The woman was part of a bigger movement of parents that devote their time to research missing people. When she found out the remains of her daughter, who was kidnapped in 2012, in the city of San Fernando, she launched her own investigations that led to the arrests of several members of the drug cartel Los Zetas, one of the most violent in the region. Because of her involvement with the foundation of a non-governmental organisation which organized more than 600 parents looking for their disappeared children, she was shot by a gunman who broke into her house.
Recently her daughter’s killers succeeded in escaping from prison, which is the reason why Mrs. Rodriguez asked for more protection from the local authorities. They replied with the increase of police surveillance through extra police patrols. However, this was not enough to prevent the cruel act of her murder.
As reported by official data, the number of people who disappeared in the country under suspicious circumstances last year is about 30,000 people. Moreover, the city of San Fernando belongs to the violent state of Tamaulipas, where more than 5,000 people “disappeared” only the previous year (2016). Even more disconcerting, 100,000 died the last decade in Mexico in drug-related crimes and violence. The non-governmental organization, Amnesty International, stated that this event demonstrates how the political and local authorities are not able to protect the citizens who stand up against the violations of human rights and want to fight against the Latin plague of the so-called Desaparecidos.
For more information, please visit:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/12/world/americas/mexico-mother-activist-murdered-daughter-tamaulipas.html?_r=0
http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2017/05/11/mexico/1494518780_900906.html
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/05/mexico-asesinato-de-activista-en-tamaulipas-pone-de-manifiesto-la-negligencia-del-gobierno/
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2017/05/why-we-need-to-stand-up-for-the-brave-now-more-than-ever/
