LAWG Blog - Latin America Working Group

Mexico's Peace Caravan Needs YOU in DC

by Ruth Isabel Robles on September 09, 2012

Over the past month, the Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity has traveled 6,000 miles across the United States calling for the U.S to do its part to stop violence in Mexico. From LA to Chicago, Houston to Cleveland, caravaneros have reached 25 cities calling for an end to the failed drug war that has left over 60,000 dead and 10,000 disappeared in Mexico over the last five years.

On Monday, September 10th, the Caravan will arrive to Washington, D.C., the final stop of the Caravan. Poet and movement leader Javier Sicilia and victims who have lost loved ones to violence in Mexico will be here to make their voices heard in our nation’s capital – and we ask you to JOIN US and add your voice in calling for an end to the failed policies, an end to bloodshed.

On Wednesday, September 12th, LAWG and partners are organizing a Vigil/Procession for Peace to commemorate the 60,000 people who have died in Mexico’s misguided “war on drugs.” We will gather at 5:30 p.m. at St. Stephen & the Incarnation Church—1525 Newton St. NW Washington, D.C. At 6:30pm, we’ll march down 16th Street to Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park for a candlelight vigil.

Will you join us on Wednesday, September 12th to make a statement alongside victims of violence from Mexico?

:2012, Action Alerts, Promote Justice for Mexico and the Borderlands

Tell President Obama: the U.S. Border Patrol is Out of Control

by Ruth Isabel Robles on August 03, 2012

“… treat them (migrants) like human beings because they are not animals,” responded a nurse in Nogales, Arizona, when asked what she would say to the U.S. Border Patrol.

Did you catch it? Last week, PBS aired Part 2 of their investigation into allegations of abuse by the U.S. Border Patrol, including sexual assault, physical abuse, and even torture. In response, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) remarked, “The PBS report paints an appalling picture of cruelty and corruption.”

:2012, Action Alerts, Promote Justice for Mexico and the Borderlands

Help Out with Mexico's Caravan for Peace

by Ruth Isabel Robles on July 23, 2012

Estamos hasta la madre -- it means, “we’ve had enough.”

Last year, Javier Sicilia experienced a parent’s worst nightmare: his 24-year-old son, Juan Francisco, was murdered in Mexico’s deadly “drug war,” one of 60,000 men, women and children to fall victim to brutal violence in the past six years.

:2012, Action Alerts, Mexico, Promote Justice for Mexico and the Borderlands, Resources for Activists, Ruth Isabel Robles, U.S.-Mexico Border

Hillary Clinton: tell the truth about human rights abuses in Mexico

by Ben Leiter on June 20, 2012

You may not know who Israel Arzate Meléndez is, but we think you should hear his story.

In February 2010, Israel was picked up by Mexican soldiers in Ciudad Juarez. Sounds terrifying, right? Well, it gets worse. He was then taken to a military base where he was beaten, given electric shocks, and suffocated repeatedly until he finally gave in and confessed to a crime he didn’t commit. No one seemed to mind that it was a false confession, only offered to make the torture stop.

:2012, Action Alerts, Promote Justice for Mexico and the Borderlands

Public Pressure on Border Patrol Intensifies

by Ben Leiter on June 06, 2012

Anastasio Hernandez was a 42-year old construction worker, husband, father of five children, and a long-time resident of San Diego, CA. That’s before he was captured by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents and, instead of being deported, was brutally beaten and tased to death.

:2012, Action Alerts