Borderland Beat |  |
- Mando Único of Morelos: Organization That Most Violates Human Rights
- Father of Ayotzinapa Normalista honors his son by running in NY marathon
- Member of musical group killed in Sinaloa
- Tombstone filled with 22 kilos of marijuana found in Mexico City Airport
Mando Único of Morelos: Organization That Most Violates Human Rights Posted: 01 Nov 2015 08:57 PM PST  By: José Carlos Moreno | Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat October 8, 2015— Just two days ago in Cuernavaca, the Human Rights Commission of the State of Morelos (CDHEM) stated that the figure of the Mando Único in the state, relentlessly pushed by the state government despite its low popularity- according to a survey during the past two weeks in all the municipalities of Morelos, which yesterday revealed the results indicating that only 1% of respondents approved the continuation of the measure while 99% condemn it, is the body that most violates human rights in the state. (Valor: Mando Único (Single Command) is the unifying of municipal and state forces.) This was expressed by the president of the CDHEM, Lucero Ivonne Benítez Villaseñor, who noted that the Mando Único is the protagonist of most complaints filed by citizens to the institution in charge, which are mostly related to the violation of due process, emphasizing arbitrary arrests, torture during detention, and the fabrication of guilt, and even some police members have complained about money quotas imposed on them by their superiors. The president of the CDHEM delivered a report with all the information to the local congress where it was brought to the Commissioner of Public Security, Jesús Alberto Capella Ibarra, at a conference described by some media as evasive, and even ridiculous at times, because in it the commissioner said that the idea of insecurity in the state is mostly bad “perception” of the citizens, because, according to him, violence has decreased and it takes quite some time for this public perception to be corrected. However, the numbers contradict the version of the report of Commissioner Capella and exposes another reality: in the first eight months of this year, there have been 17 cases of torture (just over two cases per month), while in 2014, the figure for the same type of violation was 12, or an increase of 30% in a few months. It also states that from 2014 to date, complaints from citizens accumulate to a total of 450. It should be recalled that already in the public, some elements of this figure monopoly of authority has shown its procedures with members of the public, including its treatment of students from UAEM (Autonomous University of the State of Morelos) with aiming weapons at them for distributing flyers with political content. The case of a denunciation of the murder of a young student just over a month ago should also be recalled, a sordid case that exposed the misrepresentation of factual information, concealing and holding it, as well as negligence in the investigation process, according to the same denunciation. Journalism and its freedom of expression in the state has also suffered by the Mando Único and its repressive measures, since several cases of journalists from the most contested violation reported in the report, arbitrary detention; 146 incidents were reported in 2014 and 93 so far in 2015 of this particular form of human rights violation by the Mando Único, and to top it off, cases of burglary, theft, unlawful exercise of public function, and injuries. Since it was approved as a proposal during the former administration to the current governor Graco Ramírez, the extent of the Mando Único was questioned, but the PRD member applied it the same, and from January 2013 to date, disapproval has registered and reluctance to approve this figure that is the majority in the state councilors, beginning and openly promoted by Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Municipal President of Cuernavaca by the PRD, who at the time mentioned this: “Unfortunately we are first in crimes. The Mando Único doesn’t work. (If it worked) things wouldn’t be as they are in Cuernavaca. It hurts to know that we are the first in crimes. I find it an injustice that they are going into the homes of the elderly; I find it an injustice that they are robbing people.” Other mayors have said that the hoarding of resources (approximately 400 million at the time) granted in order to run the Mando Único, creates an economic vacuum for the municipalities and that this, combined with the same impairment of the organization, is what causes their rejection of it. Consequently, they have also come to express their fear of reprisals for their position of rejecting the figure, by the aforementioned Security Commissioner, Jesús Alberto Capella Ibarra, because intimidation has existed towards mayors who have not wanted to join the Mando Único. Source: Morelos 3.0  | ||||||
Father of Ayotzinapa Normalista honors his son by running in NY marathon Posted: 01 Nov 2015 04:15 PM PST Lucio R. Borderland Beat   The massive New York marathon kicked off today with one of the 50,000 participants being a heart broken father, running in honor of his son. In 2001, José Antonio Tizapa, left his native state of Guerrero in hopes of making it to the United States to secure a job to support his family. At the time, the father of three was 33 years old when he left to the U.S. without the benefit of documentation. One of his three children, only 5 years old when Jose left Mexico, his son Jorge Antonio Tizapa Legideño. The father says despite the distance from NY where he settled, and Guerrero, he was able to keep in close contact with his son, thanks to the technology of today. Jose was very proud of his son, who he says was studying to become a rural teacher, he was a student teacher, “a normalista”, who a year ago was attempting to decide, if he was going to remain in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero, or transfer to the State of Mexico. Jose recalls that on the night of September 26th, 2014, he sent an electronic message to his son, but received no reply. He says that drew concern as he knew his son was travelling to Mexico City to protest against the lack of funds the schools were promised and never given. Later, his daughter telephoned Jose to tell him of the deadly attack against the normalistas as they
“That’s when I knew something very bad had happened, I felt powerless because I couldn’t do anything about it.” José began his life in New York as a construction helper, who became a plumber and lives in Brooklyn. He proudly points to the relentless determination of his wife Hilda, who, last February, with the support of NGO’s and Non Profit Orgs, was able to travel to the UN Office in Geneva Switzerland. She spoke to the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, asking them to investigate the ex-governor of Guerrero, Ángel Aguirre, and the negligence of the Mexican government in prosecuting the former mayor of Iguala, Jose Luis Abarca, for their role in the killings and disappearance of the 49 on the night of September 26. She and the Guerrero delegation explained how for two years people of Guerrero had traveled to D.F. asking for help of the federal government in the killings and disappearances in Guerrero, and that the feds had directed them back to Guerrero saying “it is a state and municipal problem.” Jose said of the Switzerland trip, “my child’s mother is the one standing tall for justice, the impunity of the powerful is simply incomprehensible”. The father says the last time he had a conversation with his son was on the 23rd. “I like to run, so I sent him some pictures, telling him: Son, I’m going to run this 5-mile section. That was when a marathon coming up,” “I told him: ‘When I’m done, I will send you pictures."
“I want them to bring back my child. Many people say that the kids are dead, but we do not see it this way,” said the anguished father, who pointed out that the students were neither activists or opponents. “The Ayotzinapa school receives few subsidies, that’s what prompted them to put pressure on the government,” he said. The father, has also participated in many demonstrations organized in New York in solidarity with the struggle of his wife Hilda and other Guerrero parents. In the photo at top, Jose is with athlete Miguel Castro, who with Jose organized the “Ayotzinapa 43×43”: a 43-mile run between New Jersey, and New York. “At this finish line, there were no trophies, “said Castro. “It’s was a nameless, silent run that symbolizes México’s pain.” “No parent can endure the pain of months of uncertainty, not knowing what happened to your child, the rage and frustration of living in Mexico, a country of so much injustice”.
The real hero of this story, Jorge’s mother Hilda I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the true and tireless hero of this story, Hilda Ledigeno, mother of Jorge, and the wife left behind to raise three children 14 years ago. It is she who struggled against poverty and racism in Guerrero, a state which I know well and one of the southern states in which people struggle the most, with little help from any level of government. It is far and away from Brooklyn New York.  Perhaps it is unfair to judge, and certainly I have no inside knowledge of the personal story of this family. But I have been up close and personal to dozens of families living the story of dad leaving Guerrero, or Michoacán and travel north for jobs, with a plan of sending money back south to their families, and one day returning to Mexico. And sometimes this does happen. But often the father assimilates to life in the U.S., acquires a new "wife" and family, discontinues sending support and closes the chapter of his life in Mexico. I am not saying that is what has happened in this story. And obviously Jose remains close to his children, but it is what kept nagging at my mind when writing this story. I see Hilda’s humble home with cooking facilities outdoors, and it is Déjà vu for me, having just visited Guerrero and the very cities highlighted in the story of the normalistas. Seeing how many fatherless homes, mothers struggling, working wherever work can be found, for dismal pay, when the money from up north stops. Those “fatherless” sons are not unlike the fatherless children of the U.S. “Idle hands are the devils workshop” as the old proverb says. It is an easy walk to the life of crime for children in these circumstances. Hilda parented well, her children cared about education and making a difference. All the texts, skypes, snapchats in the world never replaces a hands on parent. I will say, at least Jose kept a connection to his children, but he is not the hero of this story, it is all about Hilda.  Some material used in this post was accessed from: reforma, el diario, village voice, voice of ny  | ||||||
Member of musical group killed in Sinaloa Posted: 01 Nov 2015 10:26 AM PST  According to the first police reports, the victim was traveling with his companions from the Tatemas, Sinaloa town when they were intercepted by an armed group. The musical group were allegedly returning from a fifteen year old party. The subjects forced the accordionist out of the car, identified as Marcos Felix Bojorquez, 30, and shot him dead. The assailants forced the rest of the musicians to go on their way and then they left the body of the victim on a breach. According to the newspaper El Debate, at 8:30 am agents of the Municipal Police arrived at the crime scene. The musician's body was located eight kilometers from Sinaloa de Leyva, on a dirt road, face up and at first sight at least nine bullet wounds can be seen in the chest. The newspaper reported that next to the musician's hat on his right hand next to his had a was a rope with which he was tied, to stop any resistance. Bojorquez was wearing a red uniform, black boots and hat. The experts also located six R-15 rifle shells and three AK-47. The body was taken by a funeral home and transferred to Guasave where he underwent the necropsy. This article was translated from Proceso | ||||||
Tombstone filled with 22 kilos of marijuana found in Mexico City Airport Posted: 01 Nov 2015 09:48 AM PST  The tombstone, stored in a wooden box came from Zapopan, Jalisco, and had as the recipient an address in the United States. On the tombstone the written words were "In loving memory Pedro Huerta. To live in the hearts of Those we love is never to die ". Additionally, the dates of birth June / 15/1945 and died February / 04/2015 Pedro Huerta appear. Inside the box detected by the dog, federal agents found a black plastic package containing more than 22 kilograms of marijuana. The tombstone and the drug were made available to the prosecutor of the Mexican city. This article was translated from Proceso |
