Promote Justice for Mexico and the Borderlands

Since 1994 the brutal murders of hundreds of women and girls in Ciudad Juárez and the city of Chihuahua in northern Mexico have been met with impunity.  Despite loud and persistent outcry from family members and human rights advocates across Mexico and around the world, authorities have consistently failed to adequately investigate, prosecute and prevent the murder and disappearances of countless women and girls.

In just two days, President Obama will embark on his first official trip to Latin America as he travels to Mexico following a string of visits from high-level U.S. officials in recent weeks.  Comments made by visiting U.S. officials mark a shift in the U.S. stance towards Mexico’s challenges with drug cartels - a shift that indicates the Obama Administration’s willingness to recognize U.S. responsibility for spiraling violence in Mexico.  This sentiment was clearly expressed by Secretary of State Clinton when she said, “Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade…Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians.”