Town shows Mexican courage, now at risk
Citizens of a town in Puebla state helped migrants to escape from a gang. The citizens may now face retaliation.
by Amnesty International, 24 October 2008
MEXICO
Residents of the town of Rafael Lara Grajales, in the central state of Puebla, gave assistance to a group of Central American migrants escaping from a gang holding them for ransom. The migrants told them that the gang were working with Rafael Lara Grajales municipal police officers. Residents may now face reprisals.
According to eyewitnesses, on the morning of 12 October, about 60 people from Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua who had been kidnapped while trying to travel to the US, escaped from a house where the kidnappers were torturing them to secure ransom payments from their relatives in the US and their home countries. Residents saw them running down the streets, some of them naked and bleeding, and gave them first aid, clothes and food. When they suggested calling the police, the migrants told them that members of the municipal police had been working with the kidnappers.
Accompanied by a growing crowd of residents, the migrants pointed out four members of the gang. Residents detained them and took them to the town hall, but the municipal authorities refused to provide assistance in identifying other members of the gang. By now over half the migrants had fled, but agents of the local State Public Prosecutor’s office detained all the migrants who were still present. When officials tried to force the migrants and the kidnappers onto a bus without number plates, driven by a civilian, residents protested, thinking the migrants might be given back to the kidnappers, and prevented them from being removed before federal migration authorities arrived. Some of the crowd, which had grown to more than 1,000, clashed with police: a police car and two motorbikes were set on fire, and municipal offices were damaged. Some 300 state riot police dispersed the crowd with tear gas and batons. Later that day, residents delivered the migrants directly to federal migration authorities, and the four kidnappers were handed over to the Federal Attorney General’s Office.
Two hours later, state police arrested eight people, including two teenage boys, and charged them with “rioting” (motín) and “damage to property.” The first charge was dropped before they were committed for trial by a state judge. According to sources in the town, the eight were prevented from seeing lawyers or their families for several days. The authorities have issued warrants for the arrest of 18 local residents for their supposed involvement in the clashes. Many local residents believe these are intended to deter opposition to the actions of the municipal government and police. The municipal police implicated in the activities of the kidnappers are under investigation but have not been suspended, and at least six of the kidnappers are still at large. The National Human Rights Commission has opened an investigation into the abuses against the migrants.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Hundreds of thousands of people attempt to travel through Mexico from central and South America every year to reach the US. Many are detained by the Mexican migration authorities and returned to their countries of origin. Amnesty International recently visited Mexico to investigate reports of human rights violations against these people. They found that many had been kidnapped by gangs, often collaborating with local officials. These gangs and the corrupt officials are almost never brought to justice and people who file complaints against them may face reprisals and fabricated criminal charges. This impunity has allowed abuses against the migrants, who are extremely vulnerable, to increase since about 2003, despite government commitments to ensure respect of migrants’ rights.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible
- calling on the authorities to protect the people who assisted migrants fleeing from kidnappers on 12 October in Rafael Lara Grajales municipality, Puebla State;
- calling on the authorities to ensure that all those arrested in Rafael Lara Grajales receive due process and a fair trial, and to ensure that no residents are subject to fabricated criminal charges in reprisal for their humanitarian efforts to assist migrants;
- urging the Federal Attorney General’s Office to investigate allegations that municipal police were involved in the kidnapping of irregular migrants in Rafael Lara Grajales municipality, and ensure the kidnappers are brought to justice;
- calling on the authorities to provide the migrants, who were kidnapped, beaten and subjected to extortion, with temporary visas, so they can testify against those responsible without fear of reprisals or repatriation.
APPEALS TO:
Attorney General of the Republic:
Lic. Eduardo Medina-Mora Icaza
Procuraduría General de la República
Av. Paseo de la Reforma nº 211-213, Piso 16
Col. Cuauhtémoc, Del. Cuauhtémoc
México D.F., C.P. 06500, MEXICO
Fax: 011 52 55 53 46 0908
Salutation: Señor Procurador General / Dear Attorney General
Governor of Puebla State:
Lic. Mario Marín Torres
Gobernador del Estado de Puebla
Palacio de Gobierno
Av. Reforma 711 Altos Col. Centro
Puebla 72009m MEXICO
Fax: 011 52 22 46 02 71
Salutation: Señor Gobernador / Dear Governor
Attorney General of Puebla State:
Lic. Blanca Laura Villeda Martínez
Procuradora del Estado de Puebla
Blvd. 5 de Mayo y 31 Oriente
Col. Ladrillera de Benítez
Puebla 75539, MEXICO
Fax: 011 52 22 372 867
Salutation: Señora Procuradora / Dear Attorney General
Official with national responsibility for migrants:
Lic. Cecilia Romero Castillo
Comisionada del Instituto Nacional de Migración
Calle Homero 1832, Col. Los Morales
Del. Miguel Hidalgo
México D.F., C.P. 11510, MEXICO
Fax: 011 52 55 5557 9865
Salutation: Señora Comisionada / Dear Commissioner
COPIES TO:
His Excellency Emilio Goicoechea Luna
Ambassador for Mexico
45 O’Connor Street, Suites 1000 & 1030
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1A4
Fax: (613) 235-9123
E-mail: info@embamexcan.com
Thank you.
Urgent Action Office
Amnesty International Canada
14 Dundonald Street
Toronto ON M4Y 1K2
www.amnesty.ca/urgentaction
(416) 363 9933 ext 25
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.