect to the new five-year period that now begins, Secretary General Insulza reiterated his wish to have “a genuinely multilateral OAS, built by all of us jointly on the basis of common principles,” and he traced five lines of work for his new mandate: to develop a broad, modern and inclusive multilateralism; to increase support for democratic governance by promoting areas such as respect for the rule of law and institutions; to improve the balance between the tasks of democracy building and those of promoting integral development; to continue prioritizing subjects relative to public security, drug trafficking, money laundering, organized crime, arms trafficking and human trafficking; to give greater momentum to the subject of gender at the OAS...
Organization of American States
May 24, 201
Paraguay
|
 |
|
The triple frontier region, where
Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil meet, is a major child
and adult sex trafficking marketplace with many
thousands of victims. |
Todos
los casos deben ser remitidos a Asuncion para su investigacion
Impunidad hace florecer el trafico de personas en las Tres Fronteras
El tráfico de personas en la zona de las Tres Fronteras sigue siendo un negocio
floreciente debido a la impunidad reinante. En el sistema judicial del Alto
Paraná no existen datos de que algún caso haya sido elevado a juicio, buscando
castigar a los culpables de este delito. El Ministerio Público se convirtió en
una especie de “frezeer’’ para los hechos denunciados sobre la trata de
personas. Ever Ovelar, fiscal adjunto.
Varios son los esquemas que operan en la zona para el tráfico de personas. Casi
siempre integran el sistema las agencias de viaje que camuflan el envío de
jóvenes a otros países como excursionistas. En el décimo departamento no existe
una unidad fiscal especializada en el tema, pese a que los casos aumentan
considerablemente. Los antecedentes algunas veces son remitidos a la unidad
especializada en el tema a cargo de la fiscal Teresa Martínez, de Asunción. La
fiscal estuvo en esta zona y dijo que al menos tres agencias de turismo locales
están en la mira por vincularse supuestamente al tráfico de personas.
No quiso dar el nombre de las firmas para no entorpecer las investigaciones que
casi no han avanzado en los últimos 30 días. En Ciudad del Este y Presidente
Franco son donde más abundan personas que reclutan a jóvenes especialmente para
llevarlos a otros países, de preferencia europeos siendo las mujeres las
preferidas. Varias de ellas son obligadas a prostituirse y son mantenidas en
régimen de esclavitud, mientras otros deben trabajar en viviendas en régimen
inhumano.
El silencio de las víctimas y sus familiares contribuyen a que los traficantes
sigan operando normalmente en esta región fronteriza. Pero la inacción de los
organismos públicos contribuyen más para que se de esta situación. El Minis-terio
Público de Ciudad del Este se convirtió en una especie de “frezeer’’ para los
casos de trata de personas, pues al menos son 20 carpetas fiscales las que nunca
fueron investigadas. No existen antecedentes en el Poder Judicial de la zona de
que algún caso haya sido llevado a juicio oral y público...
All human trafficking cases should be referred to federal
agencies in the capital city of Asuncion
Impunity allows human trafficking to flourish in the triple frontier (Paraguay,
Argentina and Brazil) region.
(English Translation to follow)
Diario Vanguardia
May 26, 2010
US Fights Human Slavery in Major Cities
People from Latin America, Asia trafficked to the US for sex, labor
In almost every major city in the United States, advocates say victims of human slavery are exploited everyday.
"Human trafficking is a very serious problem in the United States," says Bradley Myles of the Polaris Project, an organization that fights human trafficking.
According to Myles, some of the victims are forced to work in the homes of the wealthy and at restaurants. Many others, especially women, are forced into prostitution.
"We know from our very own eyes that it's happening. We're not kind of hearing it third hand. We've been inside those places. We work with those women."
The Polaris Project operates a human trafficking hotline. Calls come in from around the country.
"So we're getting calls from Texas. We're getting calls from California. We're getting calls from New York, Florida and DC is one of those top five cities where we're getting calls," says Myles.
Deborah Sigmund, founder of the advocacy group, Innocents at Risk, says most of the victims of human trafficking come from economically depressed countries and are lured to the U.S. with promises of a better life.
"They want to think that they can come to America and have a great job so it's very easy to fool them," she says.
According to the experts, some of the victims are forced to sell sex from brothels disguised as massage parlors.
Tim Whittman of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is an expert on human trafficking in the U.S.
"The number one foreign country is Mexico," says Tim Whittman, an expert on human trafficking with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). "Approximately 20 percent of our cases involve victims from Mexico."
The nation's capital is not immune to the problem. In Washington, the Polaris Project sees sex trafficking victims who are U.S. citizens, and women from South Korea, China and Latin America.
A study by The Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center finds nearly 83 percent of suspected human trafficking incidents involve sex trafficking. Advocates say other types of human slavery include people being forced to work as domestic servants and in agriculture. The FBI says the smugglers often threaten their victims and make it difficult for them to pay off their debts...
Elizabeth Lee
Voice of America News
May 24, 2010
Indiana, USA
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Luis Gonzales |
Sexual assault suspect may be linked to 7 attacks
Indianapolis - Police have arrested a suspect in the sexual assault of a young girl.
Luis Gonzales, 27, was taken into custody Saturday evening after an IMPD officer found him sleeping in a pick-up truck on Hillsboro Drive. A woman told police she recognized Gonzales from an incident a month or two ago when he attempted to fondle her. The woman told her father, who called police.
Police say Gonzales sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl at her west side apartment complex on May 13. Investigators identified the suspect in that assault as a Hispanic male, who left the scene in a red Nissan pick-up truck, like the one Gonzales was in when police apprehended him Saturday.
Metro police detectives say Gonzales is a prime suspect in at least two confirmed assault cases. He was found in possession of a BB gun described in the other attacks, as well as other possible evidence belonging to his victims. He is being held on felony charges of child molesting and criminal confinement.
Monday, police described Gonzales as a dangerous predator, saying he may be linked to as many as seven attacks on girls.
"He is almost like an addict. He has to have sex all the time," said IMPD Lt. Jeff Duhamell.
One of the other attacks happened to a 13-year-old girl in the Covered Bridge Apartments on Georgetown Road. The victim remained reluctant to even report the attack until IMPD Officer Candi Perry, a Spanish translator for the department, intervened. That's when the 11-year-old girl in the May 13 attack came forward, too.
"Right now, we definitely have him on admitting two child molestation cases," said Lt. Duhamell.
Sex crime detectives suspect Gonzales in a May 7 sexual assault on a 23-year-old woman. The attack happened at the West Lake Apartments near Rockville Road.
WTHR
May 24, 2010
Georgia, USA
Man gets 35 years for sexually assaulting child
A DeKalb man will spend the next 35 years in prison after being convicted of raping and infecting a child with a sexually transmitted disease.
Omar Luna-Fraide, 22, of Doraville, was convicted Wednesday on one count of rape; two counts of child molestation; two counts of aggravated child molestation; and one count of false imprisonment, said Orzy Theus, spokesman for the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office.
Fraide was accused of assaulting the child on multiple days in 2009, Theus said. He also infected the child with a sexually transmitted disease, Theus said.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
May 21, 2010
Guatemala, The United States
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 |
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Esperanza Arreaga, age 62,
lost two small daughters and 14 other family members
when they were murdered by Guatemalan soldiers in the massacre of Las Dos Erres.
In
this picture,
Arreaga looks at the
remains of massacre victims uncovered by forensic archeologists.
Photo: Larry Kaplow - GlobalPost |
|
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Ramiro Cristales, then age 5, witnessed Guatemalan special forces
soldiers murder his family and rape and murder the 10 and
12-year-old girls from his village of Las Dos Erres, in 1982.
From a
video statement by Ramiro Cristales, and a
collage of photos, by GlobalPost. |
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Ramiro Cristales, after he was abducted at age 5 by the Guatemalan soldiers who murdered his
family |
U.S. rounds up Guatemalans accused of war crimes
Washington - U.S. federal agents are today closing in on four former Guatemalan soldiers accused of taking part in a 1982 massacre, which one law enforcement official called "the most shocking modern-day war crime American authorities have ever investigated."
One former soldier alleged to have taken part in the massacre of 251 villagers
in the rural Guatemalan hamlet of Las Dos Erres is already in custody in Texas.
Another former soldier in Florida and two more in California are under active
investigation.
Law enforcement officials close to the case acknowledged the four men are part
of a probe by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency into immigration
violations aimed at rounding up suspects named in a recently revived, landmark
human rights case in Guatemala. If found in violation of U.S. immigration laws,
the men would likely face deportation to Guatemala and a possible prosecution
there for war crimes.
For years these men, who are all accused of serving in a notoriously brutal
Guatemalan military unit, have lived in America, blending in to communities in
Florida, California and Texas. One is a popular karate teacher. One is a cook.
The man in custody is a day laborer who had allegedly abducted and then adopted
a boy who was orphaned in the slaughter 28 years ago.
That boy, Ramiro Cristales, who was 5 years old at the time, is now a key
witness in the case in Guatemala against the former soldiers and against the man
who raised him.
In an exclusive interview with GlobalPost, Cristales, one of only two known
survivors of the massacre, saw his entire family murdered. He said he was
frustrated it has taken so long for the men to be brought to justice. But he
said he hoped U.S. and Guatemalan officials might work together to make that
happen.
"They have to do something... The only thing I ask is justice," said Cristales,
who is now hiding in an undisclosed location.
One former soldier alleged to have taken part in the massacre of 251 villagers in the rural Guatemalan hamlet of Las Dos Erres is already in custody in Texas. Another former soldier in Florida and two more in California are under active investigation.
Law enforcement officials close to the case acknowledged the four men are part of a probe by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency into immigration violations aimed at rounding up suspects named in a recently revived, landmark human rights case in Guatemala. If found in violation of U.S. immigration laws, the men would likely face deportation to Guatemala and a possible prosecution there for war crimes.
For years these men, who are all accused of serving in a notoriously brutal Guatemalan military unit, have lived in America, blending in to communities in Florida, California and Texas. One is a popular karate teacher. One is a cook. The man in custody is a day laborer who had allegedly abducted and then adopted a boy who was orphaned in the slaughter 28 years ago.
That boy, Ramiro Cristales, who was 5 years old at the time, is now a key witness in the case in Guatemala against the former soldiers and against the man who raised him.
In an exclusive interview with GlobalPost, Cristales, one of only two known survivors of the massacre, saw his entire family murdered. He said he was frustrated it has taken so long for the men to be brought to justice. But he said he hoped U.S. and Guatemalan officials might work together to make that happen.
"They have to do something... The only thing I ask is justice," said Cristales, who is now hiding in an undisclosed location.
The massacre in Las Dos Erres, where a total of 251 men, women and children were killed, is widely considered one of the darkest chapters of Guatemala's 36-year civil war that claimed some 200,000 lives, and in which the U.S. military played a shadowy role.
One month after allegedly raping young girls and women during the massacre, one of the men under investigation, Pedro Pimentel Rios, began work as an instructor at the School of the Americas, the Pentagon-run training school for Latin American militaries, then located in Panama...
Because the alleged crimes occurred before the passage of war crimes laws in the United States, prosecutors are not legally permitted to charge the men under any of those laws. This limitation in U.S. law has long frustrated federal prosecutors, who have only... been able to denaturalize and deport even suspected Nazi war criminals living in the United States.
U.S. officials began their investigation after the Inter-American Court on Human Rights decided last year that Guatemala's 1996 amnesty agreement does not apply to serious human rights violations, including the massacre at Las Dos Erres. Officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Justice who monitor cases involving foreign-born human rights abusers decided to see if any of the accused killers were living in the United States...
U.S. involvement
Human rights groups have long criticized the involvement of the American government and military in Guatemala. The Las Dos Erres case reveals several connections between the two countries.
The U.S. government knew the Guatemalan army was probably responsible for the massacre at Las Dos Erres, yet the School of the Americas began to welcome new instructors and students from the army only days after the killings...
In the 1970s, President Jimmy Carter had introduced a ban on cooperating with the Guatemalan military. But President Ronald Reagan lifted the ban and the School of the Americas began admitting Guatemalan soldiers, including Rios, one of the alleged perpetrators of the massacre...
Just as the massacres were intensifying, Reagan re-established military and political cooperation with the Guatemalan government. Reagan saw
[Guatemalan president Efrain] Rios Montt as a useful ally against leftist guerrillas and maintained friendly relations in the face of evidence that Rios Montt's government was responsible for increasing numbers of civilian massacres. (In July 1982, Amnesty International published a report listing more than 50 massacres of non-combatant civilians by the military.)
On Dec. 4, 1982, when the massacres in the Guatemalan countryside were fully under way, Reagan met with Rios Montt. Reagan publicly described Rios Montt as "a man of great personal integrity…[who] wants to improve the quality of life for all Guatemalans and to promote social justice." Reagan said that Rios Montt had received a "bum rap" from human rights groups.
It was an inauspicious day to make such a show of support. On the same day Reagan spoke, the 17 members of the Kaibiles
[counter-insurgency rangers] squad arrived at a military base near Las Dos Erres. On Dec. 7, the massacre started. Over the following two days, the men are alleged to have killed 251 residents of Las Dos Erres. "Everything that moved had to be killed," one of the soldiers later wrote in a sworn statement.
Last month archaeologists began exhuming the mass grave and DNA testing is now underway to confirm the identities of those killed.
"I lost everything"
The Kaibiles tortured the men first. They then began throwing children alive into the village well. Women were shot or beaten to death with a sledgehammer and then thrown in. Men were then shot and dumped on top. One of the Kaibiles abducted a 5-year-old boy
[Ramiro Cristales]. Another boy escaped. They may be the only surviving witnesses...
Matt McAllester
Minnpost.com
May 06, 2010
LibertadLatina
Commentary
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Chuck
Goolsby |
Genocide, Femicide and Human
Trafficking in Guatemala
All Grew From the Same Roots of Wartime Impunity
The genocide suffered by the indigenous Mayan majority
population of Guatemala during the 1980s took place with the complicity of the U.S.
Government, especially during the administration of President Ronald Reagan.
Some 200,000 innocent civilians, including 50,000 women, were murdered by government military forces
during the civil conflict. The nation's Supreme Court has officially declared that 200,000
orphans resulted from the war.
While the International Court in the Hague and other international
judicial bodies have aggressively prosecuted, or at least charged suspects
in the genocidal mass murders in Bosnia, Sudan and other equally notorious
circumstances, the
largest act of ethnic cleansing and genocide in the modern history of the
Americas, which was carried out by pro-U.S. government forces during the Guatemalan Civil War, has until recently been off limits to
effective prosecution.
We thank the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for
laying the legal groundwork for permitting renewed judicial action in regard to important cases such as that
of
the
Las Dos Erres Massacre. Many other massacres and
individual murders have yet
to be investigated.
In all, some 440 Mayan villages, located mostly in Guatemala's
northwestern highlands region, were completely destroyed by Guatemalan soldiers
during a brutal scorched earth campaign of ethnic cleansing that hid behind a
cloak of supposedly justifiable cold war counter insurgency.
Guatemala's military was supported in this endeavor with military strategy, training and equipment supplied by the United States,
Argentina and Israel.
The perpetrators of mass murder in Guatemala thought that they would have a
lifetime of protection in regard to their crimes, because past conservative U.S.
presidential administrations lead them to believe that was the case. Thanks to the changing
political and legal landscape in the Americas, serious prosecutions of these
criminals may, finally, occur.
In the early and mid 1980s I and many other activists in Washington,
DC and across the Americas worked hard to publish and broadcast news about the
ongoing massacres of innocents in Guatemala. We also protested in front of Congress and organized to
do everything we could to save the
lives of Guatemalans from the murderous hands of these cruel perpetrators.
Today in 2010, Guatemala's postwar culture has the highest rate of
'femicide' murders in
all of the Americas. Thousands of women have been murdered during the past
several years with almost total impunity. The rate of femicide murders, (which
are crimes that typically include acts of
rape, torture, mutilation and dismemberment -echoing the behavior of military
forces during the civil war), is ten times higher than the rate of gender-based
murders in Mexico's infamous Ciudad Juarez..
These femicides, and Guatemala's inability to investigate the rape/
torture killings of so many women and girls, as well as that nation's serious problems
with mass sex trafficking currently, are all direct outgrowths of the
impunity that the world community ALLOWED to exist in Guatemala during the
1970s, 80s and 90s. Effectively, these crimes were never prosecuted because past
conservative U.S. administrations were both passively and actively complicit, and the world community
of nations simply stood silently by and watched these horrific events
unfold with impunity.
A nexus with the anti-trafficking movement
During the early 2000's, I joined the anti human trafficking
listserv (email-based private forum) of Dr. Donna Hughes, who was then, and is
today, Professor and Eleanor M. and Oscar M. Carlson
Endowed Chair of the Women's Studies Program at the University of Rhode Island.
Dr. Hughes is one of the original pioneers of the modern U.S. movement against
human trafficking, and she deserves all of the honors that she has received over
the years for those important efforts.
Dr. Hughes' listserv, which was made up of many notable names in the
anti-slavery movement across the globe, including names that many followers of
the movement today would recognize, totaled about
400 members. Simultaneous to her work with this listserv, Dr. Hughes was also
writing for the conservative National Review Online.
The majority of U.S. listserv participants were conservative
women. I
educated that online community of professionals and activists about the dynamics of the
Latin American crisis in human trafficking at a time when few were aware of the
issues.
As part of that work, I discussed the mass rapes and murders of innocent Mayan
indigenous women and girls (among others) during the Guatemalan Civil War
(almost all Mayan women and girls of any age, among other victims, were targeted
for rape by soldiers and civilian paramilitary guards during the war). I also
discussed Mayan Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Rigoberta Menchu, who fled into the
jungle to avoid becoming another victim of a government massacre. Several of Dr. Menchu's relatives died at the hands of soldiers.
Conservative members
of the listserv became so infuriated with my simple and truthful educational
postings that several of them quit the listserv. Dr. Hughes told me by phone,
almost apologetically, that she had to ban me from participating to prevent her
conservative followers from leaving.
In an earlier email conversation, Dr. Hughes had
rationalized the human rights abuses in Guatemala by stating that some victims
supported communist insurgency.
What Mayans actually supported was building a
future for themselves that was free from the 500 years of peonage (slavery) that
Spanish descendants had subjected them to.
During this online debate, an anti-trafficking activist from the Salvation Army
wrote-in to emphasize that the group was not denying the events that took place in
Guatemala (although only she expressed that view, not the other listserv members).
U.S. Conservatives had long supported the efforts of former President
Ronald Reagan and others to back often brutal right wing dictators in Latin America. Any
mention of the mass murders of Guatemalan innocents, including women and
children,
was considered to be an unacceptable topic of public conversation.
In late 1995, for example,
former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich denounced
then-Democratic Representative Robert G. Torricelli, who, like
Speaker Gingrich, was a member of
the House Intelligence Committee, for having publicly exposed information about
the atrocities in Guatemala, followed by a demand for congressional hearings.
Speaker Gingrich also demanded that the Public
Broadcasting Service (PBS) not air a documentary on the massacres of Mayan
peoples in the Guatemalan Civil War. He only relented and allowed the program to
be broadcast after his demand for adding 'alternative views' to the program's
content were agreed to by PBS.
How do you provide an alternative view about multiple acts of
racially motivated mass murder being perpetrated against innocent children, women and men
with impunity?
This truthful account of one part of the history of the Guatemalan Genocide
also sheds light on aspects of the modern U.S. response to the human trafficking
crisis in Latin America.
The U.S. based anti-trafficking movement is a unique social space where
conservatives, liberals and others (and I am 'other') may join in common
purpose to save human lives. Unfortunately, politics has often been played with the issue of Latin American human
trafficking.
In the early 2000s, conservatives such as Dr. Donna Hughes and her followers shunned any
discussion of the important gender related human rights issues (specifically,
the Guatemalan Genocide) that were closely
associated with the modern human slavery issue in Latin America.
During the
administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush, I was
present at two separate major public speeches given by the first
and second directors of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
at the U.S. Department of State - Ambassador John R. Miller, and
Ambassador Mark P. Lagon. Latin America’s human trafficking crisis
was never mentioned during those presentations, despite what we know
today, that Latin American human trafficking generates an estimated
$16 billion per year, perhaps half of all world income from human
slavery.
When, on May 27, 1994,
I gave a presentation on Latina women and exploitation to
the Montgomery County, Maryland Commission for Women, I mentioned the
mass rapes and murders of women in the Guatemalan conflict, several conservative
women commission members shook their heads and declared that the genocide never happened.
In response,
a Cherokee indigenous woman commission member, and a Panamanian woman
physician who was also a member both acknowledged the fact of the Guatemalan
genocide, and also recognized the other issues that I had raised for their consideration
(the workplace sexual exploitation of Latina immigrant women).
An intentional failure to acknowledge the problem of Latin American
human trafficking during the administration of President George
W. Bush (as a byproduct of conservative politics) effectively allowed the region's billion dollar cartels and other criminal elements free reign to
grow their now $16 billion per year human slavery 'industry' (IOM
figure) without any visible U.S. opposition.
On the other end of the political spectrum, some liberals, including, perhaps,
influential members of the administration
of President Barack Obama, also politicize human trafficking, from a leftist
perspective.
It does not add to Obama administration Latin America strategy to have a highly
visible public discussion of human trafficking and the mass rape and enslavement of
women and girls in Mexico, when such visibility would raise
doubt in Congress, and among the public, as to the value of continued funding of the war on
drug traffickers, given that Mexican soldiers deployed in the conflict have been
the culprits in many rapes and
murders of indigenous women with total impunity.
Open discussion of the severe levels of human trafficking and the brutal sexual
exploitation of women perpetrated by some Latino men in Latin America,
and in U.S. community settings, is also an uncomfortable topic
for progressives as they market Comprehensive Immigration Reform to the people
and Congress of the United States.
That concern does not justify remaining silent about the growing humanitarian
emergency of mass gender atrocities that is taking place in Mexico, throughout
the rest of Latin America and, increasingly, in U.S. Latino immigrant population
centers.
Progressives who favor the legalization of prostitution also apparently have
strong influence in the Obama Administration, which perhaps leads to a diminished focus on
sex trafficking while labor trafficking takes center stage in U.S.
anti-trafficking efforts.
By justifying the genocide of Mayan indigenous peoples during the
Guatemalan Civil War (a mentality that is consistent with excusing the mass murder of
U.S. indigenous peoples in the past), U.S. conservatives, together with their allies in
Guatemala, succeeded in setting-up the circumstances that lead not only to the anti-Mayan
genocide, but also set off the 'firestorm' of the largest ongoing crisis of mass
murders of women in the Americas, today's Guatemalan femicide.
A similar conservative-lead
environment of social and govern-mental tolerance for mass gender atrocities
also exists in neighboring Mexico.
We assert that the lack of willingness of the
U.S. government and of some U.S. NGOs to fully engage the issue of human trafficking in Latin
America (where half of the world's estimated $32 billion of human trafficking
apparently takes place) during the George W. Bush administration and beyond had
its roots in conservative unwillingness to acknowledge the serious human
consequences of their past support for murderous dictators such as Guatemalan president Efrain Rios Montt.
To be clear, U.S. conservatives cannot declare their opposition
to modern day human trafficking and slavery on the one hand, and on the other,
declare that the genocide in Guatemala, or Mexico's current repression of
women's rights (and until recently, intentional inaction on human trafficking) all
orchestrated by the ruling conservative National Action party (PAN), are justifiable expressions of
modern conservatism.
You cannot have it both ways.
The left, which has often been indifferent to the issue of human
trafficking, bears a similar responsibility for condoning inaction... because
human trafficking is, for some of them, a round peg that will not fit into the square
holes of their political ideologies.
Shame on those who politicize human trafficking, be they from the
right or the left!
The victims, and those who are at-risk, await our effective and hurried
efforts to protect and rescue them.
Public servants, put the politics aside, and get to work! There is no time to waste.
End impunity now!
Chuck Goolsby
LibertadLatina
May 23/24/27, 2010
See also:
Guatemala
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An indigenous woman walks by a street poster of Guatamala's most brutal president, Efrain Rios Montt.
In the words
of a poem by Pablo Neruda:
'For the one who gave the order of agony, I ask for punishment.' |
Guatemala: Massacre investigation breakthrough
Recently declassified documents from US archives have shed further light on the extent of US complicity in Guatemalan human rights crimes, one of Latin America’s most brutal examples of population control.
The hard-working farmers of Dos Erres, in Peten department, had never asked for much — just a few acres of recently-cleared land from which to scratch a
meager living in a country racked by violence.
When armed guerrillas cut across their land six months prior to December 7, 1982, community leaders had done everything possible to placate the national army, even inviting the soldiers in for inspections.
They had nothing to hide, they said. But a psychopathic military killing machine had already condemned them to death on the grounds that they were the soil in which the seed of resistance grows.
Acting on orders issued by the US-backed regional command, a death squad of army Kaibiles (counterinsurgency rangers) entered the peaceful hamlet early that morning, smashing in doors, killing livestock, starting fires and rounding up groups of men, women and children.
Hours of rape and torture ensued, followed by execution in small groups. After being shot, stabbed or bludgeoned to death with a sledgehammer, the victims were hurled into a village well or left in nearby fields.
By nightfall, more than 250 were dead - almost the entire population. There were two child survivors
- one who escaped and one, Ramiro Cristales, who was spared by his parents’ murderer only to be subsequently raised as a domestic slave (reputedly an army custom). Cristales, now aged in his 30s, has recently come forward at considerable risk to his own life as an eyewitness to the horror at Dos Erres.
His testimony to the Guatemalan truth commission has been corroborated by previously classified material obtained by the National Security Archive’s Guatemala Documentation Project under the US Freedom of Information Act...
David T. Rowlands
Green Left (Australia)
May 22, 2010
See also:
Former Guatemalan Soldier Arrested for Alleged Role in Dos
Erres Massacre
Washington, D.C. - Following this week's arrest of a former
Guatemalan special forces soldier, the National Security Archive is posting a
set of declassified documents on one of Guatemala's most shocking and unresolved
human rights crimes, the Dos Erres massacre.
On May 5, 2010, agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) arrested Gilberto Jordan, 54, in Palm Beach County, Florida,
based on a criminal complaint charging Jordan had lied to U.S. authorities
about his service in the Guatemalan Army and his role in the 1982 Dos Erres
massacre. The complaint alleges that Jordan, a naturalized American citizen, was
part of the special counterinsurgency Kaibiles unit that carried out the
massacre of hundreds of residents of the Dos Erres village located in the
northwest Petén region. Jordan allegedly helped kill unarmed villagers with his
own hands, including a baby he allegedly threw into the village well.
The massacre was part of the Guatemalan military's "scorched
earth campaign" and was carried out by the Kaibiles ranger unit. The Kaibiles
were specially trained soldiers who became notorious for their use of torture
and brutal killing tactics. According to witness testimony, and corroborated
through U.S. declassified archives, the Kaibiles entered the town of Dos Erres
on the morning of December 6, 1982, and separated the men from women and
children. They started torturing the men and raping the women and by the
afternoon they had killed almost the entire community, including the children.
Nearly the entire town was murdered, their bodies thrown into a
well and left in nearby fields. The U.S. documents reveal that American
officials deliberated over theories of how an entire town could just
"disappear," and concluded that the Army was the only force capable of such an
organized atrocity. More than 250 people are believed to have died in the
massacre...
The National Security Archive
George Washington University
May 7, 2010
See also:
LibertadLatina
Note
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An indigenous woman in Guatemala holds a sign saying,
WANTED: Jose Efrain Rios Montt (the unseen part says, "for genocide") -
during the 2008, 28th anniversary of the
Spanish Embassy Massacre in Guatemala
City, Guatemala.
General José Efraín Ríos Montt is best
known for heading a military dictatorship from 1982–1983 that was
responsible for some of the worst atrocities against civilians in the
36-year Guatemalan civil conflict.
Photo: MiMundo |
My observations about the only human trafficker I have
ever met.
...To further tie together these linked issues, I know victims of
that genocide, and I have met a perpetrator, through one of his family members.
This family member talked to me at length about this perpetrator’s activities in
Guatemala. I will refer to him here as ‘Juan.’
Juan’s grandfather owned a large ranch in Guatemala, and when he
was feeling especially angry, he would go to the Mayan village at the far-end of
his ranch and "shoot a few Indians" (a direct quote). During the time of the
1970s-1980s Guatemalan Civil War, Juan was a member of the Guatemalan
president's security detail, the Presidential Guard. This security unit had a
secondary task, aside from protection, of receiving a daily hit list from the
president’s palace, finding these persons and murdering them for being suspected
‘subversives.’
The bodies of the victims were typically left laying in the
street as a message to the population. Juan stated to his family: "Me daba mucha
lastima tener que malograr a las mujeres" - that is: "it really saddened me to
have to tear-up the women [on the hit list]." In other words, he supposedly felt
sad for having willfully kidnapped, tortured, gang-raped and finally murdered
his mostly Mayan women and girl victims over a number of years...
During the mid 1990s, before I even knew what sex trafficking
was, Juan’s family member explained to me that Juan was engaged in smuggling
people into the United States under peculiar circum-stances, and that he had ties to
Colombian mafias. Today, I understand that what was being explained to me was
the fact that Juan, a former mass rapist and murderer of women, had 'graduated'
to sex trafficking women into the U.S. while living a comfortable and otherwise
'normal' life in Washington, DC.
It was also explained to me that Juan would travel to Guatemala City, place an
add in a local paper seeking young girls to work as escorts, and that 13 and
14-year-old girls would gleefully respond. Juan then 'trained' these girls as
prostitutes, and sent them out as escorts for wealthy businessmen.
In Washington, DC, Juan, when working in the role of office building cleaning
crew manager, imposed quid-pro-quo sexual demands upon the Latina women who
applied to work at his office building.
The world's past denial of the Guatemalan Genocide plays into the world's
current lack of attention to the ongoing femicide, mass kidnappings of babies for
illegal adoptions and prostitution, and to the mass trafficking of Guatemalan women
into the brothels of southern Mexico...
Chuck Goolsby
LibertadLatina
Ashoka anti-trafficking competition entry
June 18, 2008
See also:
LibertadLatina
Note
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Mayan women and supporters gather to
protest a then-recent massacre in Quetzaltenango,
Guatemala - 1978
Photo: El Gráfico |
In the early 1980's I lived in a house in Washington, DC where a couple who had
fled Guatemala were invited to stay. The husband was an agronomist from Spain.
His wife was a white U.S. citizen from the Midwest. They told me how they were
saved from a death squad execution in Guatemala.
A Guatemalan woman friend had told the
couple that her boyfriend, a high-ranking Guatemalan military officer, had told
her one night while he was drunk that the couple had been put on the
to-be-murdered list that was printed nightly in the presidential palace (using a
computer system set up by the Israeli military). Having been warned by their
friend, the couple and their young child immediately fled Guatemala.
What was
their crime?
The husband taught people in rural Mayan communities how to grow food better
and improve their nutrition. For the Guatemalan military, anything that
benefited the Mayan population was subversive, and deserved a murderous
response. Any arguments that the Mayan majority was subversive fly out the
window when one understands that the goal of the genocide was ethnic cleansing,
pure and simple.
Chuck Goolsby
LibertadLatina
May 23, 2010
See also:
Israel and Guatemala
The history of Israel's relations with Guatemala roughly parallels that of its
ties with El Salvador except the Guatemalan military was so unswervingly bloody
that Congress never permitted the ... Reagan Administration to undo the military
aid cutoff implemented during the Carter years.
Weaponry for the Guatemalan military is the very least of what Israel has
delivered. Israel not only provided the technology necessary for a reign of
terror, it helped in the organization and commission of the horrors perpetrated
by the Guatemalan military and police. And even beyond that: to ensure that the
profitable relationship would continue, Israel and its agents worked actively to
maintain Israeli influence in Guatemala.
Throughout the years of untrammeled slaughter that left at least 45,000 dead,
and, by early 1983, one million in internal exile - mostly indigenous Mayan
Indians, who comprise a majority of Guatemala's eight million people - and
thousands more in exile abroad, Israel stood by the Guatemalan military. Three
successive military governments and three brutal and sweeping campaigns against
the Mayan population, described by a U.S. diplomat as Guatemala's "genocide
against the Indians," had the benefit of Israeli techniques and experience, as
well as hardware...
...It does not take convoluted reasoning to conclude that "both the U.S. and
Israel bear rather serious moral responsibility" for Guatemala.
See also:
May 26, 2009
More about Former Guatemalan president Efrain Ríos Montt
In 1978, [Efrain Ríos Montt] left the Roman Catholic Church and became a
minister in the California-based Evangelical / Pentecostal Church of the Word;
since then Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson have been personal friends [both
reverends Falwell and Robertson had publicly defended Ríos Montt's human rights abuses].
Ríos Montt's
brother Mario is a Catholic bishop, and in 1998 succeeded the assassinated
Bishop Juan Gerardi as head of the human rights commission uncovering the truth
of the disappearances associated with the military and his brother.
About Efrain Ris Montt
Wikipedia
See also:
|
 |
|
Bill Clinton during his presidency |
Clinton says U.S. did
wrong in Central American Wars - March 10, 1999
... President
Clinton admitted Wednesday to Guatemalans that U.S. support for
"widespread repression" in their bloody 36-year civil war was a
mistake.
"For the United States, it is important
that I state clearly that the support for military forces or
intelligence units which engaged in violent and widespread
repression ... was wrong," Clinton said as he began a round-table
discussion on Guatemala's search for peace.
"The United States must not repeat that
mistake. We must and we will instead continue to support the peace
and reconciliation process in Guatemala," he said on the third day
of a Central American tour.
CNN
March 10, 1999
See also:
LibertadLatina
Read our special section of the crisis of sexual
exploitation and femicide facing women and girls in modern Guatemala.
See also:
LibertadLatina
Raids and Rescue
Versus...?
Read our special
section on the human rights advocacy conflict that
exists between the goals of the defense of
undocumented immigrants from the threat of
deportation on the one hand, and the urgent need to
protect Latina sex trafficking victims through law
enforcement action, on the other hand...
-
Chuck Goolsby
LibertadLatina
Dec. 18, 2008
Mexico
|
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|
These workers from the
Adulam shelter were arrested for forcing children and elderly
clients into labor slavery, while also subjecting some of the
victims to rape.
Photo: Mexico City Prosecutor's Office |
Desmantelan redes de trata de personas en México
Una red de explotación laboral camuflada en un hogar social, que abusaba de menores de edad, y otra de prostitución que simulaba ser un salón "spa" fueron desarticuladas por la policía, informó hoy la Procuraduría General de Justicia de la capital mexicana.
El 13 de mayo la Fiscalía capitalina comenzó un operativo que se saldó este lunes con cinco detenciones y con la liberación de 37 personas, entre ellas 27 menores, a las que supuestamente se explotaba laboral y sexualmente en la casa de asistencia a indigentes "Adulam", ubicada en el oeste de la ciudad.
Asimismo, el pasado martes fueron capturados Claudia Escalante González y Hugo Escalante Penkoff, presuntos responsables de la red de prostitución que se ocultaba en una casa de masajes antiestrés en el sur de la capital, donde se engañó y obligó a vender su cuerpo a varias jóvenes mediante amenazas y extorsiones.
En marzo, cuatro de los huéspedes de "Adulam" denunciaron que eran obligados a comerciar con distintos productos en la calle, sin obtener remuneración, y a entregar entre 700 y 800 pesos diarios (entre cincuenta y sesenta dólares) ya que, si no lo hacían, se les negaba el alimento.
Una menor de dieciséis años denunció también que Emilio Moctezuma, director de "Adulam" y uno de los detenidos, la violó mientras una de las asistentes de éste la sujetaba.
Todas las víctimas eran amenazadas constantemente con ser trasladadas a otras casas fuera del Distrito Federal y a un lugar llamado Isla Veracruz, donde la hermana de esta última chica fue enviada para ejercer la prostitución.
Además, una mujer declaró que desconoce el paradero de su hija desde que le fue arrebatada recién nacida y enviada a un hogar de asistencia en el vecino estado de México, y otra -también menor de edad-, aseguró que le practicaron un aborto sin su consentimiento.
Human trafficking networks are dismantled in Mexico City
The Mexico City Prosecutor's Office has announced that establishments dedicated
to human exploitation have been taken down. One location, which operated as a
shelter for children and the elderly. The other passed itself off as a massage
parlor, but was actually a house of prostitution.
On May 13, 2010 the city prosecutor's office commenced an operation that
concluded with 5 arrests and the liberation from slavery of 27 children and 10
adults, who were subjected to labor and sexual exploitation in the Casa Adulam
shelter, located on the west side of Mexico City.
At the same time, the authorities arrested
Claudia Escalante González y Hugo Escalante Penkoff, who are alleged to have run
a prostitution network out of a massage parlor. A number of youth were entrapped
and forced to sell their bodies in prostitution while facing threats and
extortion.
In March of 2010, four residents of Casa Adulam denounced to police that they
were forced to sell between 700 and 800 pesos of various products on the streets
of Mexico City. On days when the victims failed to meet their quota, they were
not fed.
A 16-year-old girl also reported to police that she was raped by both the Adulam
shelter's director,
Emilio Moctezuma, and a male resident of the shelter, while one of the women
shelter workers held her down.
All of the victims were constantly threatened with being taken to other shelters
outside of Mexico City.
One of these locations was called Veracruz Island. The sister of the
above-mentioned rape victim had earlier been taken to that location and forced
to engage in prostitution. Another victim, a woman, told police that her newborn
child was kidnapped from her by shelter employees and taken to another shelter
in the neighboring state of Mexico. An underage girl victim reported that she
was forced to have an abortion without her consent.
EFE
May 21, 2010
See also:
Perspective on this case from the Breaking Chains Ministry
The article [above] highlights a very important action that is just the beginning of what is going to be massive fruit from the last trip I took...
There were 5 arrests and at least 10 more coming from this operation including the scum who rob these children from their homes and families.
They used physical... as well as mental abuse and threats to force these children to serve as
prostitutes. The big one is still coming but this is VERY GOOD....the government of
Mexico is working to stop this evil and that is God!!! This is just the beginning...there are 6 operations live right now so please
continue to pray for Jesus justice...
Reverend Stephen
Cass
Breaking Chains
Ministry
May 21, 2010
See also:
Mexico
Rescatan a 37... esclavizados de casa de asistencia
Sin embargo, los inculpados refirieron que por su labor habían sido recibidos por el presidente Felipe Calderón y en la Embajada de Estados Unidos.
De acuerdo con la dependencia policiaca, los detenidos explotaban a niños y adultos, a quienes obligaban a vender diversos productos en la calle sin recibir ningún pago.
Incluso, se informó que la cuota diaria que les exigían era de 800 pesos. En el operativo, se liberaron a 37 niños y... personas de la tercera edad.
Las víctimas dijeron a la policía que fueron violadas, otras que las obligaban a entregar a sus hijos recién nacidos, e incluso una dijo que fue presionaba para que abortara.
RECHAZO. Durante su presentación ante los medios de comunicación, los inculpados denunciaron una presunta fabricación de culpables por parte del Ministerio Público.
Y se dijeron dispuestos a someterse a cualquier tipo de investigación y análisis, “pero de autoridades que sean imparciales”.
Agregaron que el Albergue Casa Adulam goza de una trayectoria reconocida por varias organizaciones sociales, incluso por las propias autoridades federales.
Es de mencionar que los cinco detenidos cumplirán un arraigo de 30 días.
Thirty seven are rescued from shelter
This story repeats the story of the arrests in the Casa Adulam case. It adds
that Casa Adulam was previously praised for its work by the Calderon
administration, and they had been received at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City.
Cronica
May 21, 2010
Note: Allegations of abuses taking place at Casa Adulam had been received and
investigated since 2007. - LL
Mexico
|
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|
Deputy Rosi Orozco (left)and Actress Mira Sorvino,
(right) appointed in 2009 as Goodwill Ambassador on Human Trafficking
for the United Nations, at the Blue Heart Campaign launch in Mexico City
on April 14, 2010 |
A... Moment With Mira Sorvino
Mira Sorvino... talks at length about her activism.
Mirror: Could you talk about your work as a human rights activist?
Sorvino: I was Amnesty International's campaign spokesperson to “Stop Violence Against Women” for over two years and on the subject of trafficking, I am Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime ((UNODC).
Mirrror: What’s been your experience?
Sorvino: I just came back from Mexico for the kick-off the U.N.’s worldwide campaign to combat trafficking. The goal is to raise awareness and to get countries to commit to fighting this trafficking within their borders.**
Mirror: Can you talk about that trip?
Sorvino: It was a fascinating trip and I did a lot of public speaking. It’s a country where not much is known about trafficking
[?-LL], so I felt like I was able to be informative. The most important thing for me, by far, was going to go to a shelter for recently liberated girls, and I mean girls. I’ve met trafficking victims before, but they were all past 30. These were teenagers and children. I met a little girl who was eight years old who had been sold into a brothel when she was four. She was walking around with a big smile on her face showing everyone her arithmetic homework. When I saw her I thought ‘Oh God, please tell me she’s the daughter of someone here.’ She was a victim, just like all the other girls, but we should call them survivors. I felt like I wanted to adopt her, but I can’t adopt everyone who is needy. I just wanted to save her and protect her for the rest of her life so she would never undergo anything like what had happened to her. There is only one shelter in Mexico for girls like this and I got to meet thirty lucky survivors, but
there are hundreds of thousands of girls exactly like them all over Mexico...
Mirror: How many cases are prosecuted in the U.S.?
Sorvino: We have only a 1 percent solve rate and have about same number of trafficking cases as murder cases. Can you imagine if we only solved 1 percent of the murder cases? So it means that we have intensify our efforts and raise public awareness, train the police, get the judiciary to be very well informed, and encourage everyone to become a watcher. It’s very subterranean and hard to find, but it’s always concerned citizens who call in with tips that break cases...
Mirror: Why are men attracted to these little girls?
Sorvino: The sexual drive in men is so strong that unless they are educated correctly throughout their formative years, once they are focused on a certain kind of sex object that they find stimulating, that’s going to continue to be stimulating for them. Every culture has always put a prize on virginity and youthful beauty so a child who hasn’t been “spoiled” by other people will always be more ideal to the “John” who wants to have something special. But, men need to be educated to the terrible sorrow that behavior is creating because many times the buyer of commercial sex is not really thinking about the individual, but just view it as a service. I think if you did sensitivity training for males worldwide, you might be able to discourage them from buying sex.
Mirror: We applaud you for doing this important work.
Sorvino: Thank you so much...
Beverly Cohn
The Santa Monica Mirror
Edition 50 - May 20-26, 2010
Haiti
Escala violencia hacia las mujeres en campamentos de Haití
Preparan abogadas estrategia legal para abordar problemática
Una delegación de abogadas y activistas de Estados Unidos constató en Haití, la alarmante violencia que persiste contra las mujeres en esa nación, y la escalada de otras formas de agresión en los asentamientos provisionales.
Ante la afirmación de algunas fuentes oficiales que responsabilizan a las víctimas de la escalda, “es importante contrarrestar este mito de que es por la promiscuidad, son crímenes violentos por extraños en la noche y ameritan la atención de la policía y otros grupos que ayudan a organizar los campamentos” dijo la coordinación de la delegación y abogado del Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), Blaine Bookey.
Los testimonios de mujeres niñas dan cuenta de que son crímenes perpetrados por grupos armados y asaltantes que las golpean y las amenaza si denuncian las violaciones. Las mujeres entrevistadas también sostienen que cuando reportan, la policía no las toma en serio.
“Es inaceptable que estas violaciones no sean castigadas, ahora estamos trabajando casos legales contra los violadores y para que las mujeres tengan la justicia que se merecen” dijo Mario Joseph, abogado del Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) que recibió la delegación en su oficina de Puerto Príncipe...
María Suárez Toro
RIF / CIMAC Women's News Agency
May 21, 2010
See also:
Haiti
U.S. Delegation Finds Inadequate Response, and “Victim-Blaming” Approach to Rapes in Haitian Displacement Camps
Lawyers collect rape survivor accounts and plan legal strategy
Port-au-Prince - In over a week of on-site interviews and exploration, a delegation of U.S. lawyers, health professionals, and community activists found continued alarming rates of rape and other gender-based violence (GBV) in the displaced persons camps throughout Port-au-Prince since the Haitian earthquake in January. Expressed sentiments on the part of some Haitian government officials that victims are somehow to blame for the rapes is outrageous to human rights attorneys and community members, who find that women face a grave lack of security necessary to prevent and respond to the sexual violence crisis. Medical services are overwhelmed and unable to meet women's healthcare needs stemming from the assaults.
"It is critical that we dispel the myth that these rapes are a result of promiscuity," said Blaine Bookey, an attorney with the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), and coordinator of the delegation. "These are violent crimes being perpetrated by strangers in the dark of night and they merit the attention of the police and other groups helping organize the camps."
The vast majority of the women and girls reported being raped by groups of armed, unknown assailants who often beat them in the course of the attack, and threatened them with further violence if they reported the rape. Perpetrators often attack at night, when women are asleep beside their children; or when they go to the latrines, men wait for them in the dark stalls. "It is totally unacceptable for these rapes to continue to go unpunished," said Mario Joseph, Managing Attorney at the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI), which hosted the delegation at its office in Port-au-Prince. "We are now building strong legal cases to hold rapists accountable and bring these women the justice they deserve."
Women who report rapes to the police describe being turned away, not taken seriously, or told to notify the police if they see the rapists again. "Pa tap vini" or "They never would have come," described one woman as to why she did not report her rape. These experiences foster the perception that reporting to the police is futile, especially if the survivor cannot identify her assailants. "If we are going to overcome a culture of complete impunity for rapists, we must create environments in which survivors are able to report these crimes and be taken seriously" said Lisa Davis, an attorney with MADRE. "Haiti's political and economic crises both before and as a result of the earthquake still do not relieve the authorities of the responsibility to protect women from sexual assault," said Deena Hurwitz, associate professor and director of the International Human Rights Law Clinic at the University of Virginia School of Law...
The Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH)
May 17, 2010
Note: The above-described conditions of impunity facing women and
girls in Haiti are also the daily 'normal' experiences of many women and girls
across all nations in Latin America.
- LL
Oregon, USA / Mexico
|
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|
The Salvation Army's
Christine MacMillan speaks at the recent Oregon anti-trafficking rally |
Battling human trafficking
Christine MacMillan, director of the International Social Justice Committee for the Salvation Army, speaks last Friday at a rally put on by the student group, Slavery Still Exists. MacMillan spoke about the causes and effects of human trafficking.
Slavery Still Exists, an ASUO (Associated
Students of the University
of Oregon) student group, kicked off its human trafficking and advocacy awareness campaign with a rally Friday.
Kristin Rudolph, co-president of the club, said the rally’s purpose was to make students aware of a growing, worldwide injustice.
Community members gathered in the EMU amphitheater at noon to listen to the featured speaker, Christine MacMillan,
talk about her personal experiences with human trafficking as the director of
the Salvation Army’s International Social Justice Commission. The International
Social Justice Commission has worked to fight global human rights violations,
such as human trafficking, since its inception in 2007...
Rally attendees expressed surprise at learning the prevalence and proximity of human trafficking locally.
“I really didn’t know that this was such a big issue where I live,” University sophomore Apolinar Montero-Sanchez said. “I’m glad that people are getting aware of this stuff, because it’s a big problem.”
MacMillan shared several stories of human trafficking during the rally. For example, she explained that while sex trafficking is well-known, there are other forms of human trafficking, such as trafficking human organs. While visiting Mexico City, MacMillan discovered how unmarked ambulances pick up homeless children, strap the children onto gurneys, bring them to the hospital and drug them with anesthetics in order to traffic their organs. After removing organs, such as kidneys, the traffickers leave most of the children for dead.
Because the majority of the world is not informed about the topic, it continues to go on unbeknownst to many, according to MacMillan. She described human trafficking as “a very hidden problem in our world.”
She urged rally attendees to gain more knowledge about human trafficking and join the fight to end this problem...
Malaea Relampagos
Oregon Daily Emerald
May 17, 2010
Maryland, USA
Police Add Patrols After Man Grabs Girl
Annapolis police are adding patrols near school bus stops and around Bates Middle School after a pair of suspicious incidents involving a man approaching children.
ABC7's Brad Bell spotted some anxious parents waiting while their children got off school buses Friday afternoon.
"It has been the talk in this neighborhood the last couple days," said Joe Hall, a parent. "There's a lot of concerned parents."
So far there have been two reported incidents. On Wednesday, May 5, a man in a car approached a 13-year-old girl and, in Spanish, made suggestive remarks. The man then tried to lure her into his car, police said.
On Tuesday, May 18, a man matching the description from the first encounter made lewd comments and then actually grabbed a 13-year-old girl by her arm in a neighborhood a couple miles from where the first incident took place. The girl was able to break away, but police fear he may strike again
"The reason we're on patrol in the school bus areas and the walkways is to make sure something like that doesn't happen," said Ray Weaver, an Annapolis police spokesman.
Parents and neighbors appreciate the increased police presence and say they, too, are now on the look-out.
"Well, of course it concerns me to know there is a predator out there that's trying to victimize children," said Nancy Fields, an Annapolis resident.
"Me personally, since I have kids, I don't think he should be on the street," Hall said.
Police described the man as Hispanic. One victim said the man was 30-35 years old, average height, with black thinning hair. The other victim described him as six feet, one-inch tall, with a slim build. He wore a black baseball cap with the letters "NY" on the front, a blue zip-up hooded sweatshirt with white stripes and blue jeans.
The suspect's vehicle was described as a small, dark blue Honda and as a blue sedan with dark-tinted windows.
WJLA
May 21, 2010
Mississippi, USA
|
 |
|
William Velasquez Castillo |
Illegal immigrant arrested on child molestation charge
Pascagoula - An illegal immigrant sought for nearly a month and a half was wearing a shirt emblazoned with the phrase "I'm hiding from the cops" when he was arrested Wednesday on child molestation charges, and tried to wear the shirt inside out Thursday when he went before a Jackson County judge.
A guard removed William Velasquez Castillo from the courtroom, and the 27-year-old returned with his shirt on the proper way.
The guard said that Castillo must have switched his shirt around at the Jackson County Adult Detention Center before he was brought to the courthouse.
Castillo was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Lucedale late Wednesday evening, Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd said.
Investigators had been searching for Castillo since April 3, when a 10-year-old girl told investigators he molested her in a vehicle in Ocean Springs, Byrd said.
A warrant was issued for Castillo on April 23, and detectives believe he fled the area shortly after learning he was wanted, Byrd said.
Castillo was discovered by authorities at the Dorsett Hotel on Main Street in Lucedale.
Castillo told County Judge Larry Wilson that he was unemployed and had a previous felony shoplifting conviction.
"I served 1 year and 1 day," Castillo said. "It was from Harrison County."
Wilson said bail for Castillo at $50,000 and placed a hold on him for the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement.
"ICE has their own investigation," Byrd said.
Cherie Ward
GulfFive.com
May 21, 2010
Arizona, USA
|
 |
|
Jose Juan Martinez |
Gilbert man accused of molesting girl for 4 years
Gilbert police officers arrested a 39-year-old man suspected of molesting a 12-year-old girl for four years.
Police were called to a home near Neely Street and Elliot Road Monday evening. The victim's mother told officers that her daughter said Jose Juan Martinez had molested her.
The girl told investigators that Martinez had molested her over the past four years and the most recent time was Friday.
Martinez was booked into jail on suspicion of 39 counts of sexual misconduct with a minor, one count of continuous sexual abuse of a minor and one count of molestation of a child.
Jennifer Thomas
azfamily.com
May 19, 2010
Texas, USA
Midland Police Searching for Suspect Who Tried to Kidnap Teenage Girl
Midland Police need your help tracking a down a man they say tried to kidnap a teenaged girl in broad daylight on Thursday afternoon.
It happened between 5:00 and 5:30 near the Family Dollar in the Kingsway Shopping Center on West Illinois.
Police tell NewsWest 9, the girl was walking home when a Hispanic man pulled up next to her, blocked her, then tried to talk her in to getting in his car.
The teen was able to get away.
Police are looking for a Hispanic man in his late 20's to late 30's, about 5'9," and heavy set weighing between 250 - 300 pounds.
He has moles or acne on his face and was wearing a white T-shirt.
He was driving a dented two door silver car.
If you have any information, call Midland police or midland crime stoppers at 694-TIPS.
NewsWest9.com
May 21, 2010
New York, USA
Thug bashes Chinese woman with pipe, assaults her in Queens: cops
A 23-year-old woman is on life-support in a Queens hospital after a weekend attack by a pipe-wielding rapist two months after she arrived in New York from China, cops said.
Officials are working desperately to get a visa for the woman's mother, who lives outside Beijing, so she can come to Queens to face the awful task of deciding her daughter's fate.
The young woman was returning from grocery shopping in downtown Flushing around 9:30 p.m. Saturday when a drunken Queens man smashed her in the head with a pipe and dragged her into an alley, authorities said.
Once inside the alley along 41st Road, Carlos Salazar Cruz, 28, removed the woman's clothing from the waist down and raped her with the pipe, according to court papers.
Two months ago, the young woman, who dreamed of becoming a lawyer, traveled from her native China on a student visa. She moved in with a distant uncle in Flushing.
"She was working in a nail salon, saving up money. She was going to start attending school," said Assemblywoman Grace Meng (D-Flushing). "She had good grades in China. That's why her parents wanted her to come and expand her horizons."
Now, the woman who once dreamed of a better future is in the intensive care unit at New York Hospital Queens. She suffered a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain and trauma to her vaginal area.
Meng said she and Rep. Gary Ackerman (R-Bayside) are working to expedite a visa for the woman's mother. Cops collared Cruz a few blocks from the crime scene after a witness, who saw him drag the woman into the alley and then emerge alone - called 911. Police later recovered the pipe about a block from the alley.
Cruz, who did not have a criminal record, emigrated from Mexico two years ago and found work at a Manhattan fish market.
He was arraigned late Tuesday on a slew of charges, including a top count of attempted murder. Prosecutors vowed to upgrade charges if the woman is removed from life-support.
Cruz's family said he claims he blacked out drunk and doesn't remember the incident.
"He woke up and found himself cuffed to the hospital bed," said his stunned sister, Patricia Salazar, 26. "He never acted violently....We just don't know why he would do this. We can't explain it."
John Lauinger
The New York Daily News
May 20, 2010
California, USA
Illegal alien charged with murder
Barstow - A 31-year-old illegal alien who was arrested Saturday on suspicion of kidnapping and raping a 33-year-old woman has now been charged with murder.
Melissa Curley of Arizona died of strangulation with asphyxiation, according to the San Bernardino County Coroner’s office Wednesday.
Police arrested Cesar Rascon in Yermo Saturday afternoon and charged him with rape and kidnapping for the purposes of rape. Now Barstow police are charging him with murder.
Curley’s body was found at the Sunset Inn motel at 860 West Main Street after police received a 911 call at about 9 a.m. Saturday. Detectives learned that Curley was staying at the motel, but wasn’t registered for the room her body was found in. The room was registered to Rascon.
Police found Rascon working at a Yermo gas station at 4:57 p.m. Saturday and arrested him.
V V Daily Press
May 20, 2010
Idaho, USA
Rape suspect deported 4 times
Edmonds - The man accused of raping a woman behind an Edmonds grocery store has been deported at least four times in the past 15 years, reports KIRO Radio.
An officer responding to a woman's cry for help Sunday night found 46-year-old Jose Madrigal on top of the woman and arrested him.
According to court documents, the woman told police that Madrigal had followed her and offered her $35 for sex, but she said no. She said Madrigal then forced her into the bushes on the north side of the store and raped her.
Documents say Madrigal told police "Sometimes we have control in our brains, but we make mistakes."
The 28-year-old Edmonds woman was treated at a hospital.
Snohomish County prosecutors have charged Madrigal in district court with second degree rape. He is also is being held for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
The Associated Press
May 19, 2010
Southwest USA
U.S. Border Patrol Weekly Blotter: May 13 - May 19, 2010
Excerpt
May 19, 2010 - El Centro Sector - Border Patrol agents arrested an illegal alien from Guatemala near Cathedral City, California. Records checks revealed the subject had a prior conviction for sexual battery in the state of California and had been previously removed from the United States.
May 19, 2010 - Tucson Sector - Border Patrol agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Douglas, Arizona. Records checks revealed the subject had a prior conviction for sex with a minor in the state of California and had been previously removed from the United States.
May 19, 2010 - Tucson Sector - Border Patrol agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Willcox, Arizona. Records checks revealed the subject had prior convictions for multiple counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, as well as other sex offenses in the state of California. The subject had also been previously removed from the United States.
May 16, 2010 - El Centro Sector - Border Patrol agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Calexico, California. Records checks revealed the subject was a convicted sex offender who had been previously removed from the United States.
May 16, 2010 - Tucson Sector - Border Patrol agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Amado, Texas. Records checks revealed the subject had prior convictions for driving under the influence and willful cruelty to a child by means of sexual penetration with a foreign object in the state of California. The subject had also been previously removed from the United States.
May 16, 2010 - Tucson Sector - Border Patrol agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Three Points, Arizona. Records checks revealed the subject was a convicted sex offender in the state of California and had been previously removed from the United States.
May 14, 2010 - El Paso Sector - Border Patrol agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Columbus, New Mexico. Records checks revealed the subject… was a registered sex offender in the state of Arizona. The subject had also been previously removed from the United States.
May 14, 2010 - Tucson Sector - Border Patrol agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Ajo, Arizona. Records checks revealed the subject had a prior conviction for aggravated sexual assault in the state of Illinois and had been previously removed from the United States.
May 14, 2010 - Tucson Sector - Border Patrol agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Douglas, Arizona. Records checks revealed the subject had a prior conviction for indecency with a child/sexual contact in the state of Texas and had been previously removed from the United States.
May 13, 2010 - Tucson Sector - Border Patrol agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Douglas, Arizona. Records checks revealed the subject was a convicted sex offender in the state of Wyoming and had been previously removed from the United States.
May 13, 2010 - Tucson Sector - Border Patrol agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Sasabe, Arizona. Records checks revealed the subject had a prior conviction for child molestation in the state of Washington and had been previously removed from the United States.
U.S. Border Patrol
May 19, 2010
Washington State, USA
Investigators: Edmonds rape suspect deported nine times
Edmonds - KING 5 Investigators have learned that an illegal immigrant accused of raping a woman in Edmonds Sunday has been deported nine times. That's much more than previously reported.
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement won't comment on the case of Jose Lopez Madrigal. But KING 5 got the information through confidential sources and documents.
Larry Klein was the man who heard the alleged victim's cries for help. Police say the suspect pulled the woman off the street to a dumpster and raped her.
"I could see the back of his head. I could see his pants were down. I could see her lying on the ground. I could hear her crying, but I couldn't really see her face," said Klein.
Klein called police, who quickly arrested the suspect. But learning his identity took much longer because of some 30 aliases. It was only through fingerprints that they identified him as Madrigal, a Mexican citizen.
Madrigal's arrest and immigration record includes a staggering number of contacts with law enforcement since 1989. That's the year he was convicted of theft using a firearm in California...
People who live near the scene of Sunday's alleged rape wonder how it could keep happening.
"Makes you wonder, what are we doing wrong? How is he getting back in here?" said Kirby Aumick.
"It’s troubling. I mean, if this man should not have been in this country, he should have been behind bars then, really, this is a senseless tragedy," said Klein.
According to our sources, Madrigal's last contact before Sunday was around 2003. So, it's not clear how much of that time Madrigal was in this country.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has refused to comment on the case which started making national headlines when it was learned that Madrigal had been deported several times prior to the Edmonds case...
Chris Ingalls
KING 5 News
May 21, 2010
Oregon, USA
Perez gets jail time
Judge cites official abuses
Former North Wasco County schools liaison Carlos Perez was sentenced Thursday to 45 days in jail and five years probation for making sexual advances to a 41-year-old Hispanic woman who had sought his help in receiving basic community services and Spanish-English translation aid.
Although he cut the jail time in half from the 90 days requested by Wasco County Deputy District Attorney Leslie Wolf, Wasco County Circuit Court Judge John Kelly said he was compelled to order some incarceration because Perez, a public official with many community and family connections, took advantage of and preyed on a low-income woman who speaks no English and who is an illegal alien.
“The offensive part of this has less to do with your laying hands on this woman than on your abuse of power,” Kelly told Perez before about 35 people at the Wasco County Courthouse in The Dalles. “You have status and respect in the community – you have power, and she has none.”
Kelly also ordered Perez to register as a sex offender and to have no contact with the victim or to come within 500 feet of her home. Perez, who was a family liaison and coordinator for the Columbia Gorge Educational Service District, is also barred from visiting any North Wasco County schools and from participating in any migrant services programs.
In addition, Perez will have to pay up to $3,000 into a state victims’ restitution fund to cover counseling sessions for the woman. He is also being let go from his job as a translator for Mid-Columbia Medical Center in The Dalles, Kelly said.
Perez maintained at Thursday’s proceeding that he was innocent, that the sentence was unfair and alleged it was the result of racial bias...
Wasco County District Attorney Eric Nisley said he thought the sentence was “appropriate,” and that there was “no evidence at all that this was based on his race,” Nisley said.
“The point is that a jury believed a Hispanic woman over a Hispanic man,” Nisley said. “It isn’t about Mr. Perez’s race.”
...
Keri Brenner
The Dalles Chroncicle
May 21, 2010
North Carolina, USA
|
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|
Store
surveillance photo of suspect |
Suspect sought in string of sex assaults at stores
Charlotte - Police are still looking for a man they believe is behind several sexual assaults inside stores.
They have stepped up patrols at shopping centers in Southeast and Union County after they say at least five fondling incidents in three stores might be connected.
They say that they believe one man is responsible for the sexual assaults: two that happened at Wal-Mart on Tuesday, one at a Harris Teeter grocery store on Saturday of last week and two more at another Harris Teeter, this time in Union County, sometime in between.
WBTV talked to Dan Biber, a forensic psychologist who gave us insight as to what drives a person to sexual violence.
"Let's call it adrenaline," he said. "He gets a rush. Part of the rush is not just the sexual rush of groping women, but also the rush of doing it in public when there's a high risk of detection that he successfully avoids."
That is frightening to shoppers like Tracy Brown who said, "that's even more frightening to know that someone is getting a rush from assaulting people because ultimately, that's what you're doing."
Another reason? Biber told us the man could be rationalizing his actions by downplaying the severity of the assaults.
"He might in his own mind, think this is no big deal," he said. "He might just think, well, rape would be bad but this doesn't count."
According to CMPD officers, the girl was in the grocery store at 11516 Providence Road at approximately 12:15 p.m. when a man came up and forcefully fondled her from behind.
Police say two more women reported being groped at a Harris Teeter in Union County. They say, before Union Co. deputies arrived, two employees escorted the suspect off the property because the victims didn't want to press charges.
The latest incident happened Tuesday afternoon when two women told police they were forcibly fondled at a Wal-Mart store on Highway 51.
The incident happened around 2:24 p.m. at the Wal-Mart located at 3209 Pineville-Matthews Road. Investigators say the two victims, who are 55 and 47 years old, actually tried to restrain the man--but he was able to get away.
On Thursday morning, police released in-store photos of the suspect from two incidents at the Harris Teeters. The photos were taken on May 15 between 12:15 and 12:20 pm at the Harris Teeter at 11516 Providence Road.
Police are looking for a Hispanic man who is about 25 years old, and is between 5 feet 8 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs about 150 pounds.
Although the incidents happened inside the stores, police say the man drives a white van with ladders on it...
WBTV
May 19, 2010
New Jersey, USA
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Reverend
Moises Cotto |
Authorities say evidence backs charges against Newark pastor in Linden sex assault case
Newark - At the Newark church where his congregants dress all in white, he was known as a husband, father and respected pastor for more than 20 years.
But, authorities said, Moises Cotto, the 55-year-old pastor, had been meeting for the past two years with a female congregant at a motel in Linden where the pair had sex — and forced two teenage girls to videotape them in the act.
Cotto was arrested at his apartment in East Orange on Monday night, and charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault, attempted aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a minor.
His parishioner, Brenda Pabon, 37, of Middlesex County, has been charged with kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a minor.
But Wednesday, the assistant pastor of the Newark church, Yahweh Templo El Candelero, said he is convinced Cotto is innocent. He called Pabon a "problematic parishioner," saying she had recently threatened the pastor and vowed to leave his congregation along with her husband.
"I do think that an injustice is being done, based on my friendship with the minister," said Assistant Pastor A. Diaz. "There’s no truth to the allegations. He’s been an upstanding pastor for more than 20 years."
The church carefully screens pastors, Diaz said, and holds them to "high standards."
Prosecutors say they have significant physical evidence that corroborates the victims’ allegations...
Julie O'Connor
The Star-Ledger
May 20, 2010
Peru
90%
de niñas madres fueron ultrajadas
Alarmante estadística. El 90 % de niñas peruanas
que dieron a luz, entre los 12 y 16 años, fueron
embarazadas producto de violación,
frecuentemente por incesto.
Estos datos brindados por la Organización
Panamericana de la Salud (OPS) fueron analizados
en el Congreso de la República por la Comisión
Especial Revisora de la Ley de Protección Frente
a la Violencia Familiar a fin de abordar las
causas y los efectos de esta realidad.
La congresista Olga Cribilleros (PAP),
coordinadora de la citada comisión, señaló que
si no se toma en cuenta el aspecto presupuestal,
no será posible realizar un real cambio de los
problemas de violencia familiar que se vive en
el país. Mencionó que la falta de personal
idóneo, jueces especializados así como recursos
para capacitación a docentes que desarrollen el
tema con contenidos adecuados dificultan la
lucha contra la violencia familiar. Sobre las
sanciones a los violadores, en Costa Rica, Perú
y Uruguay, bajo el Código Penal, se prevé que un
violador puede quedar libre si propone casarse
con su víctima y ella consiente. Al respecto, la
comisión estudia la legislación comparada de
otros países para elaborar el anteproyecto de la
nueva ley de protección frente a la violencia
familiar...
Ninety percent of young
adolescent mothers became pregnant due to rape
[We note that the
definition of 'rape' used in this Peruvian news
article refers to forcible rape, and not
statutory rape as that crime is defined in the
United States. -
LL]
Some 90% of Peruvian girls who became pregnant
between the ages of 12 and 16 became pregnant
due to rape, often in situations of incest.
These statistics, provided by the Pan American
Health Organization (PAHO), have been analyzed
in the Congress of the Republic by the Special
Commission to Revise the Law of Protection
Against Family Violence. Their goal is to
understand the causes and effects of this
reality.
Congresswoman Olga Cribilleros, of the Partido
Aprista Peruano (PAP - Peruvian APRA Party), who
is the coordinator of the commission, said that
without [congressional] funding, it would be
impossible to bring about real changes in the
problem of family violence that exists in the
country. She added that the lack of qualified
personnel, specialized judges and resources for
training teachers to develop relevant content
for students all hinder the fight against
domestic violence.
In regard to punishing rapists, the commission
is examining the laws of others nations.
Commission members note that under the penal
codes of Peru, Costa Rica, and Uruguay [not to
mention Mexico and other Latin American
nations], a rapist [even if the victim is age
12] can go free if he proposes to marry his
victim and she consents.
For Gina Yañez, director of the Manuela Ramos
Movement, these statistics demonstrate that work
should begin immediately on this issue,
especially in school and family settings, so
that victims know what to do if they are raped.
According to PAHO's study, 33% of women between
16 and 49 have been victims of sexual
harassment, and at least 45% have been
threatened, insulted or have had their personal
property destroyed.
Diario la Primera
Peru
May 19, 2010
See also:
Young adolescent mothers
learn to love and care for their children at the
Chuka Chuka center.
In Peru it is not
uncommon for women to raise 5 or more children.,
each with a different biological father. What is
also common is for the mother’s latest companion
to rape the eldest daughters, often resulting in
pregnancy.
One expects a
reaction from the mother, but not the sort of
reaction that is so evident here in Peru. As a
result of the rape the mother feels shamed and
jealous and abandons her own daughter who is
often without the comfort of additional family
members for support and understanding.
These abandoned,
pregnant, adolescent rape victims
(‘adolescents’), often only thirteen or fourteen
years old face a dull future. They are without
money; support; homes and job prospects. Most
worrying of all, they are carrying an unborn
baby, who will enter a world where education
will not be available to them and their options
for a self-sustainable life non-existent.
It is not uncommon
for such desperate girls to drift into the sex
trade and drugs; further blighting their lives
and potential to contribute to society
Our mission: To
save as many of these girls and their unborn
children as we can, to prepare them for and
steer them into a richer more productive life
than they could have known without this project.
Chuka Chuka
See also:
Adolescent prostitution in
Lima, Peru
Video news report from Peru showing underage
prostitution in the capital city of Lima. Young
sex workers are shown sniffing glue, caring for
their toddlers in the prostitution zone late at
night, and negotiating with johns for the going
price of 20 Soles (US$7.00).
(In Spanish)
ATV
Posted on YouTube
Texas, USA
|
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Slain Houston Police Officer Rodney Johnson |
Businessman sentenced for harboring illegal alien cop-killer
A Houston, Texas landscaping business owner was sentenced to three months in prison and three months home confinement for harboring the illegal alien who molested a child and ultimately killed a Houston police officer in 2006, according to a report obtained yesterday by the National Association of Chiefs of Police.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Houston Police Department.
Robert Lane Camp, 47, the owner of Camp Landscaping in Deer Park, Texas, and now a convicted felon, was also sentenced to a five-year probationary term with special conditions by U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore. Camp pleaded guilty on Oct. 5, 2009, admitting that he knowingly harbored Juan Leonardo Quintero-Perez (Quintero), an illegal alien, by employing him and leasing a residence to him.
According to court documents, Camp employed Quintero in his landscape business. When Quintero was arrested and charged by the State of Texas with indecency with a child in 1998, Camp bonded Quintero out of jail and continued to employ him. Quintero was sentenced to a term of deferred adjudication for the state offense.
Quintero was deported in 1999, but illegally reentered the United States in Arizona, then flew to Houston. When Quintero returned to Houston, he resumed his employment with Camp. Camp also rented Quintero a home and listed Quintero's wife, a U.S. citizen, in government records as an employee instead of Quintero.
On Sept. 22, 2006, Quintero was arrested while driving a Camp company vehicle by Houston Police Officer Rodney Johnson. While sitting in the back seat of Officer Johnson's patrol car, Quintero retrieved a pistol hidden on his person, and shot and killed Officer Johnson. Quintero was convicted of capital murder in the 248th District Court of Harris County, Texas, and has been sentenced to life in prison.
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police
The Examiner
May 12, 2010
LibertadLatina
Commentary
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|
Chuck Goolsby |
Issues that may not
(but should) be discussed during
Mexican President Felipe Calderón's May
19-20, 2010 visit
to Washington, DC
The May 19-20, 2010 visit of Mexico's
President Felipe Calderón
to the White House is being closely watched
in regard to how the U.S. will react to
Calderón's
speech before Congress. We know that the war
against drug cartels and immigration are top
on the agenda.
The issue of mass gender atrocities facilitated by state corruption,
complacency and criminal impunity are also critical issues in U.S. /
Mexican relations. While these topics are rarely discussed in the
mainstream English-language press, holding Mexico's federal
government accountable for defending the lives, integrity and
dignity of women and girls is just as important as addressing the
drug war and immigration. In fact, we believe that the U.S. press
needs to step up to the plate and ask both President Calderón
and President Obama about their commitment to saving women and girls
from mass kidnapping, mass rape and wholesale enslavement, which are
crimes that impact tens of thousands of women and children each year
in the Aztec Nation.
President Calderón
took a major positive step on April 14, 2010 by launching the
world's first nationally sponsored instance of the United Nations
Blue Heart Campaign Against Human Trafficking. Yet a day later,
Calderón's diplomats derided, in front of
the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the rape complaint of
indigenous victim
Inés
Fernández Ortega, who had been
gang raped by soldiers in 2002, with no effective response from the
Mexican civilian and military criminal justice systems.
We repeat here below our list of some of the most critical gender
rights issues that are not being addressed by the Calderón
administration.
**
During the past several years
LibertadLatina
has dedicated its efforts to bringing world
attention to the mass rapes, kidnappings and
enslavement of women, children and men that
occurs with almost total impunity in Mexico.
According to the Southern
Cone (southern South American) office of the
United Nations-affiliated International
Organization for Migration (IOM), an
estimated $16 billion of the $32 million in
annual profits created by the human slavery
industry globally are generated in Latin
America. That 50% 'share' of the criminal
marketplace for worldwide slavery victims
has never been responded to by the
engagement of 50% of the global
anti-trafficking movement's energy,
resources or focus.
That lack of attention,
together with the willingness of past U.S.
administrations to effectively ignore Latin
America's crisis in human slavery, allowed a
drug-profit fueled criminal industry to grow
exponentially in the region while the world
effectively looked the other way in apathy.
Mexico is home base for the
largest problems in Latin American human
trafficking.
We have decided to focus on
the crisis in Mexico because solving that
one single national emergency will have the
most positive impact on the entire regional
crisis.
In the United States, 60% of
U.S. trafficking victims are Latin American.
Most of them have been trafficked across the
Mexican border into the U.S.
The population
of Mexico (and especially its poor and
vulnerable Indigenous peoples), also suffer
immensely from modern slavery. In addition,
Central American migrants are kidnapped,
raped and trafficked by the many thousands
as they cross Mexico. Some are also
murdered.
Southern Mexico's narrow
border with Guatemala and Belize is the one
'bottleneck' where literally millions of
South and Central American migrants who seek
to travel to the United States must cross
into Mexico. Human traffickers and also
rapist thugs and robbers await these
innocent migrants like trolls under a
bridge. They rape an estimated 450 to 600
women and girls among these migrants every
single day of the year with complete
impunity on the Mexican side of its southern
border, with no discernable response from
Mexican officials and authorities. In fact,
police and military forces have harassed
migrants and their NGO caregivers. Many of
these victims are kidnapped (10,000 during a
6 month period, according to a study by
Mexico's National Human Rights Commission).
A number of those victims are sold into
slavery, often to be trafficked to brothels
in Mexico, the U.S. and Europe.
The NGO Save the Children has
described the southern border of Mexico as
being the largest region in the entire world
for the commercial sexual exploitation of
children. The city of Tapachula, for
example, has 20,000 persons engaging in
prostitution in its 1,500 bars and brothels.
Half of that number are children and
underage youth at any given time. Local
police don't interfere with this 'business,'
they focus on keeping child prostitutes away
from schools and upscale residential
neighborhoods.
Across Mexico, women, and
especially those from Mexico's traditionally
discriminated against Indigenous peoples,
who are 30% of the population, are also
raped with impunity. The perpetrators are
not only criminal thugs, but also military
soldiers engaged in the drug war. President
Calderón has steadfastly denied that any
problem exists with military rapes of
civilians, and he has refused to allow
accused soldiers to be tried in civilian
courts.
On April 15, 2010, one day
after the launch of the Blue Heart campaign,
President Calderón sent his federal lawyers
to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
to fight against
Inés
Fernández Ortega,
an Indigenous woman who was gang-raped by
soldiers in her home in 2002. The government
lawyers denied that any rape took place, and
blamed the victim for the lack of justice
(an assertion that women's rights activists
in Mexico are repulsed by).
Fernández Ortega, her family
and her lawyers have faced intimidation and
death threats. Her brother, a witness in her
case, was murdered shortly after she began
her now 8 year effort to find justice in her
case.
For Inés Fernández Ortega and
many other women victims of criminal
impunity in Mexico, the Inter-American Court
of Human Rights has become the venue of last
resort after having faced institutional
injustice, impunity, and a corrupt and
uncaring government response to their
plight.
During the 500 year period
since the Spanish conquest of Mexico,
Indigenous women have been easy target for
rapists and human traffickers. We who are
Indigenous know this history inside out, no
matter what corner of the Americas we hail
from.
What is an abomination in today's
world is the fact that in Mexico and across
much of Latin America, Indigenous women and
girls continue to be enslaved and brutalized
with the implied consent of national
governments. By extension, none of these
women can count on the protection of their
national governments and local police forces
in the face of such gender atrocities.
In Mexico, an estimated 3,000
to 4,000 Indigenous children and underage
youth have been kidnapped and then sold to
the Japanese Yakuza mafias, who then
transport the victims to Japan, where they
are enslaved as 'Geisha' prostitutes.
Despite the existence of this story during
the past several years, there are no visible
signs that either Mexico or Japan have ever
lifted a finger to rescue the victims.
In a
similar case, a reporter in Spain posed as a
pimp, and was offered 6 Mayan Indigenous
girls for sale. They were all 13-years-old.
The sale price was $25,000 each, because
Indigenous girl children were considered to
be "exotic" merchandise.
All of these issues are emergencies that
demand your immediate attention, President
Calderón. We call upon U.S. President
Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to raise
these important issues with Mexico.
The victims, and those at risk, await our
serious and effective efforts to defend and
rescue them now!
End impunity now!
Chuck Goolsby
LibertadLatina
May 20, 2010
California, USA
|
 |
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Jacobo
Reyes |
Cops: Man Fondled Little Girl While She Slept
Police say the
suspect confessed to fondling five other girls
and women.
Santa Ana .-- Police have arrested a 47-year-old
man on suspicion of molesting an 11-year-old
girl in her bedroom in Santa Ana.
Jacobo Reyes was arrested Monday and is being
held without bail, according to Cpl. Anthony
Bertanga.
Santa Ana investigators linked him to the crime
with DNA evidence, Bertagna said.
Investigators asked Reyes to come in for
questioning about the Feb. 11 attack in the 300
block of South Newhope Street.
They arrested him after he confessed to fondling
up to five other girls and women ages 11 to 22
as they slept, Bertagna said.
In the Feb. 11 attack, police say Reyes climbed
into the girl's bedroom, gaining entry by
removing a screen in an unlocked window.
The girl could not describe her attacker because
it was too dark, but he left behind genetic
material that matched Reyes' DNA, Bertagna said.
Reyes was booked on suspicion of felony assault
to commit rape and burglary.
Prosecutors are reviewing the case and have not
yet charged him.
KTLA News
May 19, 2010
See also:
California, USA
Previously deported illegal alien admits to being serial molester
On Tuesday, police in Santa Ana arrested Roberto Jacobo Reyes, after DNA evidence linked him to the sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl in February. According to police, Reyes entered the girl’s bedroom through an unlocked window.
Under questioning for that crime, Reyes has reportedly admitted to having assaulted at least four other victims, ages 11-22, in the same manner.
Santa Ana Police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna told the LA Times: “His M.O. was to break into unsecured windows or unsecured doors.“
Reyes is currently being held in the Santa Ana City Jail on suspicion of felony assault to commit rape and burglary, while the Orange County district attorney prepares more charges.
In 2007, Reyes was deported back to Mexico after serving three years in prison for burglary. While in prison, his fingerprints linked him to a sexual assault.
In 1998, Reyes was arrested for DUI and driving without a license, he pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay a fine.
Past arrests also include charges for peeping and possession of stolen property.
Though an illegal alien with a criminal record, Reyes was working for a landscaping business in Santa Ana at the time of his latest arrest.
Dave Gibson
The Examiner
May 19, 2010
New York, USA
|
 |
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Detective Oscar Sandino |
NYPD
Detective Oscar Sandino charged with demanding
sex from women he arrested
A New York Police Department (NYPD) narcotics
detective was charged Tuesday with preying on
women he arrested - on police property.
The alleged attacks by Detective Oscar Sandino
date to 2006 and could land the 13-year veteran
behind bars for three years if he's convicted on
federal charges.
His lawyer dismissed the accusations as "old
news" and questioned the credibility of the
women, one of whom has filed a lawsuit.
But federal prosecutors Pamela Chen and Licha
Nyiendo said the evidence that Sandino is more
perp than protector is "substantial and
irrefutable."
"The persistent and repetitive nature of the
defendant's misconduct demonstrates that he is a
sexual predator," they wrote in court papers.
They say that in August 2006, when he was
assigned to the Queens North Narcotics Bureau,
he coerced a woman into having sex with him in
exchange for help with her cousin's criminal
case.
In February 2008, while arresting a woman and
her boyfriend on drug charges, he took the woman
into a bedroom and forced her to undress, the
feds charge.
When he brought the woman to the 110th Precinct
stationhouse for booking, Sandino warned she
would lose her children unless she had sex with
him, prosecutors say.
Sandino allegedly took the woman into the
bathroom, ordered her to pull down her pants and
molested her.
"Wow, you have an earring down there," Sandino
said to the woman, according to a lawsuit she
filed.
The victim reported Sandino to the Internal
Affairs Bureau, and investigators gathered text
messages, phone records and secretly taped
conversations to corroborate the allegations.
In a third attack in September, Sandino
allegedly took a handcuffed woman arrested for
disorderly conduct into a room at Brooklyn
Central Booking and made her bare her breasts.
Sandino, 37, was charged with civil rights
violations and released on a $250,000 bond to be
co-signed by his estranged wife, who lives in
Arizona.
Defense lawyer Peter Brill claimed the Queens
district attorney had passed on prosecuting
Sandino because the second victim was not
credible.
John Marzulli
New York Daily
News
May 18, 2010
New Mexico, USA
|
 |
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Juan Gonzalez |
Children, Youth and Families Department will report immigrant status of criminals
The state’s Children, Youth and Families Department will start reporting violent juvenile criminals who are foreign nationals to immigration authorities.
Governor Bill Richardson ordered the change after Juan Gonzalez, an illegal immigrant, was accused of molesting a 6-year-old girl at an Albuquerque fitness club earlier in May.
Gonzales has been in trouble for sex crimes twice in the past, before he turned 18. In both those cases, CYFD never told authorities Gonzales was in the country illegally.
Taryn Bianchin
KOB.com
May 18, 2010
See also:
New Mexico, USA
Man accused of molesting girl at gym faces judge
The man accused of molesting a young girl at a Midtown Albuquerque fitness club was in court on Thursday.
Twenty-year-old Juan Gonzalez, an illegal immigrant, appeared before a judge on sex assault charges.
Police say Gonzalez pinned a six-year-old girl against a wall at the Midtown Sports and Wellness near Carlisle and Menaul and began touching her sexually.
Police say Gonzalez told them he knew what he was doing was wrong, but said he has a problem.
Charlie Pabst
KOB.com
May 06, 2010
Pennsylvania, USA
Man accused of molesting 14-year-old girl is illegal alien
Bethlehem police said a 23-year-old man who allegedly had sex with a then 14-year-old girl is from Guatemala and illegally in the country.
Ivan Antonio Alvarez-Lopez, who last lived in New Jersey, met the girl, who is now pregnant with his child, according to police, through a mutual friend in September. The two talked on the phone until allegedly meeting in December at the Comfort Suites in South Side Bethlehem.
Police allege the two met there four times and had unprotected sex. Alvarez-Lopez knew the girl was 14, police said, and she knew he was from Guatemala.
Alvarez-Lopez was charged with sex crimes and referred to Immigration Customs Enforcement agents. He was sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $150,000 bail.
JD Malone
Lehigh Valley Live
May 13, 2010
California, USA
Border Patrol Agents Capture Three Sex Offenders in One Day
Calexico – U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the El Centro Sector apprehended three illegal aliens Wednesday who are convicted sex offenders.
One of the men was apprehended in the morning by agents from the El Centro station. Record checks revealed the man had previously been convicted of assault to commit rape and sex with a minor.
The other two men were apprehended in the afternoon, along with four other illegal aliens, near the downtown Calexico port of entry. Record checks revealed that one of the men had a conviction for unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and that the other man had been convicted of sexual assault of a child.
All three men will be held at the Imperial County Jail pending prosecution proceedings.
Tribune Weekly Chronicle
May 05, 2010
Virginia, USA
One
man may be behind two recent Arlington attacks,
police say
One man may be behind two recent Arlington
attacks, police say Arlington police are looking
for a man they say sexually assaulted a woman
behind a restaurant on May 14.
A woman was walking behind a restaurant in the
2000 block of Wilson Boulevard around 10:50 pm
when a man grabbed her from behind, police said
in a Tuesday press release. He held her arm and
sexually assaulted her with his other hand,
according to police, then fled on foot after the
woman fought back.
The suspect was described as a "white Hispanic
male" who was about 5 ft. 7 in. tall with a
medium build, police said. He was wearing a
white chef's style jacket and dark pants.
The attack was similar to another one that took
place on May 8 in the 1800 block of N. Scott
St., police said.
Police ask anyone with information about these
attacks to call Detective Robert Icolari at
(703) 228-4240 or e-mail him. They can also call
the county's tip line at (703) 228-4242 or
Arlington County Crime Solvers at 866-411-TIPS
(8477).
David P.
Marino-Nachison
The Washington
Post
May 19, 2010
Mexico / The United States
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Mexican President Felipe Calderón will
address the Congress of the United States on Thursday,
May 20, 2010 |
Mexico's Calderon Needs to Listen, Not Just Lecture U.S.
Nine years have passed since a Mexican President last addressed the U.S. Congress. That was Vicente Fox, just days before 9/11, after which Al Qaeda's horrors all but erased Mexico from Washington's foreign policy radar. But, surprise, our southern neighbor's problems refused to go away. While we were fighting off an Iraqi insurgency, Mexico's drug war morphed into a ghastly narco-insurgency that threatens to spill over the Rio Grande. While we were dropping the ball on immigration reform, Mexico kept pouring undocumented workers into the U.S...
What's still missing is a real sense that Calderon takes seriously enough the only real long-term solution to Mexico's drug war: police reform. "Calderon has taken some positive steps to improve federal police," says Alberto Diaz-Cayeros, director of the U.S.-Mexico Studies Center at the University of California-San Diego. "But Mexico still doesn't have real investigative police forces." And in Mexico, where most cops moonlight for the cartels, the narcos seem more spooked by the prospect of more professional police than by the presence of more soldiers. Last month I interviewed the police director of Calderon's home state of Michoacan, who had just announced stricter recruitment criteria for cops. A week later her SUV was attacked by narco-hitmen with assault rifles and grenades. Miraculously, she survived, but her two bodyguards - who had watched the door during our interview - were killed.
Calderon also needs to prioritize another longer-lasting weapon: anti-poverty programs that give younger and poorer Mexicans economic opportunities beyond joining drug gangs. Mexicans in hard hit areas like Juarez are giving him an earful in that regard these days, and so should the U.S. - not just because it might blunt narco-recruiting, but because more social development efforts south of the border also mean fewer indocumentados crossing north of it. Immigration is as much foreign policy as it is domestic policy, and the U.S. has got to push both itself and Mexico's political class to do more to stanch the flow of illegals at the source, inside Mexico, instead of only at the border...
Given how feckless U.S. immigration reform efforts usually turn out to be, it seems all the more urgent that both sides do more to promote ways to keep Mexican workers in Mexico, like expanding microcredit programs. Those have proven a boon for small entrepreneurs in impoverished rural states like Oaxaca that are a major source of illegal migrants - and they'd be even more effective, Obama should remind Calderon, if Mexico didn't allow microlenders to charge interest rates that top an outrageous 70%, twice the world microfinance average...
That lack of meaningful competition, as well as an overreliance on the U.S market, is one reason the recession has hit Mexico's economy (which shrank about 7% last year) perhaps harder than any other in Latin America. And that doesn't bode well for the wars against drug traffickers and migrant smugglers. The most salient point Calderon will make to Congress is that the U.S. and Mexico are in this together. That means Washington needs to drop its insensitive disregard for problems south of the border - and Mexico City needs to drop its hypersensitive obsession with tossing blame for those headaches north of the border. If they do, they'll have something genuinely worthy to toast at the White House.
Tim Padgett
Time Magazine
May. 18, 2010
Texas, USA
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Eugenio Alejandro |
Man arrested for sexually assaulting 12-year-old in his home
A 51-year-old man was arrested Monday after police say he sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl at his home. According to an arrest affidavit, the girl slept over at Eugenio Alejandro's house on the 200 block of E. Huebinger in Marion for a slumber party, when she woke up to him "penetrating her" with his hands.
"Oh sick!," exclaimed neighbor Gordon Dambow. "She's an innocent child, what could they do? A grown man, my goodness, picking on the innocent."
"A couple of nights in a row, there were a bunch of kids over," explained Cody Bodeau, who lives just across the street from Alejandro. "Every other night there were a bunch of kids and we were wondering why they were all there, and he'd be outside talking to them and hanging out with them."
Alejandro worked closely with children as a volunteer of the Marion Softball Pony League as an assistant coach. The League didn't want to talk to News 4 WOAI since they say they did not organize the slumber party, but say the allegations are a "complete shock".
"No one should ever harm a child," says resident Kathleen Beierly.
Marion is a town of a little more than a thousand residents, where many people know each other by name.
"It's bad because we're good people, and we love our children," added Beierly.
News 4 WOAI also did a background check of Eugenio Alejandro. Three years ago, he was arrested for domestic violence, and has also served time for a DUI, a DWI, and theft dating back almost 20 years.
He bonded out Tuesday, and still faces one count of aggravated sexual assault on a child, a first degree felony.
Janet Kwak
WOAI - San Antonio
April 15, 2010
Indiana, USA
Suspect sought in sex assault on 11-year-old
Indianapolis - An 11-year-old girl is recovering after a man assaulted her in a west side apartment building. It happened in the 3300 block of Heather Ridge Drive.
"My daughter will not be out," said one resident after hearing the news.
There's fear among parents living at Heather Ridge Apartments on the city's west side.
"There's no safe place anywhere, anymore," said Adam Bennett, a visitor.
Parents say this place seems even less safe after police say a man sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl in an apartment building Thursday around 6:30 pm.
"Pretty scary situation, especially an 11-year-old, and this individual has a hand gun and basically points it to her head and sexually assaults her," said Lt. Jeff Duhamell, IMPD.
It happened inside a common area of the building where anyone could have come through.
"I heard about it on the radio and I immediately called my daughter and told her to be careful at the bus stop, to stand with the other girls. To not stand alone," said a worried mother.
Police say they're concerned, and that this is the type of crime where the suspect could strike again.
"He's probably done this before," said Lt. Duhamell. "We need to get this guy off the street right away."
Police say the man spoke in Spanish during the attack. Police describe their suspect as Hispanic, between the ages of 20 and 30, 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing about 160 pounds...
Police say a sketch of the suspect may be available in the next few days.
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact IMPD or Crime Stoppers at 262-TIPS.
WTHR
May 13, 20100
Florida, USA
Woman Escapes Attempted Kidnapping
Orlando police are searching for the man who tried to kidnap an 18-year-old woman while she was walking on a trail near the Mall at Millenia.
The woman told police she was walking along the trail near 4850 Millenia Blvd. around 8 p.m. Sunday when a Hispanic man grabbed her from behind and pulled her toward some bushes.
The victim was able to escape and suffered only minor scratches, police said...
Meanwhile, police are still searching for a man who raped a woman in front of Lake Eola in downtown Orlando early Friday morning.
WKMG
May 17, 2010
Southwest USA
U.S. Border Patrol Weekly Blotter: May 6 - 12, 2010
Excerpt
May 6, 2010 - Border Patrol agents arrested an illegal alien from Mexico near Sheffield, Texas. Records checks revealed the subject had a prior conviction for aggravated sexual assault of a child in the state of Tennessee, indecent liberties with a child in the state of North Carolina, and had been previously removed from the United States.
May 6, 2010 - Border Patrol agents arrested an illegal alien from Honduras near Gila Bend, Arizona. Records checks revealed the subject had a prior conviction for aggravated sexual assault of a child and had been previously removed from the United States.
U.S. Border Patrol
May 12, 2010
Arizona, USA
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Karley Saucedo |
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Suspects: Jose Luna Valenzuela (left),
Oscar Grijalva and Sergio Castaneda |
Police rescue Phoenix woman kidnapped during home invasion
A 22-year-old Phoenix woman who was kidnapped during a home invasion has been freed from her captors.
Police said the suspects were armed with handguns and demanded drugs and money when they forced their way into a home near 59th Avenue and Indian School Road on May 5. When they didn't get what they wanted, they took Karley Saucedo and an SUV and left.
Following a week of negotiations and surveillance, Phoenix police officers and detectives were able to free Saucedo from a home near Baseline Road and 47th Avenue.
Saucedo, who has the mental capacity of an 11- or 12-year-old, is back with her family. She reportedly was not injured.
Six people have been arrested on charges including kidnapping, extortion, armed robbery, aggravated assault and vehicle theft. They have been identified as Oscar Grijalva, 18; Sergio Castaneda, 17; Jose Luna-Valenzuela, 22; Hilda Gutierrez, 29; Carlos Aguilar, 28; and a 17-year-old boy, who was booked into Juvenile Corrections.
"This was a sophisticated group of naturalized citizens and illegal aliens who chose to prey on vulnerable victims for monetary gain," Phoenix police Detective James Holmes said.
Jennifer Thomas
Fox 11
May 14, 2010
Arizona, USA
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Mayor Phil Gordon of Phoenix, Arizona speaks at Harvard
University - Feb, 5, 2010
Photo:
Matthew W. Hutchins |
Phoenix mayor paints disturbing picture of immigrant experience
[Latino]
Mayor Phil Gordon of Phoenix, speaking at Harvard Law School on February 5th, said that the steady flow of illegal immigrants into his city has created a crisis situation that is extremely dangerous for local law enforcement and a devastating drain on the city's budget. Although by statistical measures Phoenix is one of the safest cities in the United States, it has experienced a wave of kidnapping and violent crimes that have challenged its law enforcement capacity.
The problem, said Mayor Gordon, is the violent behavior of the "coyotes" involved in human trafficking operations across the nearby Mexican border and who regularly kidnap, torture, rape and kill those who do not comply with their extortion, sometimes forcing captives to dig their own graves while awaiting either freedom or death.
According to Gordon, over 20,000 people, including women and children, have been rescued by Phoenix police over the last three years from "drop houses" where dozens or even hundreds are held captive or even tortured, sometimes in the midst of ordinary suburban neighborhoods…
Gordon said that the fight against the coyotes' organized crime has forced the city to hire over 600 additional police officers, many to replace the 100 full-time officers assigned to federal task forces investigating violent criminals and 50 officers embedded undercover in federal operations. The cost to Phoenix of employing these 150 officers, over $15 million dollars a year, is not reimbursed by the federal government and threatens to force reductions in city services like libraries and after school programs…
Gordon expressed urgent concern about the state of immigration law in the United States. He believes that immediate action is necessary to reform immigration policy and assist burdened local police. "I couldn't and wouldn't stay silent any longer, not only because of the economic costs, but also because of the cost in human suffering."
Matthew W. Hutchins
The Harvard Law Record
Feb. 12, 2010
Indiana, USA
Neighbors offer clues in sexual assault of girl, 11
Indianapolis Metro Police are searching for a predator who sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl at gunpoint . It happened around 6:30 Thursday night at a west side apartment complex.
The little girl was treated at Riley Hospital for Children and released. Her father told 24-Hour News 8 she was able to give police a detailed description of the attack.
The little girl lives at the Heather Ridge Apartments located in the 3300 block of Heather Ridge Drive. The complex is filled with families with young children...
Police believe the attacker, driving a late-model, red, extended-cab Nissan pickup, asked the girl for directions. Police believe he then followed her inside the building's common area and attacked her.
Police have provided a picture of a truck like the one suspect was driving.
Neighbor Michelle Wells said she had seen the truck before, as had her sister.
A male resident named Nate nodded, saying he'd seen it too...
"They usually will do drive-bys and look around. And then when they see the opportunity, they'll act on it," said IMPD spokesman, Lt. Jeff Duhamell.
Police believe the suspect is a 20 to 30 year old Hispanic man who is 5'6" to 5'9" and 160 pounds. He was last seen wearing a red shirt with a white stripe, blue jeans, and work boots. He spoke to the little girl only in Spanish.
Police urge residents or anyone with any information to call Crime Stoppers at 262-TIPS.
Deanna Dewberry
WISH
May 14, 2010
Texas, USA
Accused sexual assault suspect arrested in Temple park
Temple - A man wanted by authorities for an alleged sexual assault was arrested early Friday morning after he was located violating a park curfew.
Rufino Hernandez-Ramirez, 23, of Temple, was stopped by officers around 1 a.m. at Miller Park, located at 1919 North 1st Street, for reportedly violating the park curfew.
The suspect reportedly provided a false name, however, after the officer properly identified Hernandez-Ramirez, it was discovered he had an outstanding warrant for Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child.
The alleged assault occurred in June 2008 in Temple.
Hernandez-Ramirez was arrested and transported to the Bell County Jail.
He is charged with Failure to Identify Fugitive Intent Give False Information and Motion to Revoke Probation, along with his initial charge of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child.
KXXV
May 14, 2010
California, USA
Kidnapping, Attempted Assault Reported In Woodland
The Woodland Police Department is searching for a suspect who allegedly kidnapped and attempted to rape a woman in Yolo County.
Authorities said the alleged victim said she was walking on West Street near Buckeye Street on Saturday morning when a man drove up in a newer-model black SUV and asked her for directions. As she spoke with him, he pulled out a gun and ordered the woman into the car, authorities said.
The victim said he drove her into a wooded area near Interstate 5 and County Road 98 and ordered her to remove her clothes. When she resisted, the man attempted to drag her from the car, authorities said, but the victim was able to break free and run to Interstate 5, where she flagged down a car and asked for help.
The victim was not seriously injured in the incident.
The suspect is described as a Hispanic male in his late 20s or early 30s. He is 5'4" to 5'6", weighs about 160 to 180 pounds, with short black hair and a thin mustache. He also reportedly had two silver caps on his front teeth.
Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the Woodland Police Department at (530) 661-7800.
CBS 13
May 15, 2010
Pennsylvania, USA
Men harass girls going to school in York City
York City Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying two men who have been harassing girls on their way to school.
Lt. Tim Utley, who supervises the detective bureau, said there have been three such incidents reported in the past several weeks. The girls were on their way to William Penn Senior High School and were in the area of the 500 block of South Duke Street when they were harassed, he said.
The two men are in a newer-model gray sedan, Utley said; they are Hispanic, in their 30s and, in the latest incident, were wearing black T-shirts and black hats.
Anyone with information on their identities is urged to call city police at 846-1234, or the department’s anonymous crime tip line, 849-2204.
Elizabeth Evans
York Dispatch
May 14, 2010
The United States / The World
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U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder
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Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the National Conference on Human Trafficking
Arlington, Virginia -
...For today’s Justice Department, our work to pursue human trafficking investigations and prosecutions and to support those who serve and assist victims is not simply a top priority. It’s also a source of great pride. Much of this work is being led by our Civil Rights Division and its specialized Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit. Three years ago, this unit was established to consolidate expertise and to improve coordination between the many critical partners needed to bring traffickers to justice and to protect and empower victims.
In a short time, this unit has achieved remarkable success in increasing both the number and impact of human trafficking prosecutions. It has dismantled organized human trafficking networks operating in multiple jurisdictions and across international borders. And it has achieved justice for many, including undocumented migrants who’ve seen their hopes of a better life destroyed; documented guest workers who’ve been deceived, threatened and frightened into captivity; women and children who’ve been forced into prostitution; and young Americans who’ve been exploited in their own county by traffickers preying on their vulnerabilities. These are extraordinary accomplishments.
But our Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit isn’t working alone. It is supported and strengthened by our Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, our Office of International Affairs, our Organized Crime and Racketeering Section, our Office of Justice Programs and its Office for Victims of Crime, as well as the FBI. In addition, the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country are providing critical leadership in bringing human traffickers to justice. Later in this conference, you’ll be hearing from some of the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who were on the front lines of major human trafficking prosecutions...
Today, some of our most critical partnerships have been established beyond our nation’s borders. We’re working closely with authorities in other countries to extradite fugitive defendants, protect victims’ families, obtain evidence of criminal activity, and combat trafficking networks that operate across international lines. A leading example of this is our recent work with Mexico. The Departments of Justice and Homeland Security have collaborated closely with our Mexican counterparts on a bilateral enforcement initiative aimed at dismantling the trafficking networks that operate across our Southwest border. Although this initiative is in its early stages, it has already produced promising results for both countries – including measurable increases in the number of defendants apprehended, cases prosecuted and victims rescued.
The benefits of such international partnerships are clear. By working with our foreign allies, we’ve succeeded in liberating Jamaican tree-cutters from shacks in New Hampshire; Filipino workers from chain motels in South Dakota; Eastern European women from strip clubs in Detroit; Vietnamese garment workers from American Samoa; Peruvian factory workers – including children – from traffickers on Long Island; and young girls from Togo and Ghana – some just 10 years old – from toiling around the clock without pay in hair salons in New Jersey.
But despite these achievements, there is much more work to be done. Meeting the civil rights challenges of the 21st century will require us to identify new enforcement strategies, to forge new partnerships, and to provide more support for victim service providers. But we should all be encouraged that the global movement to end human trafficking has received unprecedented attention and resources, as well as unprecedented political support...
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder
U.S. Department of Justice
2010 National Conference on Human Trafficking
May 3, 2010
See also:
The United States
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U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis
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2010 DOJ National Conference on Human Trafficking - Remarks of Hilda Solis, U.S. Secretary of Labor
The TVPA Decade: Progress and Promise
...Thank you for the invitation to speak at this national conference on human trafficking - an issue I care deeply about.
I also want to thank Attorney General Eric Holder for his leadership on this issue.
Ten years after the passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, we are even more committed to the conference's goal of disseminating best practices for prosecuting human trafficking and assisting victims.
The Department of Labor's commitment to fighting human trafficking comes from its long history of working to protect and assist vulnerable workers, some of whom may have been trafficked into forced labor.
As one of my priorities, the Department of Labor is engaged both domestically and internationally to better serve and protect vulnerable workers.
Labor trafficking puts women, children, and men in the most extreme forms of workplace exploitation.
It leads to situations where people are denied not only their wages, but their human rights.
Our efforts to ensure that workers are afforded all of their rights under the law include initiatives that help to combat human trafficking in all of its forms…
Trafficking victims are the most vulnerable workers in this country.
As a state senator in California, I learned first-hand how 72 Thai workers in my own district, worked for seven years in virtual slavery in a sweatshop with boarded up windows and fences covered with razor wire making garments until they were freed by law enforcement - and several hundred Latinos were not paid minimum wage or over-time.
As a member of Congress, I was involved in passing House Resolution condemning the murders of victims of human trafficking and labor abuse in Cuidad Juarez, Mexico.
These women worked in slave-like conditions and then brutally killed through no fault of their own.
These are the individuals whom we all have a duty to help and protect.
This focus on protecting the most vulnerable workers in today's economy is why I have bolstered the enforcement staff in all of my agencies.
I have already added 250 investigators in the Wage and Hour Division alone.
And I'm not done yet!...
Violence in the workplace or trafficking for the sake of monetary gain is unconscionable.
No nation does or should get ahead at the peril of its workers.
U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis
2010 DOJ National Conference on Human Trafficking
May 3, 2010
See also:
LibertadLatina
Commentary
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Chuck Goolsby |
Giving Latin America its
rightful place at the table in U.S. anti-trafficking efforts
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has come a long way from 1995, when I first
toured the DOL Women's Bureau, passed out my 1994 report (see below) and
discussed the rampant workplace sexual exploitation of Latin American immigrant
women with staff. No Spanish language staff was available for their recently
opened hotline at that time.
Approximately 5 years ago, a DOL analyst told me that she used
LibertadLatina
as a source for her research into Latina workplace exploitation issues.
Around 7 years ago, I gave then Represen-tative
Hilda Solis a
LibertadLatina
business card at a Congressional luncheon on
human trafficking, where I also gave around 200 congressional staffers copies of
the
LibertadLatina
newsletter.
At the May 3, 2010 session of the annual federal government Human
Trafficking Conference, Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Labor Secretary
Hilda Solis made some of the first official public pronouncements
by U.S. Government officials
acknowledging that
a Latin American component to the global human trafficking crisis exists.
Although prosecutions, and work by State Department Trafficking in Persons
director Ambassador Luis CdeBaca prior to his assuming his current post have
touched upon the issue of Latin American victims, the U.S. Federal Government
has yet to state a clear response to the fact that, as Ambassador CdeBaca noted
in a December 2009 interview, some 60% of U.S. human trafficking victims come to
the U.S. from Latin America. Most of those enslaved persons were trafficked over
the U.S./ Mexican border.
In addition, the United Nations affiliated International organization for
Migration (IOM) in the Southern Cone region of South America estimates that
Latin American human trafficking alone generates $16 billion dollars in annual
revenues, amounting to an estimated 50% of global trafficking profits.
However we look at the situation, Latin America's
crisis of
modern day slavery cannot be minimized,
nor can it be ignored.
We at
LibertadLatina have
persistently requested that the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama
speak out publicly on this issue, especially to demand that Mexico apply the
rule of law to the current nationwide environment of lawless impunity that allows mass gender
atrocities to occur on an ongoing basis. That is a violent crime wave that has
impacts throughout the
United States.
The pronouncements by Ambassador CdeBaca in December of 2009, and the May 3,
2010
statements by Secretary Solis and Attorney General Holder represent a start
towards achieving full federal accountability for U.S. responses to the human trafficking crisis that
today damages Latin American women, children and men both in Latin America and across
the U.S. and the rest of the world.
Keep up the good work!
We will proceed to view progress on this issue from the perspective of "trust,
but verify."
The victims, and those at risk, await our serious and effective efforts to
rescue and protect them today!
End impunity now!
Chuck Goolsby
LibertadLatina
May 12/13, 2010
See also:
Chuck Goolsby’s Case File # 1: The Sexual Exploitation of
Latina Women and Girls at Computer Data Systems, Inc.
1992-1994.
* Your tax dollars at work supporting a
sexist federal contractor.
* Sexual harassment, quid-pro-quo sexual demands and sexual assault with
impunity in the low-wage American workplace.
...The below case relation is completely factual. The events may seem startling
for the average reader, but this case account tells a story that is happening
every night in America in many office cleaning jobs, hotel jobs, restaurant and
fast-food jobs, retail stores and other low-wage work places.
During… 1995, I presented detailed information about this… case and several
equally serious episodes of the severe sexual harassment of Latina workers to… the…
U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau's "Low Wage Worker's Conference" in
Washington, DC, where the author passed out his 1994 report to Women's Bureau
officials and conference participants...
While the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau never responded to the author
in regard to his 1994 report, the director of Women's Bureau who followed the
1994 incumbent, Ms. Ida Castro, did make public statements to the press in the
late 1990's referring to DOL's recognition of the issue of the exploitation of
immigrant women in low wage jobs.
Chuck Goolsby
1995
See also:
Chuck Goolsby’s 1994 report: The Sexual and Economic
Exploitation of Latin American Immigrant Women in Montgomery County, Maryland
Chuck Goolsby
March, 1994
See also:
Added: May 13, 2010
USA / The World
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A girl sits in a windowless garage where
she was kept for two years. Purchased at the age of 10,
she worked as much as 20 hours per day as domestic help.
Photo: U.S. State Department |
Working To End Human Trafficking
"Modern slavery exists in communities and cultures spanning the globe."
"Human trafficking has become big business – generating billions of dollars each year through the entrapment and exploitation of millions," said U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on May 3rd, at the National Conference on Human Trafficking. "Almost every country in the world is affected, either as a source or destination for victims."
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, human trafficking is the fastest-growing crime in the world, and is second in financial scope only to the sale of illegal drugs. It occurs in every state in the U.S. and every country in the world. It is a global problem, and as such, it demands a global solution.
That is why the U.S. is "partnering with authorities in other countries to extradite fugitive defendants, protect victims' families, obtain evidence of criminal activity, and combat trafficking networks that operate across international lines," said Attorney General Holder.
"By working with our foreign allies, we've succeeded in liberating Jamaican tree-cutters from shacks in New Hampshire; Filipino workers from chain motels in South Dakota; Eastern European women from strip clubs in Detroit; Vietnamese garment workers from American Samoa; Peruvian factory workers – including children – from traffickers on Long Island; and young girls from Togo and Ghana from toiling around the clock without pay in hair salons in New Jersey," said Attorney General Holder.
" We . . . . know that modern slavery exists in communities and cultures spanning the globe," said Ambassador-at-large Luis CdeBaca director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. "It is a fluid phenomenon, responding to market demands, vulnerabilities in laws, weak penalties, natural disasters, and economic instability.
"No country, including the United States, has attained a sophisticated or truly comprehensive response to this massive, ever-increasing, ever-changing crime. . . . Every country is still learning what trafficking is and what works in response to it . . . . The vast majority of people enslaved today around the world have yet to see any progress.
"We must devote ourselves to never again letting a generation go by without forward progress," said Ambassador CdeBaca. "Working toward a world without modern slavery is no doubt a bold proposition, but it is one that we must work toward."
Voice of America
May 13, 2010
Mexico
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Margaret Sekaggya, UN Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights defenders (right), with Bety Cariño
- February 2010. |
Llama ONU a gobierno mexicano a garantizar labor de las y los defensores de DH
“Deteriorada su situación”, condena asesinato de activistas en Oaxaca
La Organización de Naciones Unidas (ONU), a través de cuatro de sus Relatorías,
expresó su preocupación por la deteriorada situación de las y los defensores de
derechos humanos en México y condenó firmemente los recientes asesinatos de la
defensora Beatriz Alberta Cariño Trujillo y del observador internacional Jyri
Antero Jaakkola.
En un comunicado de prensa, difundido por la Oficina del Alto Comisionado de las
Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos, el organismo internacional advirtió
que las y los defensores de derechos humanos “enfrentan graves amenazas contra
sus vidas a consecuencia de su trabajo”.
El grupo de expertos y experta de la ONU hizo un llamado al gobierno mexicano
para “tomar las medidas que sean necesarias para proteger el derecho a la vida y
la seguridad de las y los defensores de los derechos humanos en el país contra
todo tipo de violencia y acción arbitraria que se produzca como consecuencia del
ejercicio legítimo de sus actividades.”
Exigen Investigación Pronto e Imparcial
Margaret Sekaggya, Relatora Especial sobre la situación de los Defensores de los
Derechos Humanos, manifestó su “profunda preocupación” por el deterioro de la
situación de las y los defensores de los derechos humanos en México, en especial
las mujeres y las personas defensoras que trabajan en temas relacionados con las
comunidades indígenas.
Además condenó los hechos ocurridos el 27 de abril en la zona triqui de San Juan
Copala, en Oaxaca, cuando una misión de observación de los derechos humanos
sufrió una emboscada por parte de paramilitares, lugar donde fue asesinada,
Beatriz Alberta Cariño Trujillo, defensora y directora del Centro de Apoyo
Comunitario Trabajando Unidos (CACTUS) y donde también murió Jyri Antero
Jaakkola...
CIMAC Women's News Agency
May 12, 2010
See also:
Mexico
Human rights defenders continue to pay with their lives in Mexico, warn UN experts
Geneva - A group of United Nations independent experts* warned about the deteriorating situation for human rights defenders in Mexico, strongly condemning the recent killing of human rights defender Ms. Beatriz Alberta (Bety) Cariño Trujillo and the international observer Mr. Tyri Antero Jaakkola in Oaxaca, south east Mexico.
“Defenders continue to face significant threats to their lives in Mexico as a result of their work,” said Margaret Sekaggya, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. “We are deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation for human rights defenders in the country, including women and human rights defenders working on issues related to indigenous communities.”
On 27 April 2010, Bety Cariño and Tyri Antero Jaakkola were part of a mission to monitor human rights in Oaxaca when they were ambushed by paramilitaries and killed. Several other human rights defenders and journalists suffered injuries. Four other members of the mission, including two journalists of the magazine Contralínea, spent two days in a forest following the attack, before being rescued by the police on 30 April.
“The situation in Mexico is extremely complex and no-one could doubt the gravity of the challenges confronting the Government in its fight against the drug cartels” added Philip Alston, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. “But there is no justification for failing to take strong steps when human rights defenders, journalists and others are killed. Human rights must not be permitted to be a casualty in the fight against drugs and crime.” ...
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
May 12, 2010
Latin America
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Conference Poster |
The 2010 Lozano Long Conference – Republics
of Fear: Understanding Endemic Violence in
Latin America Today
Violence has become the signal threat to
stability in Latin America in the new
millennium. Kidnappings and murders generate
lurid headlines from Mexico to Honduras to
Argentina. Communities tired of
statelessness and voicelessness set
suspected criminals on fire in Guatemalan
public squares. Hundreds of women die
violent deaths in Ciudad Juárez and
Guatemala City while the state remains
either impotent or indifferent. Police raids
into Rio’s favelas kill dozens of people
while drug trafficking gangs stockpile more
numerous and more powerful weapons. Prison
gangs paralyze the megalopolis of São Paulo
for days in retaliation for official
measures taken against their imprisoned
leaders.
Meanwhile, structural violence continues to
condemn huge portions of the region’s
population to poverty, disease,
marginalization, and penury. If cold war
ideologies set Latin America aflame in the
1960s and 1970s, a far more complex set of
factors stokes the ordinary and
extraordinary violence that burns in the
region today.
In its Third Annual Lozano Long Conference,
LLILAS hosted the academics who are
exploring the causes and consequences of
this conflagration. Researchers have only
begun to respond to these new challenges to
democracy, development, and human
well-being. The time is ripe for a
conference that brings together cutting edge
research from different disciplines,
perspectives, methods, and viewpoints, all
united around a concern for the peoples of
the region and the circumstances they face.
The conference hosted panels on topics such
as gender violence; intimate violence;
organized violence; the trafficking of
humans, weapons, and drugs; political,
state, and para-state violence; structural
violence, including poverty, forced
migration, racism, and discrimination; and
the responses to violence, including
representations of violence in the media,
literature, films, and public discourse. The
institute hopes in this way to foster and
stimulate a new wave of theoretically
informed, interdisciplinary, and culturally
aware research into this crucial new
challenge for Latin America.
Sponsored by the Teresa Lozano Long
Institute of Latin American Studies, the
Rapoport Center for Human Rights and
Justice, and the Center for Women's and
Gender Studies.
Teresa Lozano
Long Institute of Latin American Studies
The
University of Texas at Austin
March 4–5,
2010
Mexico
Mexican Police Implicated in Killings,
Kidnappings
Mexico City - Scores of police officers -
including the entire department of one town
- have been detained in Mexican probes of
killings and kidnappings.
Mayor Alfredo Osorio of the Gulf coast town
Tierra Blanca said Monday that about
90 city policemen were
being held for questioning about the
kidnapping of undocumented Central American
migrants.
The officers - the town's entire local force
- were detained by state police and soldiers
and taken to the capital of the Gulf coast
state of Veracruz for questioning. No formal
charges had been filed.
The police allegedly kidnapped the migrants
to shake them down for money. Central
Americans frequently are robbed or abused by
police or by drug gangs as they cross Mexico
to seek work in the United States.
In the central State of Mexico, prosecutors
announced the arrest of two policemen and
two former officers on charges they
participated in 11 killings related to
robberies.
The officers, ex-officers and a fifth man
posing as a police office, had been assigned
to two towns on the outskirts of Mexico
City. They were detained over the weekend.
Mexico State Attorney General Alberto Baz
Baz said the men allegedly preyed on
businessmen and professionals, snatching
them off the streets to steal debit cards
and other possessions, and then often
killing them. Another ex-officer is being
sought in the case. Some of the crimes were
allegedly committed while the officers were
on duty.
The suspects face possible prison sentences
of up to 70 years. They had no attorney of
record.
The
Associated Press
Mar 16, 2010
Mexico
Mexican Troops Rescue 20 Migrants from
Traffickers
Veracruz, Mexico – Mexican troops rescued 20
Central Americans who had been kidnapped by
a gang of migrant smugglers that was holding
them captive at a house in the Gulf coast
state of Veracruz.
The commander of Mexico’s 26th Military
Zone, Miguel Gustavo Gonzalez, told a press
conference that five suspected smugglers
were arrested who were holding the
undocumented migrants as hostages and were
demanding $1,200 from their families to free
them and allow them to continue on their way
to the U.S. border.
The officer said that the operation took
place in the municipality of Tierra Blanca,
where members of the gang were arrested and
forced to hand over 40,000 pesos ($3,200) in
cash, two guns and four vehicles.
Gonzalez said the raid followed an anonymous
tip.
He said that the 11 women and nine men from
Honduras and Nicaragua were found being held
captive in the community of Palma Sola.
Meanwhile, the undocumented migrants who
were rescued received food and medical
attention from the immigration authorities,
who will settle their legal status.
EFE
March 19,
2010
We note with interest that this raid
occurred immediately after the
Inter-American Human Rights Commission
hearing of March 22, 2010 on the mass
kidnappings of migrants in Mexico, and
especially in Veracruz.
-
LibertadLatina
Mexico
Denuncian el "infierno" de unos 18.000
migrantes secuestrados al pasar por México
Washington, DC.- México se ha convertido en
la trampa de miles de migrantes de
Centroamérica y Sudamérica que son
secuestrados cada año cuando atraviesan ese
país, según denunciaron hoy activistas en la
Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos
(CIDH).
En una audiencia del 138 período de sesiones
de la CIDH, organizaciones religiosas y
humanitarias acusaron al Estado de México de
abandonar a los 18.000 emigrantes
secuestrados, que convirtieron 2009 en el
"año maldito" del fenómeno...
Activists Denounce the
“Hell” Faced by 18,000 Migrants per Year Who
Are Kidnapped in Mexico
Washington, DC - According to activists who
testified on March 22, 2010 at the
Inter-American Human Rights Commission
(IAHRC) - Mexico has become a dangerous trap
for thousands of migrants from South and
Central America who are kidnapped each year
when they attempt to cross Mexico.
The religious and human rights activists
testified during an IAHRC hearing, held
during its 138th period of sessions. In
their testimony, they accused the Mexican
state of abandoning the 18,000 migrants who
were kidnapped during 2009, which they
declared to be a terrible year for the
phenomenon.
The director of the migrant shelter Brothers
on the Road to Hope, Father Alejandro
Solandide, denounced the lack of political
will in Mexico to put a stop to the problem,
as well as the complicity and cover-up that
state agents engage in – in relation to
these crimes.
Father Solandide: “It is very hard to see a
line that separates the authors of these
kidnappings - be they organized criminals or
public officials.”
Migrants begin their trek in their home
countries, where these criminal networks
[first] coordinate their activities, said
Oliver Bush Espinoza, of the National
Institute for Migration [Mexico’s
immigration agency].
When migrants reach Mexico, they are
trapped, and are taken to safe houses, where
the coyotes demand their family’s phone
number [to allow them to extort the family],
and they are beaten with sticks and suffer
other tortures.
“These safe houses are hell. The victims
suffer tortures. If they resist [the
extortion], they are made examples of and
are mutilated or murdered, declared Reverend
Pedro Pantajo Arreola, of the Bethlehem
Migrant’s Shelter.
The wave of
kidnappings began in 2006, says Father
Solandide, but the problem became even
larger in 2009, when it became like a
“silent, low-motion massacre” – “due to
moral decay,” the increase in organized
criminal violence, and judicial impunity.
During the last three years, the ‘industry’
of mass kidnapping has been perfected,
especially in the state of Veracruz. In a
six month period of time, these kidnappings
generate $50 million dollars in revenue.
Aside from the Mexican government’s failure
to investigate these crimes, and the
“immense defenseless-ness” of the victims,
Father Solandide denounced the “insufficient
actions taken and mechanisms put into place”
by the government in the face of this
reality. Scant resources exist to house,
assist and restore the victims.
The representatives of the organizations who
testified directly assist victims, a
situation that has also placed them in
harm’s way.
“Our migrant shelters
are being threatened and attacked by both
the Mexican authorities and by members of
organized crime, to such an extent that we
have found in necessary to seek the legal
protection of this Commission,” said
Monsignor Raúl Vera,
Archbishop of
Saltillo, who is also the president
of the Council of the Friar Juan de Larios
Center.
[Oliver Bush Espinoza, of the federal
National Institute for Migration, and
Alejandro Negrín, human rights
representative at the Mexican Chancellery,
testified in opposition to the petition.]
Felipe González, the President of Mexico's
National Human Rights Commission of Mexico
(CNDH) stated that he was in agreement with
the petitioners, and invited the IAHRC to
visit Mexico to determine the magnitude of
the problem in person.
EFE
March 22,
2010
See also:
Inter-American Human Rights Commission
Hearing
Petitioner:
Centro de Derechos Humanos Agustín Pro
Juárez (PRODH); Servicio Jesuita a Migrantes
en México; Centro Diocesano de Derechos
Humanos Fray Juan de Larios; Dimensión de la
Pastoral de la Movilidad Humana; Casa de
Migrantes Hermanos en el Camino [Migrant
Refuge]; Albergue de Nuestra Señora de
Guadalupe A.C. [Migrant Refuge]; Albergue
Guadalupano de Tierra Blanca [Migrant
Refuge]; Servicio Jesuita de Jóvenes
Voluntarios; Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray
Matías de Córdova; Frontera Con Justicia
A.C.y Humanidad Sin Fronteras
Inter-American Human Rights
Commission
Organization of American States
March 22, 2010
See also:
20,000 Migrants a Year
Kidnapped in Mexico En Route to U.S.
Some 20,000 of
the 140,000 illegal migrants en route to the
United States via the Mexico border to find
work and a better life are kidnapped each
year and subjected to rape, torture and
murder, crimes that usually go unpunished
due to the corruption of the authorities,
fear of reprisals and distrust of
authorities, according to Mexico’s
independent National Human Rights
Commission.
Mexico City –
More than 1,600 migrants, above all Central
Americans en route to the United States to
find work, are kidnapped monthly and
subjected to humiliations that usually go
unpunished due to the corruption of the
authorities, Mexico’s independent National
Human Rights Commission reported.
“The kidnapping
of migrants has become a continuous practice
of worrying dimensions, generally unpunished
and with characteristics of extreme
cruelty,” commission chairman Jose Luis
Soberanes said Monday at the presentation of
the report.
Between
September 2008 and February 2009, the
commission registered a total of 198 cases
of mass kidnappings of migrants involving
9,758 people...
EFE
June 16, 2009
Washington,
DC USA
 |
|
Monsignor Raúl Vera, Bishop of
Saltillo -
Photo |
Presentation: Kidnappings of Migrants in
Mexico
Event:
Monday March 22nd - 5:30-6:30pm -
Washington, DC
Every year tens of thousands of migrants
travel through Mexico en route to the United
States. Often on their arduous journey these
migrants are exposed to brutal violence,
extortion, and kidnappings.
Join us for a forum with this exceptional
group of speakers all of whom are highly
recognized as leading moral authorities on
migrant rights. These speakers will discuss
the kidnappings of migrants in Mexico, the
ways in which Mexican laws and policies make
them more vulnerable and may prevent their
access to justice, how authorities directly
collaborate in this practice and the hearing
on this issue that has been presented before
the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights.
Featuring
Monsignor Raúl Vera, Bishop of Saltillo,
is also President of the Counsel of the Fray
Juan Juan de Larios Diocese Center and a
member of various organizations that work to
protect migrants' human rights.
Father Alejandro
Solalinde,
director of the shelter "Hermanos en el
Camino de la Esperanza " [Shelter for
Migrant Brothers on the Road of Hope] and
the coordinator of the Southern Zone of the
Pastoral Dimension of Human Mobility of the
Mexican Episcopal Conference. The shelter
offers food, shelter and legal advice to the
thousands of migrants that pass through the
city of Ixtepec, Oaxaca en route to the
United States.
Father Pedro Pantoja Arreola founded
Emaús House, Passage of Migrants in Ciudad
Acuña and created the project Borders and
Dignity. After more than five years he
returned to Saltillo, where he oversees the
shelter "Belén [Bethlehem] Migrant Inn" and
the Borders with Justice project, both
founded in 2001 to respond to the grave
human rights violations of migrants.
Our panelists will also be joined by
representatives from the Miguel Agustin Pro
Juarez Human Rights Center, the Fray Matias
de Cordova Human Rights Center and Frontera
con Justicia [Justice for the Border] and
Humanidad Sin Fronteras [Humanity Without
Borders].
Event:
|
Kidnapping of Migrants in Mexico
March 22, 2010
5:30-6:30pm - plus reception
Washington Office on Latin
America - WOLA
1666 Connecticut Ave NW - Suite
400
Washington, DC
Please RSVP to Ashley Morse
at
amorse@wola.org
(Space is limited, RSVPs will
be accepted on a first-come
basis) |
WOLA
March 22,
2010
See also:
Mexico
Harassment and
intimidation of human rights defender,
Father Alejandro Solalinde Guerra
About the
harassment of Father Alejandro Solalinde
Guerra's efforts to assist migrants in
crisis
Sign-on to a letter
of support to President Calder ón
of Mexico
...Human rights defender Father Solalinde
has recently been subjected to harassment
and intimidation as a direct result of his
activities in defense of human rights.
Father Solalinde is the director of the
Albergue del Migrante Hermanos en el Camino
de la Esperanza (Shelter for Migrant
Brothers on the Road of Hope) and
co-ordinator of the Catholic Pastoral Care
Centre for Migrants. The Shelter provides
food, shelter and legal assistance to
thousands of migrants who travel through the
city of Ixtepec, Oaxaca, on their way to the
United States of America. Over the last two
years, the Shelter has reported several
cases of corruption by state and federal
government officials as well as the practice
of abduction of migrants...
FrontLine - Protection of
Human Rights Defenders
Feb. 02, 2010
See also:
Added: Mar. 21, 2010
Mexico, Central America
 |
|
Salvadoran
mothers gather to pray and
leave offerings and crosses
for their family members who
were abused, kidnapped and
murdered in the 'mugging and
rape gauntlet' at Mexico's
southern border region known
as
'La Arrocera' - the Rice
Cooker. |
Kidnapping - A Growing Risk for Central
American Migrants
The increase in kidnappings of Central
American migrants crossing Mexico on their
way to the United States will be brought up
at the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights (IACHR)
current session next Monday.
”We are experiencing a humanitarian disaster
that the authorities want to cover up at all
costs,” Alejandro Solalinde, a priest who
heads the Catholic Pastoral Care Centre for
Migrants in Ciudad Ixtepec, in the southern
state of Oaxaca, told IPS.
Solalinde, who has been defending the rights
of undocumented Central American migrants
since 2005, is flying to Washington to
describe the situation on the ground to the
IACHR, which is holding its 138th period of
sessions Mar. 15-26, along with
representatives of other civil society
groups.
Although the priest has been the target of
death threats from people traffickers and
kidnappers, he was denied police protection.
In January 2007, Solalinde, who also set up
a shelter to provide food and medical
attention to migrants next to the railway
lines that they ride on their long trek
north, helped a group of Central Americans
escape their captors in Oaxaca.
He has also spoken up against police
brutality, and even filed legal action
against local police officers and
authorities. But the lawsuit is merely
gathering dust.
Thousands of Central Americans, mainly from
the impoverished countries of Honduras,
Guatemala and El Salvador, are detained and
deported every year by the police in Mexico
as they attempt to reach the United States.
However, they don't only face a risk of
being seized and deported by the police, but
are also vulnerable to harassment, sexual
abuse, extortion, robbery and kidnapping by
immigration agents and police, while they
are assaulted, raped, held up, kidnapped and
sometimes killed by gang-members and
thieves.
From September 2008 to February 2009, 9,758
migrants were kidnapped in Mexico, according
to a special report by the governmental
National Human Rights Commission (CNDH).
”The kidnapping of migrants in Mexico is on
the rise,” Maureen Meyer, the Washington
Office on Latin America (WOLA) Associate for
Mexico and Central America, told IPS.
However, ”this number (9,758) is by no means
the full extent of the phenomenon, as given
the vulnerability of migrants in Mexico,
many cases go unreported.”
WOLA is backing the Mexican activists who
will appear before the IACHR in the U.S.
capital, where they will ask the Commission
to recommend that the government provide
protection to migrants, fight kidnappings
and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Mexican immigration authorities have
arrested 4,164 Central Americans so far this
year, according to official figures.
The IACHR session will also be attended by
Raúl Vera, Catholic bishop of Saltillo, a
city north of the capital; Pedro Pantoja, a
priest who runs the Belen migrants shelter
and the Borders with Justice project in
Saltillo; and representatives of Mexican
non-governmental organisations that provide
protection to undocumented Central American
migrants.
In the southern state of Veracruz, 13
municipal police have been prohibited from
leaving the country, because they are under
suspicion of kidnapping and extorting
Central American migrants.
The kidnappings are planned in Oaxaca and
carried out in Veracruz, with the collusion
of public employees and municipal and state
agents, according to Solalinde...
Because of the numerous reports of abuses,
the government of El Salvador opened a
consulate in Oaxaca in January to provide
attention to Salvadoran citizens.
But not even the diplomatic mission has
escaped harassment: less than a month after
it opened, armed men who claimed to be
federal police but did not identify
themselves forced their way into the
consulate without authorization, supposedly
as part of an investigation.
Salvadoran ambassador to Mexico Hugo
Carrillo has asked President Felipe Calderón
to take effective action against the police
involved in the incident.
”It would appear that kidnapping has become
another source of income for organized
criminal groups operating in Mexico and
along the U.S.-Mexico border (which are)
already involved in drug trafficking,
pirated goods, extortion, etc.,” said Meyer.
She added that some reports indicate that
along the border ”and even in the U.S.
itself, groups involved in human smuggling
are now earning more money from holding some
of their 'clients' for ransom, than from the
fees they already charge to make the
crossing.”
She also said the kidnappings in Mexico are
often carried out ”with the support and
collusion of officials from all levels of
the government.”
Most of the migrants do not file an official
complaint, out of fear of being deported, or
because the legal formalities are too
complex...
Emilio Godoy
Inter Press
Service (IPS)
March 19,
2010
LibertadLatina
Commentary
|
|
|
Chuck Goolsby |
Human rights activists, international NGOs,
the United Nations and Central American
governments have repeatedly implored Mexico
to bring the rule of law to its southern
border region, where an estimated 450 to 600
women and girl children are systematically
raped each day (according to the United
Nations affiliated International
Organization for Migration), often with the
cooperation or involvement of local police
and immigration agents. President Calderon's
government has repeatedly ignored these
pleas, even when they have been made by
Mexico's Congress.
The fact that Save the Children has
identified
the southern border of
Mexico as being the largest region for the
commercial sexual exploitation of children
(CSEC) in the entire world is
closely linked to the fact that migrant
children and youth are kidnapped, raped and
sold into sexual slavery en mass by
traffickers who know that the Mexican
government will do absolutely nothing to
stop their organized crime wave.
Like other human trafficking related issues,
these mass gender atrocities are of
no consequence for 'socially conservative'
politicians who uphold the validity of
feudal-era sexist machismo in modern Mexico.
We thank God for the existence of the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights. While
the U.S. Administration and the United
Nations sit on their hands in the face of
these mass human rights violations, the
Court acts as the forum of last resort as a
response by civilization to national
governments who's lack of action in these
circumstances amounts to rogue and
abominable behavior.
Where is this issue on the agenda of the
federal National Commission to Punish and
Prevent Human Trafficking, or on the agenda
of the newly formed Special Commission to
Fight Human Trafficking headed by Deputy
Rosi Orozco in the Chamber of Deputies? We
don't see any action on this issue from
them.
Indeed, where is this issue on the agenda of
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and
her director of the State Department
Trafficking in Persons office,
Ambassador-at-Large Luis CdeBaca?
They, and also U.S. President Obama, must
stand-up and speak out against this brazen
form of impunity, and not remain silent in
the face of such organized, mass violent
crimes against women.
End impunity
now!
Chuck Goolsby
LibertadLatina
March 21/22, 2010
See also:
Mexico, Central America
Madres salvadoreñas depositan ofrendas en
"La Arrocera"
El 80 porciento de los abusos cometidos
contra los inmigrantes se cometen en esta
zona de Huixtla, Chiapas
Huixtla, Chiapas - Los parientes de
indocumentados fallecidos y desaparecidos
visitaron "La Arrocera" , un pequeño tramo
de escasos cuatro kilómetros que los
indocumentados utilizan para evadir la
caseta migratoria El hueyate, en Huixtla...
Salvadoran mothers
leave offerings for their murdered children
at
the "Rice
Cooker"
80 percent of abuses against migrants occur
in this area near the city of Huixtla,
Chiapas
Huixtla, Chiapas - relatives of deceased and
missing undocumented migrants visited "La
Arrocera," a four kilometer long rural trail
that north-bound Central and South American
migrants use to bypass the Hueyate
immigration station in the city of Huixtla,
Chiapas.
Under strict security arrangements and with
the support of Mexico's National Commission
on Human Rights (CNDH), members of the
Committee of Families of Deceased and
Missing Migrants toured the area of "the
Rice Cooker" near Huixtla, a municipality in
the state of Chiapas, where dozens of men
and women have been assaulted, raped and
murdered.
"The Rice Cooker" is a [rural] migrant trail
where 80 percent of the assaults and
homicides in the region are committed,
according to testimony gathered by the
Catholic Church and human rights
organizations.
Even police will not enter
this zone unless they have several officers
armed with high-powered weapons.
Father Luis Angel
Nieto prayed for eternal rest for all of
those migrants who lost their lives here in
their attempt to reach "the American Dream."
For the second time during the trip,
Father Luis Nieto
demanded that the Mexican authorities combat
these crimes, that for several years have
sewn pain and fear.
"We cannot keep quiet,
we cannot be complicit in this," he said.
After prayer, the Salvadorans planted dozens
of crosses in memory of those who lost their
lives here and who were never identified.
During the emotional ceremony, the mothers
and fathers could not contain their tears.
The sadness and pain invaded their faces.
Most knew the true meaning of "the Rice
Cooker".
Juan de Dios Garcia Davish
Feb. 11, 2009
See also:
Mexico, Central America
 |
|
Crosses for those
murdered at the 'Rice Cooker' |
El 80% de migrantes
son violadas en el tramo la Arrocera
Arriaga. Chiapas.-A primera vista, el campo
verde de arbustos medianos y matas de mango
de esta zona despoblada en el estado de
Chiapas luce apacible y amigable. Nada más
distante: las ráfagas de viento rompen con
violencia el silencio, tal como el grito de
mujeres inmigrantes que son violadas cada
año al cruzar por esta región ubicada a unos
120 kilómetros de la frontera con Guatemala.
"Alrededor del 80% de las centromaricanas
que cruzan La Arrocera son violadas", señala
el padre Herman Vázquez, fundador del
alberque Hogar de la Misericordia y párroco
de Arriaga, cercana a la zona "roja", por
donde cada año caminan unos 230 mil
centroamericanos en el inicio del viaje por
territorio mexicano hacia EE.UU...
80% of Migrant Women
are Raped in the Zone Called the Rice Cooker
The city of Arraiga, in Chiapas state – At
first glance, the green landscape in this
sparsely populated region of Chiapas state
looks peaceful and inviting. The gusts of
wind violently break the silence, much as do
the screams of the women migrants who are
raped each year as they cross this gauntlet,
located 120 from the Guatemalan border.
“About 80% of the central American women who
cross “the Rice Cooker – la Arrocera” – are
raped, says Father Herman Vázquez, founder
of the House of Mercy shelter and parish
priest in Arraiga. Arraiga is located close
to the “red zone” where 230,000 Central
American migrants walk during their journeys
to the Mexican border with the U.S.
Between the scrub and rocks of this rural
area, bands of delinquents stalk their
victims. These assailants have been
identified as being residents of nearby
towns who have dedicated themselves to
raping and robbing migrants.
For migrants, passing through this 4 square
kilometer bottleneck on the migrant’s trail
is almost inevitable, as migrants seek to
bypass the immigration station on the main
highway nearby…
Gardenia Mendoza
Chiapas Fronterizo
Feb. 26, 2009
See also:
Added: Mar. 22, 2010
Mexico
Thousands of Migrants Kidnapped in Southern
Mexico
A report published by Mexico’s Human Rights
Commission shows that close to 10,000
migrants were kidnapped for ransom in
Mexican territory between September 2008 and
February 2009. That’s an average of 50
kidnappings a day for 6 months. The
commission based its statistics on
information provided by migrant shelters,
migrant testimonies, press accounts, and
legal records, while noting that the actual
dimensions of the kidnapping problem are
likely much larger.
More than half of the nearly 10,000
kidnappings documented by the National Human
Rights Commission occurred in the southern
states of Veracruz and Tabasco.
Friar Blas Alvarado, who runs a migrant
shelter in the southern border town of
Tenosique, Tabasco, said the commission’s
statistics are just the tip of the iceberg
because his shelter has had “hundreds more
cases that we haven’t documented or reported
because, at this point, we don’t know where
to take them”. He says he doesn’t trust the
National Human Rights Commission to do
anything beyond crunch numbers and that he
doesn’t trust any other government agency
because “they know very well – and have
known for a long time – where these crimes
are taking place, and they don’t do
anything”.
Ties to organized
crime
Migrant kidnappings in Tabasco and Veracruz
are mostly attributed to the “Zetas”
organized crime group. Friar Blas Alvarado
says officials take no action against
kidnappers either out of fear or because
they are in collusion with the criminals. “
...
South Notes
June 22, 2009
See also:
Central America and Mexico
María de Jesús Silva,
Jackeline's mother
Trata de
blancas en Centroamérica
For
non-governmental organizations, the child
kidnapping and sex trafficking case of
11-year-old Jackeline Jirón Silva fom
Nicaragua is emblematic, as the case shows
clearly how the third most profitable
criminal enterprise in the world operates.
...Jackeline has been forced to work in
brothels all over Central America. Her
pimps now have her in Tapachula, in Chiapas
state [near Mexico's southern border with
Guatemala].
María de Jesús Silva [Jackeline's mother,
who searched all over Central America and
southern Mexico for her daughter]: "I saw
things that I never imagined existed... The
brothels are full of children, sold by
traffickers and abandoned by their parents.
I saw them prostitute themselves and wished
that any one of them would have been my
daughter. I settled for caressing the hair
of these girls, and I imagined that in the
'next' brothel, I was going to find my
daughter. Everything that I have suffered
through is nothing compared to what my girl
is going through."
Mexico - The Hot Spot
Save the Children has
identified the border region between
Guatemala and Mexico as being the largest
hot spot for the commercial sexual
exploitation of children globally.
Ana Salvadó: "It the neck in the bottle,
because many children attempt to migrate
from Central America [and South America] to
the United States, and they never get past
[southern] Mexico, where they are sold by
pimps and sometimes are returned to Central
America."
A study by the international organization
ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child
Pornography and Trafficking of Children for
Sexual Purposes)... reveals that over 21,000
Central Americans, with the majority being
children, are prostituted in 1,552 bars and
brothels in Tapachula, Mexico (near the
Guatemala border).
Traffickers sell these children to
Tapachula's pimps for $200 each.
Prostitution in cities like Tapachula
operates openly. Contralínea Magazine has
documented the fact that traffickers work
with corrupt federal and local officials in
exchange for bribes or as direct
participants in the criminal networks...
According to ECPAT's report "Ending Child
Prostitution, Child Pornography and
Trafficking of Children for Sexual
Purposes," from Tapachula, where these
children are sold, the victims are
transported to the Mexican cities of Oaxaca,
Michoacán, Guerrero, Jalisco, Nayarit,
Sinaloa and Mexico City.
More that 50% of these child victims are
from [indigenous] Guatemala. The rest are
Salvadorans, Hondurans and Nicaraguans. They
range in age from eight to
fourteen-years-old.
-
Ana Lilia
Pérez
Revista Contralínea
Oct. 22, 2007
Added: Mar. 20, 2010
Mexico
 |
|
(Related story)
The
Other Side of the Street
Part of a photo essay on
street children in Mexico
city
Laura ran away from home
when she was 12, after her
stepfather raped her. She
became infected with HIV at
age 14 after being raped on
the street by an HIV
Positive man. He is known to
have sexually assaulted 3
other homeless girls, and is
now serving a prison
sentence for rape. Laura is
regularly sexually exploited
for money. She has 2
children who live with her
parents.
Reforma
– Mexico City |
"The Storm"
I don't know where to even start...we are in
the middle of stuff here that is so sick -
not sure how to even describe it. All I know
is the Lord has been preparing me over the
last weeks for what we have now....
We lost the 6 year old [see "Acapulco
Update" - March 15, 2010] because certain
un-named people told the mother that if she
was with us I would go after the guys once I
had the whole story...I can't deny that I
would but the way it blew up from inside is
something that will be addressed.
So that was one thing....the next is equally
disturbing and involves 2 sisters - one 15,
the other 10...the 15 year old was brutally
raped and beaten to death and God only knows
where they left her body...many times real
news gets ignored for the "good" of the
people. Her sister 10 was and is also being
victimized by rape and has had her teeth all
punched out....in the midst of this she is
now pregnant and seemingly has vanished from
the face of the earth...the same guys who
did these acts raped and murdered 2 boys 7
and 10 years old and left the 7 year old
body in front of the marina area...no
investigation and certainly no prosecution
at least that anyone will admit to. So what
to do...
Well I don't have the answer other than
pray....today we are going to an abandoned
house where the homeless drug addicts of
Acapulco regularly violate both boys and
girls who find themselves on the streets. We
are going there only to pray in the hopes
that maybe...just maybe our prayers can be
enough for Angels to free even one child who
would be victimized here.
My flesh really wanted / wants to shut down
our work in Acapulco, not because the work
is hard or not needed, but because we keep
getting hit with stuff that is not our
call...we still have a house full of elderly
sick people and NO ONE is able or at least
willing to help with them...so instead of
doing what we are called to and what is
clearly needed...going out and getting these
children off the streets and out of
danger...we are spending the limited
resources we have running a nursing home. I
am doing all I know how to ....in order to
fix it but it is seemingly impossible.
So brothers and sisters...I ask for focused
prayers at this time.....we need the the
government or at least a ministry with the
call to elderly to help so we can go get
these kids before they end up washed up on
the beach like so many others...we are not
going to shut down here...we are going to
increase our efforts against all odds.
Prayer...lots of prayer!
Reverend
Steven T. Cass
Breaking
chains Ministry
March 18,
2010
Indigneous
Latin America
Trabajo Infantil Indígena y Descolonización
17 millones de
niños indígenas trabajan en América Latina
en labores agrícolas y en el área urbana se
desempeñan en actividades domésticas, en
construcción y como vendedores ambulantes,
según datos de la OIT y UNICEF.
Indigneous
Child Labor and Decolonization
17 million
Indigenous Children work in Latin America in
agriculture, domestic work and as street
vendors, according to data from the
International Labor Organization and UNICEF
El tema es abordado en el Encuentro
Latinoamericano: “Pueblos indígenas y
gobierno: hacia una protección efectiva de
los derechos de los niños, niñas y
adolescentes indígenas en situación de
trabajo infantil por abolir. De la
declaración a la acción” que se desarrolla
en Cartagena de Indias, con la participación
de 200 representantes de entidades
gubernamentales y comunidades indígenas.
UNICEF ha presentado, junto con la Agencia
Española de Cooperación Internacional para
el Desarrollo (AECID) y la Fundación para la
Educación en Contextos de Multilingüismo y
Pluriculturalidad (FUNPROEIB Andes), el
Atlas sociolingüístico de pueblos indígenas
en América Latina, un análisis lingüístico y
sociocultural para Latinoamérica. "No
teníamos ningún informe sobre el estado de
la situación de los pueblos indígenas, ni en
el ámbito cultural, educativo, lingüístico,
económico, demográfico ni social", señala el
jefe de la Unidad de Políticas
Intraculturales, Interculturales y
Plurilingüismo del ministerio de Educación
de Bolivia y aymara del altiplano boliviano,
Walter Gutiérrez. Según él, sin una "mirada
amplia" sobre América Latina, resulta
"imposible planificar políticas integrales
que protejan los intereses indígenas". Por
esta razón, califica el Atlas como "un
avance" y una "herramienta útil" para
planificadores y gobernantes...
[English
translation to follow]
Cristiano
Morsolin
ArgenPress
March 11,
2010
Added:
March 1,
2010
An
activist's letter speaks the truth from
the front lines of the battle to save
children from impunity
Mexico
Breaking Chains Update...lots of
action....almost more than we can handle.
Lots of
action but it is taking its toll……
In the last 2 weeks we have successfully
rescued 2 new daughters both of whom have
extraordinary testimonies…I will share
Monica’s in a bit. We also through the US
Dept. Of Homeland Security successfully shut
down a child porn site that had more than
500 videos involving hardcore acts with
children many of whom have yet to reach 5
years of age.
I don’t think you can understand until you
have seen this stuff the depth of evil that
exists in mankind and while the acts are one
thing what is causing me what may be more
pain than I can handle is the faces of these
children during the acts. I keep seeing them
over and over in my mind. I find myself now
at times in the middle of the day and night
just stopping and crying. I can handle a lot
as most of my work keeps me in the midst of
hell but the enemy may have found the way to
take me out of this battle.
On top of that we have identified 3
different middle schools in Baja California
where girls yet to reach 16 years of age and
many of whom are only 12 are willingly
selling themselves not out of force but for
money to buy things like cell phones, chips
and soda, and the latest fashions. Many of
the clients are Americans who either live
here or come down specificially seeking
these children.
Through an ongoing operation in the red
zones of Tijuana we have also identified 42
minors who are being prostituted blatantly
with seemingly no repercussion from law
enforcement…yeah they do go in and arrest
them from time to time but the next day they
are back on the streets. It is a helpless
feeling to see all this and only be able to
act on a miniscule fraction.
We have been waiting for help from Mexico
City for a long time now and are pretty much
resigning ourselves that it is not coming.
It is not like they don’t have other things
to do…this country is in the midst of a full
blown war that makes Iraq look like a
playground. There are armed groups attacking
each other daily and many of the attacks are
happening in the middle of civilians and
even in the middle of town squares. The
numbers are staggering and it seems like the
daily reports of multiple homicides at the
hands of AK 47’s and AR 15’s are just
another story. The US has shut down the
consulate in Monterrey where the Zetas and
Gulf Cartel have engaged in a full blown
war.
In the middle of all this I often find
myself asking God…where are you?????? I know
He is here as my faith has not been
completely stolen but those little 3 and 5
year old faces from the videos sure bring
legitimacy to the question...
Now would be a good time to pray brothers
and sisters…it is a season of almost
unbearable pain. We need you now more than
ever…we need your prayers, we need your
financial support and we need more people to
get off their butts and start doing
something. There is a war going on …a war
which is reaching a level of evil most of
you cannot fathom or at least that you
choose not to. I don’t have that luxury I
have been called to fight for these kids and
the images of those tiny faces is a double
edged sword…it makes me want to quit and at
the same time won’t let me.
In Christ
Steven T.
Cass
Breaking
Chains Ministry
Feb. 28, 2010
Steven -
be strong!
We support your important
efforts to save children!
Keep up the great work,
hard as it may be. Those who are defenseless
depend upon your tireless efforts to stand
tall in the face of impunity.
- Chuck
Goolsby
LibertadLatina
March 1,
2010
Video of Mexican
Interior Secretary Fernando Gómez Mont's
presentation at the Feb. 23rd and 24th, 2010
congressional Forum for Analysis and
Discussion in Regard to Criminal Law to
Control Human Trafficking.
[Ten minutes - In Spanish]
Deputy Rosi Orozco
On YouTube.com
Feb. 26, 2010
See also:
LibertadLatina
Commentary
|
|
|
Chuck Goolsby |
Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way!
Mexican Interior Secretary
Fernando Gómez
Mont's presentation at the
congressional
Forum for Analysis and Discussion in Regard
to Criminal Law to Control Human Trafficking
has been widely quoted in the Mexican press.
We have posted some of those articles here
(see below).
The video of Secretary Mont's discourse
shows that he is passionate about the idea
of raising awareness about human
trafficking. He states: "Making
[trafficking] visible is the first step
towards liberation."
Secretary Mont believes that the solution to
human trafficking in Mexico will come from
raising awareness about trafficking and from
understanding the fact that machismo, its
resulting family violence and extreme
poverty are the dynamics that push at-risk
children and youth into the hands of
exploiters.
During Secretary Mont's talk he expresses
his strongly held belief that federalizing
the nation's criminal anti-trafficking laws
is, in effect, throwing good money after
bad. In his view, the source of the problem
is not those who criminal statutes would
target, but the fundamental social ills that
drive the problem.
The Secretary's views have an element of
wisdom in them. We believe, however, that
his approach is far too conservative. An
estimated 500,000 victims of human
trafficking exist in Mexico (according to
veteran activist Teresa Ulloa of the
Coalition Against Trafficking in Women -
Latin American and Caribbean branch -
CATW-LAC).
|
A note
about the figures quoted to
describe the number of child
sexual exploitation victims in
Mexico...
Widely
quoted 'official' figures state
that between 16,000 and 20,000
underage victims of sex
trafficking exist in Mexico.
We believe that, if the United
States acknowledges that 200,000
to 300,000 underage children and
youth are caught-up in the
commercial sexual exploitation
of children - CSEC, at any one
time, based on a population of
310 million, (a figure of
between .00064 and .00096
percent of the population), then
the equivalent numbers for
Mexico would be between 68,000
and 102,000 child and youth
victims of CSEC for its
estimated 107 million in
population.
Given Mexico's vastly greater
level of poverty, legalization
of adult prostitution, and given
that southern Mexico alone is
known to be the largest zone in
the world for CSEC, with 10,000
children
being prostituted just
in the
city of Tapachula (according to
ECPAT figures), then the
total number of underage
children and youth caught-up in
prostitution in Mexico is most
likely not anywhere near the
16,000 to 20,000 figure that was
first released in a particular
research study from more than
five years ago and continues to
be so widely used. |
Regardless of what the actual figures are,
they include a very large number of victims.
While officials such as Secretary Mont
philosophize about disabling
anti-trafficking law enforcement and rescue
and restoration efforts, while instead
relying upon arriving at some far-off day
when Mexican society raises its awareness
and empathy for victims (and that is Mont's
policy proposal as stated during the recent
trafficking law forum), tens of thousands of
victims who are being kidnapped, raped,
enslaved and sold to the highest bidder need
our help. They need our urgent intervention.
As a result of their enslavement, they
typically live for only a few years,
according to experts.
The reality is that the tragic plight of
victims can and must be prevented. Those who
have already been victimized must be rescued
and restored to dignity.
That is not too much to ask from a
Mexico that calls itself a member of
civilized society.
Mexico exists at the very top of world-wide
statistics on the enslavement of human
beings. Save the Children recognizes the
southern border region of Mexico as being
the largest zone for the commercial sexual
exploitation of children on Planet Earth.
Colombian and Mexican drug cartels, Japanese
Yakuza mafias and the Russian Mob are all
'feeding upon' (kidnapping, raping, and
exporting) many of the thousands of Central
and South American migrant women who cross
into Mexico. They also prey upon thousands
of young Mexican girls and women
(and especially those who are Indigenous),
who remain unprotected by the otherwise
modern state of Mexico, where Roman Empire
era feudal traditions of exploiting the poor
and the Indigenous as slaves are honored and
defended by the wealthy elites who profit
from such barbarism.
Within this social environment, the more
extreme forms of modern slavery are not seen
as being outrageous by the average citizen.
These forms of brutal exploitation have been
used continuously in Mexico for 500 years.
We reiterate our view, as expressed in our
Feb. 26th and 27th 2010 commentary about
Secretary Mont.
Interior Secretary Mont has presided over
the two year delay in implementing the
provisions of the nation's first
anti-trafficking law, the Law to Prevent,
and Punish Human Trafficking, passed by
Congress in 2007.
-
The regulations required to enable the
law were left unpublished by the
Interior Secretary for 11 months after
the law was passed.
-
When the regulation were published, they
were weak, and left out a role for the
nation's leading anti-trafficking
agency, the Special Prosecutor for
Violent Crimes Against Women and Human
Trafficking in the Attorney General's
office (FEVIMTRA).
-
The regulations failed to target
organized crime.
-
The Inter-Agency Commission to Fight
Human Trafficking, called for in the
law, was only stood-up in late 2009, two
years after the law's passage, and only
after repeated agitation by members of
Congress demanding that President
Calderón act to create the Commission.
-
Today, the National Program to Fight
Human Trafficking, also called for in
the 2007 law, has yet to be created by
the Calderón administration.
-
In early February of 2010, Senator Irma
Martínez Manríquez stated that the 2007
anti-trafficking law and its long-sought
regulations were a 'dead letter' due to
the power of impunity that has
contaminated the political process.
All of the delaying
tactics that were used to thwart the will
and intent of Congress in passing the 2007
anti-trafficking law originated in the PAN
administration of President Felipe Calderón.
All aspects of the 2007 law that called for
regulations, commissions and programs were
the responsibility of Interior Secretary
Mont to implement. That job was never
performed, and the 2007 law is now
accurately referred to as a "dead letter" by
members of Congress.
Those of us in the world community who
actively support the use of criminal
sanctions to suppress and ultimately defeat
the multi-billion dollar power of human
trafficking networks must support the
political and non governmental organization
leaders in Mexico who are working to create
a breakthrough, to end the impasse which the
traditionalist forces in the PAN political
machine have thrown-up as a gauntlet to
defeat effective anti-trafficking
legislation.
Interior Secretary Mont's vision for the
future, which involves continuing on a
course of complete inaction on the
law enforcement front, must be rejected as a
capitulation to the status quo, and as a nod
to the traffickers.
While "Little Brown Maria in the Brothel" -
our metaphor for the voiceless victims,
suffers yet another day chained to a bed in
Tijuana, Acapulco, Matamoros, Ciudad Juárez,
Mexico City, Tlaxcala, Tapachula and Cancun,
the entire law enforcement infrastructure of
Mexico sits by and does virtually nothing to
stop this mass gender atrocity from
happening.
That is a completely unacceptable state of
affairs for a Mexico that is a member of the
world community, and that is a signatory to
international protocols that fight human
trafficking and that defend women and
children's human rights.
We once again call upon U.S. Ambassador at
Large Luis CdeBaca, director of the
Trafficking in Persons office at the State
Department, Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, and President Barack Obama to
stand-up and speak out with the moral
authority of the United States in support of
the forces of change in Mexico.
Political leaders and non governmental
organizations around the world also have a
responsibility to speak-up, and to let the
government of President Felipe Calderón know
that the fact that his ruling party
(finally) supported presenting a forum
on trafficking, and the holding of a few
press conferences, is not enough of a policy
turn-around to be convincing.
The PAN must take strong action to
aggressively combat the explosive growth in
human slavery in Mexico in accordance with
international standards. Those at risk, and
those who are today victims, await your
effective response to their emergency,
President Calderón.
Enacting a 'general' federal law that is
enforceable in all of Mexico's states would
be a good fist step to show the world that
sincere and honest voices against modern day
slavery do exist in Congress, and are
willing to draw a line in the sand on this
issue.
As for Secretary Mont, we suggest, kind sir,
that you consider the age-old
entrepreneurial adage, and either "lead,
follow, or get out of the way" of progress.
No more delays!
There is no time to waste!
End impunity
now!
- Chuck
Goolsby
LibertadLatina
March 1,
2010
See Also:
Mexico
Víctimas del tráfico
de personas, 5 millones de mujeres y niñas
en América Latina
De esa
cifra, más de 500 mil casos ocurren en
México, señalan especialistas.
Five million victims
of Human Trafficking Exist in Latin America
Saltillo, Coahuila state -
Teresa Ulloa Ziaurriz, the director of the
Coalition Against Trafficking in Women's
Latin American / Caribbean regional office,
announced this past Monday that more than
five million women and girls are currently
victims of human trafficking in Latin
America and the Caribbean.
During a forum on successful
treatment approaches for trafficking victims
held by the Women's Institute of Coahuila,
Ulloa Ziaurriz stated that 500,000 of these
cases exist in Mexico, where women and girls
are trafficked for sexual exploitation,
pornography and the illegal harvesting of
human organs.
Ulloa Ziaurriz said that
human trafficking is the second largest
criminal industry in the world today, a fact
that has given rise to the existence of a
very large number of trafficking networks
who operate with the complicity of both
[corrupt] government officials and business
owners.
Mexico is a country of
origin, transit and also destination for
trafficked persons. Of 500,000 victims in
Mexico, 87% are subjected to commercial
sexual exploitation.
Ulloa Ziaurriz pointed out
that locally in Coahuila state, the nation's
human trafficking problem shows up in the
form of child prostitution in cities such as
Ciudad Acuña as well as other population
centers along Mexico's border with the
United States.
- Notimex /
La Jornada Online
Mexico City
Dec. 12, 2007
See also:
Mexico: Más de un
millón de menores se prostituyen en el
centro del país: especialista
Expert: More than one
million minors are sexually exploited in
Central Mexico
Tlaxcala city, in Tlaxcala
state - Around 1.5 million people in the
central region of Mexico are engaged in
prostitution, and some 75% of them are
between 12 and 13 years of age, reported
Teresa Ulloa, director of the Regional
Coalition Against Trafficking in Women and
Girls in Latin America and the Caribbean...
La Jornada de Oriente
Sep. 26, 200
[Note: The figure of 75% of 1.5 million
indicates that 1.1 million girls between the
ages of 12 and 13 at any given time engage
in prostitution in central Mexico alone. -
LL]
|
Added:
Dec. 03, 2009
Mexico
|
 |
|
Award-winning anti-child sex
trafficking activist,
journalist, author and women's
center director Lydia Cacho |
Muertes por
violencia en México podrían ser plan de
limpieza social: Cacho
Especialistas indagan si asesinatos
vinculados con el crimen son una
estrategia del Estado, dijo.
Madrid. Las muertes por violencia en
México en los últimos años, 15 mil en
los últimos tres años, podrían formar
parte de un plan de "limpieza social por
parte del Estado mexicano", declaró este
lunes en Madrid la periodista mexicana
Lydia Cacho….
Deaths from violence in Mexico could be
the results of social cleansing: Lydia
Cacho
Specialists are investigating whether
murders are state strategy, Cacho says.
Madrid. Deaths from violence in Mexico
in recent years, including 15,000 during
the past three years, could form part of
a plan of "social cleansing by the
Mexican State," declared Mexican
journalist Lydia Cacho in Madrid, Spain
on Monday.
"Experts
are beginning to investigate at this
time in Mexico whether these
15,000 murders are linked to intentional
social cleansing by the Mexican State,"
Cacho said in a press conference in
which she denounced human rights
violations and persecution of the press
in her country.
Since President Felipe Calderón [became
president] three years ago, we have been
witnessing a growing authoritarianism in
Mexico "justified by the war " (on
drugs), in which " militari-zation, and
harassment of journalists and human
rights defenders is increasing
danger-ously," stated Cacho.
Cacho was kidnapped [by rogue state
police agents] and tortured in Mexico
after divulging information about a
pedophile ring in which businessmen and
politicians were involved.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights
(IACHR) will determine in an upcoming
decision whether Mexican authorities
violated the rights of the journalist in
that case.
The foundation that bears Cacho's name,
created in Madrid a year ago, is
organizing a concert to raise funds to
help pay for her defense before the
IACHR...
Cacho is the author of [the child sex
trafficking exposé] The Demons of
Eden. In recent years she has
received several awards for her work on
behalf of human rights carried out
through investigative journalism,
including the UNESCO-Guillermo Cano
World Press Freedom Award.
Agence France Presse (AFP)
Nov. 23, 2009
See also:
Mexican
Government Part of Problem, Not
Solution, Writer Says
Madrid - A muckraking Mexican journalist
known for exposes of pedophile rings and
child prostitution said on Monday that
President Felipe Calderón’s bloody
campaign against Mexico’s drug cartels
is “not a battle for justice and social
peace.”
Lydia Cacho, who has faced death threats
and judicial persecution for her
writings, told a press conference in
Madrid that
Mexico’s justice system is “impregnated
with corruption and impunity.”
Accompanied by the head of the Lydia
Cacho Foundation, Spanish screenwriter
Alicia Luna; and Madrid Press
Association President Fernando Gonzalez
Urbaneja, the author said the nearly
three years since Calderón took office
have seen increased “authoritarianism”
and harassment of journalists and human
rights advocates.
The period has also witnessed “15,000
documented killings,” Cacho said,
exceeding the carnage in Colombia at the
height of that country’s drug wars.
“Specialists are beginning to
investigate if those 15,000 killings are
linked with intentional social cleansing
on the part of the Mexican state,” she
said.
Calderón, she noted, “insists on saying
that many of those deaths are collateral
effects and that the rest are criminals
who kill one another.”
“It is a war among the powerful and not
a battle for justice and social peace,”
she said of the military-led effort
against drug cartels, which has drawn
widespread criticism for human rights
abuses.
Cacho also lamented “self-censorship” in
the highly concentrated Mexican media,
saying that many outlets color their
reporting to avoid trouble with the
government and other powerful interests.
A long-time newspaper columnist and
crusader for women’s rights, Lydia Cacho
became famous thanks to the furor over
her 2005 book “Los demonios del Eden”
(The Demons of Eden), which exposed
wealthy pedophiles and their associates
in the Mexican establishment.
In the book, she identified textile
magnate Kamel Nacif as a friend and
protector of accused pedophile Jean
Succar Kuri, who has since been sent
back to Mexico from the United States to
face charges.
Nacif, whose business is based in the
central state of Puebla, accused Cacho
of defamation - a criminal offense - in
Mexico and arranged to have her arrested
for allegedly for ignoring a summons to
appear in court for the case.
In February 2006, Mexican dailies
published transcripts of intercepted
phone conversations in which Nacif was
heard conspiring with Puebla Governor
Mario Marin and other state officials to
have Cacho taken into custody and then
assaulted behind bars.
The transcripts indicated that Nacif,
known as the “denim king” for his
dominance of the blue-jeans business,
engineered the author’s arrest by
bribing court personnel not to send her
the requisite summonses.
Cacho was subsequently released on bail
and the case against her was ultimately
dismissed.
EFE
Nov. 24, 2009
See Also:
LibertadLatina
Special Section
Journalist /
Activist
Lydia Cacho
is
Railroaded
by the
Legal
Process for
Exposing
Child Sex
Networks In
Mexico
See Also:
Perils of
Plan Mexico: Going Beyond Security to
Strengthen U.S.-Mexico Relations
Americas Program Commentary
Mexico is the United States' closest
Latin American neighbor and yet most
U.S. citizens receive little reliable
information about what is happening
within the country. Instead, Mexico and
Mexicans are often demonized in the U.S.
press. The single biggest reason for
this is the way that the entire
binational relationship has been recast
in terms of security over the past few
years...
The militarization of Mexico has led to
a steep increase in homicides related to
the drug war. It has led to rape and
abuse of women by soldiers in
communities throughout the country.
Human rights complaints against the
armed forces have increased six-fold.
Even these stark figures do not reflect
the seriousness of what is happening in
Mexican society. Many abuses are not
reported at all for the simple reason
that there is no assurance that justice
will be done. The Mexican Armed Forces
are not subject to civilian justice
systems, but to their own military
tribunals. These very rarely terminate
in convictions. Of scores of reported
torture cases, for example, not a single
case has been prosecuted by the army in
recent years.
The situation with the police and
civilian court system is not much
better. Corruption is rampant due to the
immense economic power of the drug
cartels. Local and state police, the
political system, and the justice system
are so highly infiltrated and controlled
by the cartels that in most cases it is
impossible to tell the good guys from
the bad guys.
The militarization of Mexico has also
led to what rights groups call "the
criminalization of protest." Peasant and
indigenous leaders have been framed
under drug charges and communities
harassed by the military with the
pretext of the drug war. In Operation
Chihuahua, one of the first military
operations to replace local police
forces and occupy whole towns, among the
first people picked up were grassroots
leaders - not on drug charges but on
three-year old warrants for leading
anti-NAFTA protests. Recently,
grassroots organizations opposing
transnational mining operations in the
Sierra Madre cited a sharp increase in
militarization that they link to the
Merida Initiative and the NAFTA-SPP
[North American Free Trade Act -
Security and Prosperity Partnership]
aimed at opening up natural resources to
transnational investment.
All this - the human rights abuses,
impunity, corruption, criminalization of
the opposition - would be grave cause
for concern under any conditions. What
is truly incomprehens-ible is that in
addition to generating these costs to
Mexican society, the war on drugs
doesn't work to achieve its own stated
objectives...
Laura Carlsen
Americas Program, Center for
International Policy (CIP)
Nov. 23, 2009
Added: Dec. 03, 2009
Mexico
The Numbers
Don't Add Up in Mexico's Drug War
Drug Seizures are Down; Drug Production,
Executions, Disappearances, and Human
Rights Abuses are Up
Just a week before Mexican president
Felipe Calderón completes half of his
six-year term, [leading Mexico City
newspaper] La Jornada reports that
16,500 extrajudicial executions [summary
murders outside of the law] have
occurred during his administration.
6,500 of those executions have occurred
in 2009, according to La Jornada’s
sources in Calderón’s cabinet...
While executions are on the rise, drug
seizures are down, and drug production
is up, Mexico is also experiencing an
alarming increase in human rights abuses
perpetrated by government agents -
particularly the army - in Calderón’s
war on drugs. As Mexican human rights
organizations have noted, human rights
violations committed by members of the
armed forces have increased six-fold
over the past two years. This statistic
is based on complaints received by the
Mexican government’s official National
Human Rights Commission (CNDH).
No Mas Abusos (No More Abuses), a joint
project of the Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez
Human Rights Center, the Fundar Center
for Analysis and Investigation, and
Amnesty International’s Mexico Section,
monitors human rights abuses committed
by soldiers, police, and other
government agents.
Kristin Bricker
My Word is my Weapon
Dec. 1, 2009
See also:
LibertadLatina News Archive - October
2009
El Paso - …Mexican human rights official
Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson [has]
reported 170 instances of Mexican
soldiers allegedly torturing, abusing
and killing innocent people in Chihuahua
[state].
The Associated Press
Oct. 17,2009
See also:
LibertadLatina
Commentary
According to press reports from Mexico,
the
Yunque
secret society is the dominant faction
within the ruling National Action party
(PAN).
El Yunque holds the belief that all
social activists, including those who
advocate for improving the lives of
women, indigenous people and the poor,
are literally the children of
Satan. They take aggressive political
action consistent with those beliefs.
During the 1960s, El Yunque perpetrated
political assassi-nations and murders
targeting their opponents. Although
today they profess to adhere to the
political process to affect change, it
is not a stretch, given their violent
history, to conclude that Lydia Cacho's
concern, that the federal government of
Mexico may be engaging in 'social
cleansing through "extrajudicial
killings" (which is just a fancy way to
say state sanctioned murder of your
opponents), may be valid. Cacho is a
credible first hand witness to the acts
of impunity which government officials
use at-times to control free and
independent thinking in Mexico.
We have documented the steady
deterioration of human rights for women
in Mexico for several years. Mexico is
one of the very hottest spots for the
gender rights crisis in the Americas.
The systematic use by military personnel
of rape with total impunity, targeting
especially indigenous women and girls,
is one example of the harshness of
these conditions. The case of the sexual
assaults carried out by dozens of
policemen against women social
protesters in the city of
Atenco,
Mexico in 2006 is another stark case.
The Mérida
Initiative, through which the
U.S. Government is funding Mexico's drug
war to the tune of $450 million over
several years, is financing not only
that war, but it is also, apparently,
strengthening the authoritarian rule of
the El Yunque dominated PAN political
party.
El Yunque, which has been identified as
being an anti- women's rights,
anti-indigenous rights, anti-Semitic,
anti-protestant and anti-gay 'shadow
government' in Mexico, does not deserve
even one dollar of U.S. funding.
Defeat the drug cartels?
Yes!
Provide funding for El Yunque's quest to
build empire in Mexico while
rolling-back women and indigenous
people's basic human rights?
No!
Chuck Goolsby
LibertadLatina
Dec. 4, 2009
About El
Yunque
The National Organization of the Anvil,
or simply El Yunque (The Anvil),
is the name of a secret society...
whose purpose, according to the reporter
Alvaro Delgado, "is to defend the
[ultra-conservative elements of the]
Catholic religion and fight the forces
of Satan, whether through violence or
murder "and establish" the kingdom of
God in the land that is subject to the
Mexican Government, to the mandates of
the Catholic Church, through the
infiltration of all its members at the
highest levels of political power.
Wealthy business-men and politicians
(mostly from the [ruling]
National
Action Party) have been named
as alleged founders and members of The
Anvil.
About El
Yunque
on
Wikipedia.com |
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¡Feliz Día Internacional de la
Mujer!
Happy International Women's Day!
LibertadLatina
Nuestra
declaración de 2005 Día
Internacional de la Mujer
es pertinente hoy en día, y define
bien la
emergencia hemesferica que
enfrentan las mujeres y en
particular as niñas de todas las
Américas.
Pedimos a todas las personas de
conciencia que siguimos trabajando
duro para inform al público en
general acerca de esta crisis, y que
aumentamos nuestra presión popular
sobre los funcionarios electos y
otros encargados de tomar
decisiones, que deben cambiar el
statu quo y responder con seriadad,
por fin, a las atrocidades
de violencia de género -en
masa- que afectan cada vez mas a
las mujeres y las niñas de las
Américas.
¡Basta ya con la impunidad y la
violencia de genero!
LibertadLatina
Our 2005
statement for International Women's
Day is relevant
today, and accurately defines the
hemispheric emergency facing women
and especially girl children in the
Americas.
We ask that all people of conscience
work hard to continue informing the
general public about this crisis,
and that we all ramp-up the
pressure on elected officials and
other decision makers, who must
change the status quo and respond,
finally, to the increasingly severe
mass gender atrocities that
are victimizing women and girls
across the Americas.
End Impunity and violence against
women now!
Chuck Goolsby
LibertadLatina
March 8, 2008 |
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Read our special
section on the crisis in the city of
Tapachula
Mexico
The city of Tapachula, near
Mexico's border with Guatemala,
is one of the largest and most lawless child sex
trafficking markets in all of Latin America.
Our new news section
tracks events related to this hell-on-earth, where
over half of the estimated 21,000 sex slaves and
other sex workers are underage, and where especially
migrant women and girls from Central and South
America, who seek to migrate to the United States,
have their freedom taken from them, to become a
money-making commodity for gangs of violent
criminals.
A 2007 study by the international organization
ECPAT
[End Child Prostitution and Trafficking]...
revealed that over 21,000 Central Americans, mostly
children, are prostituted in 1,552 bars and brothels
in Tapachula.
- Chuck Goolsby
Libertad Latina |
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Added June 15, 2008
Ending Global Slavery: Everyday Heroes
Leading the Way
Humanity United and Change-makers, a project of Ashoka
International, are conducting a global online competition
to identify innovative approaches to exposing, confronting
and ending modern-day human slavery.
View the over 200 entries from 45
nations
See especially:
Teresa Ulloa: Agarra la Onda
Chavo", Masculini-dad, Iniciación Sexual y Consumo de la
Prostitución ('Get It Together Young Man: Masculinity,
Sexual Initiation and Consumption of Prostitution).
Equidad Laboral Y La Mujer
Afro-Colombiana
(Labor
Equality and the Afro-Colombian Woman)
Alianza Por Tus
Derechos, Costa Rica:
Our borders: say
no to traffick-ing of persons, specially children
(APTD's
news feed is a major source of Spanish language news
articles translated and posted on
LibertadLatina).
Prevención de la migración
temprana y fortalecimiento de los lazos familiares en apoyo
a las Trabajadoras del Hogar en Ayacucho
(Preventing early migration and re-enforcing families)...
serving women in Quechua and
Spanish in largely Indigenous
Ayacucho, Peru.
LibertadLatina.org contributor Carla
Conde - Freuden-dorff, on her work assisting Dominican women
trafficked to Argentina
Contribute
your comments and questions about competition entries.
- Chuck Goolsby
LibertadLatina
June 15/21/22,
2008
See also:
Added June 15, 2008
The World
Entrepreneur for Society
Bill Drayton discusses the
founding of Ashoka... "Our job is not to give people fish,
it's not to teach them how to fish, it's to build new and
better fishing industries."
- Ashoka Foundation
See also:
Ashoka Peru |
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Mexico
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A woman is paraded
before Johns on Mexico City's San Tomas Street,
where kidnap victims are forced into prostitu-tion
and are 'trained'
(C) NY Times |
The Girls Next
Door
The New York Times'
ground-breaking story on child and youth sex trafficking
from Mexico into the United States
[About Montserrat, a former
child trafficking victim:]
Her cell of sex traffickers
offered three age ranges of sex partners -- toddler to age
4, 5 to 12 and teens -- as well as what she called a ''damage
group.'' ''In the damage group they can hit you
or do anything they wanted...''
- Peter Landesman
New York Times Magazine
January 25, 2004 |
Latin
American Trafficking News Summary
Hurricane Wilma - 2005
Earthquakes and hurricanes...
The impact of natural disasters
on women and children's human rights in the Americas
Video
Roundtable on Trafficking of Women and
Children in the Americas
- Organization
of American States
United States
More than 163,000 Hispanic children... are
reported missing and exploited in the United States every year.
- National Center for Missing &
Exploited Children (NCMEC)
March 22, 2006
Latin America
Beyond Machismo - A Cuban Case Study
"I am a recovering macho, a product of
an oppressive society, a society where gender, race and class
domination do not exist in isolated compart-ments, nor are they
neatly relegated to uniform categories of repression. They are
created in the space where they interact and conflict with each
other, a space I will call machismo."
- Cuban-American
theologian and ethicist
Dr. Miguel de la Torre
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"Familia"
by Salvadoran
artist Zelie Lardé. (1901-1974)
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Who will protect them from impunity?
We
Must! |
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We work for all of the children and women who await our
society's effective and substantial help to escape criminal
sexual exploitation's
utter brutality and impunity!
End
Impunity... Now!
©
2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Charles M.
Goolsby, Jr.
All other
copyrighted materials © the copyright holder.
Copyrighted
materials are presented for non-profit
public
educational 'fair use' purposes only. |
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