In September, LAWG and other partners hosted Mexico's Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity for their 3-day stop in Washington, D.C. In D.C. the Caravan was a success thanks to your support and that of the greater D.C. community. Watch this slideshow to learn more about how they spent their time in D.C.
Since August 12, 2012, Mexico's 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. The caravaneros are 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.
Join us on Wednesday, September 12th in the House of Representatives, Rayburn 2226 from 12-1:30 p.m. as U.S. Caravan Riders Tell their Stories. Join LAWG's Executive Director, Lisa Haugaard, and the caravaneros as they brief Congress demanding new policies that will Foster peace, justice and human dignity on both sides of the border.
For the past couple of months, LAWG and other organizations have been organizing a series of events for the Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity's final stop in Washington, D.C. from Monday, September 10th - Wednesday, September 12t. If you are in the D.C. area please join us for these unique series of events.
On Monday, September 10th, the Caravan will arrive to Washington, DC, 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.
If you live in or near D.C. we hope you can join us for this and other Caravan events. Don’t live in DC, but know someone who does? Do your part by spreading the word.
Here’s the full list of events. Please join us – and spread the word!
6:00-7:30pm U.S. Guns and Violence in Mexico: A Bi-national Call for Solutions Sponsored by LAWG, the Washington Office on Latin America, and the Elliot School of International Affairs at George Washington University 1957 E Street Northwest Lindner Family Commons To RSVP, please click here.
Wednesday, September 12th 5:30- 9pm Vigil and Procession for Peace 5:30- Welcome at St. Stephen & the Incarnation Episcopal Church (1525 Newton St. NW) 6:30-Procession begins from St. Stephen’s down 16th St. towards Meridian Hill Park/Malcolm X Park 7:30-9-Music & Caravan Closing (16th St. & Euclid St.)
We still need help setting and cleaning up for breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, not to mention marshalls to help direct people for the rally on Monday and Vigil on Wednesday night. Email Ruth Robles at
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if you’d like to help!
Can’t make it to anything, but wish you could? We’ve got you covered. We understand life gets in the way sometimes so stay tuned for pictures from the Caravan’s stop in DC. Click here to check out the Caravan’s photo stream!
Sergio Aguayo Professor, Center for International Studies, El Colegio de Mexico (Mexico City)
Tom Diaz Senior Policy Analyst, Violence Policy Center
(Speaker from the Caravan for Peace, TBD)
Lindner Family Commons Elliott School of International Affairs George Washington University 1957 E Street Northwest Tuesday, September 11, 2012 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
For more information, please contact Clay Boggs at
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Countless families across Mexico have been devastated by drug-related violence, with an estimated 60,000 drug-related deaths since Mexican President Felipe Calderón took office in 2006. In 2011, the son of Mexican poet Javier Sicilia was found murdered, presumably by organized crime gunmen. Out of this grief, a peace movement in Mexico has emerged. This influential movement has mobilized and united thousands across Mexico to call for an end to the violence, joining in cross-country marches, holding vigils and processions, and engaging in dialogue with Mexico’s highest political leaders.
On August 12, 2012, over 100 members of the Peace Movement crossed the border from Tijuana to San Diego to start a month-long caravan across the United States to raise awareness about violence in Mexico and to engage in dialogue with victims of violence in the United States.
The Peace Movement has identified U.S. arms trafficking to Mexico as a critical bi-national issue. According to the ATF, 70 percent of guns recovered by Mexican authorities and submitted for tracing in the past three years are of U.S. origin. The United States must do its part to stop the massive flow of weapons across its borders. If powerful assault weapons are readily available close to the border, they will continue to make their way into the hands of criminal groups.
Please join us for this timely and important discussion about the violence in Mexico, arms trafficking from the United States, and the role of the Peace Movement in a bi-national campaign to stem the flow of arms across the border.
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.
Mexico’s Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (MPJD), led by Mexican poet Javier Sicilia, will tour the United States this summer in a Caravan for Peace (#CaravanaUSA). The Caravan will travel more than 6,000 miles to more than 25 cities, starting on Sunday, August 12th in San Diego and ending in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, September 12th.
The MPJD was born out of a father’s grief over his son’s death and a country’s pain for the 50,000 to 71,000 dead, 10,000 disappeared, and the thousands more displaced by President Calderon’s “war on drugs” which began in December 2006. In Mexico, the MPJD serves as a platform for victims of violence to share their stories and demand an end to this failed offensive against organized crime that has left a "trail of death, pain, and corruption in its path." Last year, the MPJD launched two similar caravans to the North and South of Mexico, where victims we able to express the consequences of the "drug war" in their own voices.
Javier Sicilia and the MPJD hope the Caravan will spark a bi-national dialogue, in which victims on both sides of the border can share their collective pain and search for common solutions towards a much-needed peace. Through this dialogue, the Caravan hopes to “inspire U.S. civil society to stem the flow of illegal weapons into Mexico, to support humane and health-oriented alternatives to drug prohibition, and to demand more effective, non-violent security strategies.”
Want to get involved? Fill out this volunteer form or send an email to
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