Mexico saw a 22% increase in homicide cases, rising from 17,034 in 2015 to 20,789 in 2016. However, individual homicide cases can contain more than one victim, and data released by the government showed that the number of homicide victims jumped 22.8%, from 18,673 in 2015 to 22,932 last year. This increasing rate has given the government a great concern which has made it to boost its security sector lately.
In addition, this year has seen an unprecedented uptick in violence, with federal statistics showing nearly 2,000 people killed in the first month of 2017. Despite the government’s effort in curbing the act of killing, the figure seems to be on the increase.
Recently, a Mexican businesswoman who headed a group of about 600 families searching for their disappeared relatives has been killed. It was reported that she was really active in making sure that whoever is involved in the act is duely punished. “She was a great leader” a member said.
It was reported that Miriam RodrÃguez MartÃnez was shot in her home in the town of San Fernando in Tamaulipas state. Her death was a shock for everyone around as she was seen hale and hearty a day before. She was known for successfully investigating the kidnap and murder of her daughter by a local drug cartel, the Zetas. However, the information she gave the police ensured the gang members were jailed. Most people around believed that her death was definitely from the murderers of her daughter while some feel it could be from another source.
It was confirmed by one of her friends that one of the suspects escaped in March and her colleagues said she started to receive threats since then. She was killed on Mexico’s mother’s day, 10 May.
She was said to have reported the threat case to the state security but was ignored. Contrary to this, state prosecutor Irving Barrios told a news conference that security needs had been met and police officers made rounds three times a day. Her family disputes this. In reaction, the Mexican human rights commission issued a statement saying it deplored her murder and called for a full investigation.
In addition, the UN in Mexico tweeted its condemnation of the murder:
“Mrs RodrÃguez founded the local group for families who were victims of violence after her daughter, Karen Alejandra, was kidnapped in 2012. She had managed to find her daughter’s body in a clandestine grave and put her murderers in jail. She also foiled an attempted kidnapping by the Zetas of her husband, when she chased the gang in her car, at the same time notifying the army who then managed to arrest them. Her death is really touching.”
According to one of her fellow campaigners:
“Mrs RodrÃguez felt she could not sit back after her daughter’s killers were caught. Bodies of nine men and two women turned up one morning this week on the outskirts of Veracruz, a major port city on Mexico’s Gulf coast. Nude or partially clothed and bound at the ankles, the corpses showed the scars of torture and were accompanied by a sign: ‘You want a war, you’ll get a war.'”
The death of this courageous woman has created tension in the community. People are worried and feel insecure. The government and some human right organisations have promised to seriously look into the matter. ” Thorough investigation will be carried out and whoever is involved will be punished ” they assured.
