Promote Justice for Mexico and the Borderlands

Across the nation, SB 1070 has arguably become one of the most notorious bill numbers in recent history (certainly among state legislation). Mere mention of this bill number has become synonymous with threats of racial profiling, counterproductive “attrition through enforcement” approaches, and criminalization of “driving while Latino” – a sad political commentary for a SW border state with strong historic, cultural and economic ties to neighboring Mexico.

Run, don’t walk, to your computer to check out Presumed Guilty (Presunto Culpable in Spanish), an incredibly powerful and insightful documentary on the injustices in Mexico’s criminal justice system.  You can see the film in its entirety on the PBS/Point of View website through August 4th.  To watch it online, click here.

In their work to promote and defend indigenous peoples’ rights in the Costa Chica region of Mexico, a highly militarized zone in the state of Guerrero, members of the Me’phaa Indigenous People’s Organization (OPIM) and their partner organizations have had to overcome repeated harassment, threats, and even murders of leading members. Now add imprisonments and baseless prosecutions by the government to that list.

In April 2008, Raúl Hernández and four fellow OPIM members were arbitrarily arrested and charged with the murder of a suspected army informant—a murder which Mr. Hernández did not commit. The other four human rights defenders were released due to lack of evidence.  But even though the only witness that directly identified Mr. Hernández as having taken part in the murder was found to have lied, he has remained in prison for over two years.  

Just days ago, Sergio Adrián Hernandez Güereca, a 15-year-old from Ciudad Juárez, was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent on the banks of the Rio Grande, not far from downtown El Paso.   The fatal shooting of this teen came on the heels of the death of Anastasio Hernandez Rojas, a longtime San Diego area resident and father of five U.S.-born children, who died from injuries suffered when Border Patrol and other federal officers responded with a baton and taser gun when he resisted deportation. His death has been ruled a homicide by the San Diego coroner’s office.  LAWG extends our condolences to both families.