Title: The Murders of Juarez, Mexico
1- The Murders of Juarez, Mexico
- Alien Tort Claims Act
- Justice denied anywhere diminishes justice
everywhere. - Martin Luther King Jr.
- Amber Jacobs Elizabeth Thorson
- Brianne Minarsich Gonzalo Vazquez
- Carriena Mullen
2Introduction
- Women have been brutally murdered for more than
thirteen years and the mothers of the victims do
not see any justice in sight. - The El Paso Times claims that there are "nearly
340" victims since 1993.1 There have been
arrests made, however the body count is still
increasing. - The Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) states District
courts shall have original jurisdiction of any
civil action by an alien for a tort only,
committed in violation of the law of nations or a
treaty of the United States.2
3Facts of the Case
- Since 1993, more than 500 women and girls have
been murdered or disappeared in Ciudad Juarez and
Chihuahua City. - The victims fit a certain profile slender, poor,
and young with dark hair. 3 - It has been repeatedly reported by Amnesty
International and other Human Rights watch groups
that the investigations have been botched,
evidence has been falsified and the police
officials have failed to preserve vital evidence.
4Plaintiffs
Juana Sandoval Reyna and Esmeralda Juarez
Alarcon
Gloria Rivas
Neyra Azucena Cervantes
Paula Flores, mother of Sagrario Gonzales Flores
Consuelo Valenzuela, mother of Julieta Marleng
Gonzalez Valenzuela
Mother of Erika Ivon Ruiz Zabala
Esther Luna, mother ofBrenda Alfaro Luna
5" ....We went to her workplace, we went to see
her friends, we went to see her clients. On
Monday I went to the Special Prosecutor's office
and they couldn't find the report Id lodged. We
went out searching every day and we said to other
mothers and relatives of missing persons, what
are we going to do? ... We went to the Special
Prosecutor's office, then to the Office for the
Care of Victims and all those places ... after
a while they changed the Special Prosecutor. We
went there time and time again. But the case
stayed stuck there. They said there were no lines
of enquiry, it went from one prosecutor to
another, but no investigation was carried out and
they didn't do a search for her either.We went
to see the Public Prosecutor, I asked him why
they hadn't carried out a search for her, why
they hadn't pursued the investigations and he
said there were no lines of enquiry but I told
him there were. I told him you have the names of
the people, why don't you call them in to make
statements? They replied that they had already
followed up with everyone. They told me that just
to make out they were doing something but they
were doing nothing. We went to Chihuahua, we
asked for copies of the file, there we saw that
there had been no movement in the proceedings for
four and a half years and that they had not
searched for Silvia ....We went to see the
governor, I told him what was going on, I asked
him why, if those were the men who did it, there
was no right to punish them, he told me don't
worry, we're going to get them, we're going to
see that justice is done. Next time we went to
see him, he asked us why we were asking him for
justice and said we should be asking the
previous governor, that's what he told us ..."
Evangelina Arce, mother of Silvia Arce who went
missing on 12 March 1998
Testimony from the Mother of Silvia Arce
6Defendants
-
- Suly Ponce Prieto 1998 - resigned March 1, 2002.
- When an FBI leak revealed witness testimony
linking Lilia Garcia's killers to drug dealers,
Suly Ponce dismissed it, calling it erroneous.
She instead blamed workers in a circus across the
street from the strip mall where Garcia was last
seen. When circus managers claimed that Ponce
offered them money to blame co-workers, she
dropped the investigation. Garcia and Gonzalez's
murders are rumored to be the work of a serial
killer with possible ties to drug dealers. Yet
Garcia was found with marks on her wrists that,
according to local forensics experts, were
identical to those made by police handcuffs. - Guillermo Prieto Quintana Former Chief of
Police - Attorney Arturo Gonzalez Rascon State Prosecutor
before 1999, District Attorney general in 2001. - When Attorney General Rascon accused the two bus
drivers of the cotton field murders in November
2001, Izaguirre hosted the drivers' wives on her
show. After that interview, advertisements began
appearing in local newspapers smearing Izaguirre
with claims that Esmeralda Juarez Alarcon she
frequented strip clubs and was romantically
involved with one of the bus drivers. News media
on both sides of the border have reported that
the receipt for the ad was signed by government
officials who paid for it. - Jose Reyes Baeza Terrazas Governor
- Patricio Martinez Prior Governor
- When I want an issue not to be resolved, I
entrust it to a committee. - Napoleon Bonaparte
7The Sosa Test
- The actionable violations of international law
must be of a norm that is specific, universal,
and obligatory.(4) - In Doe I v. Unocal Corp. the court stated we
have recognized that torture, murder, and slavery
are jus cogens violations and, thus, violations
of the law of nations. Rape can be a form of
torture. - Finally, the court held that in order to qualify
as a crime against humanity both rape and sexual
violence must be committed widely or
systematically against a civilian
population...(5) - The numbers of rapes involved in the murders, of
the women of Juarez, can be considered widespread
and a crime against humanity.
8Acquiescence
- Torture is defined by the CAT as being
- Any act by which severe pain or suffering,
whether physical or mental, is intentionally
inflicted on a person for such purposes as
obtaining from him or a third person information
or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a
third person has committed or is suspected of
having committed, or intimidating or coercing him
or a third person, for any reason based on
discrimination of any kind, when such pain or
suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation
or with the consent or acquiescence of a public
official or other person acting in an official
capacity. 8 C.F.R. 208.18 (a)(1).
9Acquiescence Continued
- Acquiescence is well established in both Domestic
and International Law - International Law
- Asylum Cases
- Domestic Law
- Zheng v. Ashcroft
- Bullies v. Nye
- Khouzam v. Ashcroft
10Zheng v. Ashcroft
- Court concluded that the BIAs interpretation of
acquiescence to require that government officials
are willfully accepting of torture to their
citizens by a third party is contrary to clearly
expressed congressional intent to require only
awareness and not actually knowledge or willful
acceptance in the definition of acquiescence - The Court cited Ontunez-Turious v. Ashcroft,
which held that willful blindness suffices to
prove acquiescence
11Willful Acceptance v. Willful Blindness
- Willful Acceptance is a thing of the past.
- Bullies v. Nye
- acquiescence must be more than the awareness by
government officials of torture and their
inability to prevent it they must willfully
accept it, or at least turn a blind eye - Khouzam v. Ashcroft
- The Court cited Zheng, which again held that
willful acceptance of acquiescence is no longer
the standard to abide by, but rather, willful
blindness.
12Application to Juarez.
- Acquiescence is applicable to the case at hand
- The defendants did have awareness of the
activities taking place in Juarez by attempting
to investigate however, these did not involve
full fresh investigations, with the
re-interviewing of witnesses or gathering other
new evidence. - Therefore, the defendants remained willfully
blind to women being tortured in Juarez.
13Color of Law
- The color of state law can be defined as a
"misuse of power, possessed by virtue of state
law and made possible only because the wrongdoer
is clothed with the authority of state law, is
action taken under color of' state law."6 - Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that alien
plaintiffs may sue Bosnian-Serb leader Radovan
Karadzic in a United States Appellants'
allegations that Karadzic personally planned and
ordered a campaign of murder, rape, forced
impregnation, and other forms of torture designed
to destroy the religious and ethnic groups of
Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats clearly state
a violation of the international law norm
proscribing genocide, regardless of whether
Karadzic acted under color of law or as a private
individual. - Further, the court held that an individual could
be held liable for such acts regardless of
whether he was acting under color of law if such
acts were committed in the course of genocide
and/or war crimes.
14Legal Hurdles
- Statute of limitations
- The Torture Victims Protection Act of 1991
provides that "no action shall be maintained
under this section unless it is commenced within
ten 6 (10) years after the cause of action
arose." 28 U.S.C. 1350 (note).
15Statute of Limitations Cont
- We overcame the Statute of Limitations hurdle by
choosing Plaintiffs and Defendants who meet the
ten year requirement.
16Statute of Limitations Cont.
- For cases after the ten year limit, the Statute
of Limitations hurdle can be overcome by
equitable tolling. - the doctrine of equitable tolling should apply
"where extraordinary circumstances outside
plaintiff's control make it impossible for
plaintiff to timely assert his claim." Forti v.
Suarez-Mason, 672 F. Supp. 1531, 1549 (N.D. Cal.
1987). - The victims families could not bring their claims
in a timely manner because of the lack of
response from the government of Ciudad Juarez and
the state of Chihuahua.
17Equitable Tolling
- The Sixth Circuit has identified five-factors to
consider when determining whether to apply
equitable tolling, - 1) lack of notice of the filing requirement
- 2) lack of constructive knowledge of the filing
requirement - 3) diligence in pursuing one's rights
- 4) absence of prejudice to the defendant
- 5) the plaintiff's reasonableness in remaining
ignorant of the particular legal requirement(7).
18Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act
- Statute under U.S. law that sets the limits of
how a foreign government may be sued in U.S.
civil courts. - Since torture and genocide cannot, under any
circumstance, be recognized as lawful or official
acts, immunity cannot be applied to anyone who
commits acts of torture and genocide regardless
of their official status.(8) - We have overcome this hurdle because the
defendants are not the Head of the State and they
are not diplomats, therefore they are not immune
to civil suit under the ATCA.
19Legal Hurdle
- The CAT definition of torture states that such
pain or suffering has to be inflicted by or at
the instigation of or with the consent or
acquiescence of a public official or other person
acting in an official capacity. - However, case precedent allows an alien to bring
a case against a public official under the ATCA
when the public official participates in willful
blindness of the torturous act.(9) - Willful blindness is knowing that an act is
occurring and turning a blind eye.
20Torture Definition Cont
- It is obvious that the Mexican governmental
officials know about the murders due to the fact
that the they have conducted investigations (or
should we say skimming the surface) of these
murders. - A 2004 CNN article discusses the first time the
crime scene was preserved by the Mexican
government (and this sight was only preserved due
to the presence of federal authorities).10 - Thus, the government officials have known and
continue to know about these murders but have
done nothing to prevent or completely investigate
the murders until 2004.
21Torture Definition Cont
- The government may now claim that they are
powerless to stop these torturous acts. Some of
these reasons may include the police being
untrained or lacking the funds to prevent the
crimes. - However, there have been no indications of the
government implementing any training programs nor
is there a lack of funds in the government. The
money that should be funding these programs and
investigations is actually going into the pockets
of the government officials and drug dealers due
to the governments corruption.11 - Therefore, the government has no argument of
being powerless to stop these torturous acts.
22Conclusion
- We believe that there is an excellent likelihood
of winning this case. We would bring the case to
trial in the 9th circuit and ask that Attorney,
Paul Hoffman, argue this case. The 9th circuit
has continually demonstrated a liberal
interpretation of the ATCA and Paul Hoffman is an
authority on ATCA cases. Also, we would be able
to use the jurys emotions by showing the
unlimited number of women that have been murdered
under the governments watchful eye. Therefore,
by Paul Hoffman arguing an emotional case in the
9th circuit, along with our solid argument of the
Juarez Murders and case law, we believe that we
will prevail.
23The dead cannot cry out for justice it is a
duty of the living to do so for them. Lois
McMaster Bujold
Women Murdered
- 1. Adriana Martínez Martínez2. Adriana Saucedo
Juárez 3. Adriana Torres Márquez 4. Aída Carrillo
5. Alejandra Viescas Castro 6. Alicia Herrera 7.
Alma García 8. Alma Mireya Chavira (o Chavarría)
Fávila 9. Alma P. o Leticia Palafox Z. 10. Amalia
Saucedo Díaz de León 11. Amelia Lucio Borja 12.
Amparo Guzmán Caixba 13. Ana Gil Bravo 14. Ana
Hipólito Campos 15. Ana Ma. Gardea Villalobos 16.
Apolonia Fierro P. 17. Araceli Gómez Martínez 18.
Araceli Lozano Bolaños 19. Araceli R. Martínez
Montañés 20. Aracely Esmeralda Martínez 21.
Aracely Gallardo Rodríguez 22. Aracely Manríquez
Gómez 23. Aracely Núñez Santos 24. Argelia Irene
Salazar Crispín 25. Bárbara Araceli Martínez
Ramos 26. Bertha Luz Briones 27. Blanca Estela
Velázquez Valenzuela28. Blanca Yadira Nuñez29.
Brenda Alfaro Luna 30. Brenda Berenice Delgado
Rodríguez31. Brenda Herrera 32. Brenda Lizeth
Nájera Flores 33. Brenda Patricia Méndez Vásquez
34. Brisa Narváez Santos 35. Carolina Carrera 36.
Cecilia Sáenz Parra 37. Celia Guadalupe Gómez de
la Cruz 38. Cynthia Rocío Acosta Alvarado 39.
Clara Hernández Martínez 40. Clara Zapata Zepeda
Álvarez 41. Claudia Ivette González 42. Claudia
Ramos López 43. Cristina Quezada Mauricio 44.
Cynthia Portillo de González 45. Dalia Maribel
Prieto 46. Deisy Salcido Rueda 47. Domitila
Trujillo Posadas 48. Donna Maurine Striplin Boggs
49. Dora Alicia Martínez Mendoza 50. Elba
Reséndiz Rodríguez 51. Elba Verónica Olivas 52.
Elena García Alvarado 53. Elena Salcido Meraz 54.
Elsa Rivera Rodríguez 55. Elizabeth Castro García
56. Elizabeth Flores Sánchez 57. Elizabeth Gómez
58. Elizabeth Martínez Rodríguez 59. Elizabeth
Ramos 60. Elizabeth Robles Gómez 61. Elizabeth
Soto Flores 62. Elodia Payán Núñez 63. Elsa
América Arrequín Mendoza 64. Elva Hernández
Martínez 65. Elvira Carrillo de la Fuente 66.
Emilia García Hernández 67. Eréndira Buendía
Muñoz 68. Eréndira Ivonne Ponce Hernández 69.
Erica García Moreno 70. Erika Ivonne Ruiz Zavala
71. Erika Pérez72. Esmeralda Juárez Alarcón 73.
Esmeralda Leyva Rodríguez 74. Esmeralda Urías
Sáenz 75. Estefanía Corral González 76. Eugenia
Martínez Poo 77. Fabiola Zamudio 78. Fátima
Vanessa Flores Díaz 79. Flor Idalia Márquez 80.
Francisca Epigmenia Hernández 81. Francisca
Lucero Gallardo 82. Francisca Sánchez Gutiérrez
83. Gabriela Bueno Hernández 84. Gabriela
Domínguez Aguilar 85. Gabriela Edith Márquez
Calvillo 86. Gladys Janeth Fierro Vargas 87.
Gladys Lizeth Ramos Esc 88. Gloria Betances
Rodríguez89. Gloria Elena Escobedo Piña 90.
Gloria Escalante Rodríguez 91. Gloria Olivas
Morales 92. Gloria Rivas Martínez 93. Graciela
García Primero 94. Guadalupe Ivonne Estrada Salas
95. Guadalupe Luna de la Rosa 96. Guadalupe
Verónica Castro Pando 97. Guillermina Hernández
Chávez 98. Hester Van Nierop 99. Hilda Fierro
Olivas 100. Hilda Rodríguez Núñez 101. Ignacia
Morales Soto 102. Inés Silvia Merchant 103. Irene
Castillo 104. Irma Angélica Rosales Lozano 105.
Irma Arellano Castillo 106. Irma Márquez 107.
Irma Rebeca Fuentes 108. Irma Valdez Sánchez 109.
Jacqueline Cristina Sánchez Hernández 110.
Jessica Lizalde León 111. Jessica Martínez
Morales 112. Juana González Piñón 113. Juana
Iñiguez Mares 114. Juana Sandoval Reyna115. Julia
Luna Vera 116. Julieta Enríquez González 117.
Karina Ávila Ochoa 118. Karina Daniela Gutiérrez
119. Karina Candelaria Ramos González120. Karina
Soto Cruz 121. Laura Alondra Márquez 122. Laura
Ana Inere 123. Laura Berenice Ramos Monárrez 124.
Laura Georgina Vargas 125. Laura Lourdes Cordero
García 126. Leticia Armendáriz Chavira127.
Leticia Caldera Arvídez128. Leticia de la Cruz
Bañuelos129. Leticia García Rosales130. Leticia
Quintero Moreno131. Leticia Reyes Benítez132.
Leticia Vargas Flores133. Lilia Alejandra García
Andrade 134. Liliana Frayre Bustillos135. Liliana
Hodging de Santiago136. Linda Ramos Sandoval137.
Lorenza Isela González Alamillo138. Lourdes
Gutiérrez Rosales139. Lourdes Ivette Lucero
Campos140. Lucila Silva Dávalos141. Luz Adriana
Martínez Reyes142. Luz Ivonne De la O García143.
Manuela Hermosillo Quintero 144. Marcela
Hernández Macías Marcela Macías Hernández 145.
Marcela Santos Garza 146. Marcela Viviana Rayas
Arellanes147. Margarita Briseño Rendón 148. María
Agustina Hernández 149. María Ascensión Aparicio
Salazar 150. María Cristina Quezada Amador 151.
María de Jesús Fong Valenzuela 152. María de
Jesús González 153. María de la Luz Murgado G.
154. María de los Ángeles Acosta Ramírez 155.
María de los Ángeles Alvarado Soto 156. María del
Refugio Núñez L. 157. María del Rosario Cordero
Esquivel 158. María E. Luna Alfaro 159. María
Elba Chávez 160. María Elena Caldera 161. María
Elena Saucedo Meraz 162. María Estela Martínez
163. María Estela Martínez Valdez 164. María
Eugenia Mendoza Arias 165. María Inés Ozuna
Aguirre 166. María Irma Blancarte Lugo 167. María
Irma Plancarte 168. María Isabel Chávez G. 169.
María Isabel Haro Prado 170. María Isabel
Martínez González 171. María Isabel Nava Vázquez
172. María Isela Núñez Herrera 173. María López
Torres 174. María Luisa Luna Vera 175. María
Luisa y sus tres niños 176. María Maura Carmona
Zamora 177. María Rocío Cordero Esquivel 178.
María Rosa León Ramos 179. María Rosario Ríos y
esposo 180. María Sagrario González Flores 181.
María Santos Ramírez Vega 182. María Santos
Rangel Flores 183. María Saturnina de León 184.
María Teresa Rentería Salazar 185. María Victoria
Arellano Z. 186. Maribel Palomino Arvizo 187.
Maritza Toribio Flores 188. Martha Alicia
Esquivel 189. Martha Arguijo Castañeda 190.
Martha Cecilia Navarrete Reyes 191. Martha
Claudia Pizarro Velásquez 192. Martha Esmeralda
Veloz Valdez 193. Martha Francisca Hernández 194.
Martha Gutiérrez García 195. Martha Yolanda
Gutiérrez García 196. Mayra Gema Alamillo
González197. Mayra Juliana Reyes Solís 198.
Merced Ramírez Morales 199. Mireya Hernández
Méndez 200. Miriam García Solorio 201. Miriam
Adriana Vázquez202. Miriam Aguilar Rodríguez 203.
Miriam Arlem Vázquez Mendoza 204. Miriam de los
Ángeles Deras205. Nancy Guillermina Quintero G.
Nelly América Gómez H.206. Nora Elizabeth Flores
Flores207. Norma Julissa Ramos Muñoz208. Norma
Leticia Luna Holguín209. Norma Leticia Quintero
M.210. Norma Mayela Palacios López211. Olga
Alicia Carrillo Pérez212. Olga González López213.
Otilia Santos Trujillo214. Paloma Angélica
Escobar Ledezma215. Paloma Rodríguez Ruges216.
Patricia Alba Ríos217. Patricia Cortés Campos218.
Patricia Monroy Torres219. Paula Zepeda Soto220.
Paulina León221. Perla Chávez Rodríguez222. Perla
del Castillo 223. Perla Parker Hopking224. Perla
Patricia Sáenz Díaz225. Petra de la Rosa Masa
226. Raquel Lechuga Macías 227. Reina Sarriá o
Sarahí Lara Lucero 228. Rocío Agüero Miranda 229.
Rocío Barraza Gallegos 230. Rocío Miranda Agüero
231. Rocío Rincón 232. Rosa Isela Carmona 233.
Rosa Isela de la Cruz Madrigal 234. Rosa Isela
Tena Quintanilla 235. Rosa Ivonne Páez Márquez
236. Rosa Margarita Arellanes García 237. Rosa
María Hernández 238. Rosa María Lerma Hernández
239. Rosa María Rivera 240. Rosa Virginia
Hernández Cano 241. Rosalba López Espinoza 242.
Rosario Aguayo M. 243. Rosario Fátima Martínez
Ángel 244. Rosario Rocío García Leal 245. Sandra
Corina Gutiérrez Estrada 246. Sandra Henry
Monreal 247. Sandra Juárez V. 248. Sandra Maribel
Frías García 249. Silvia Elena Rivera Morales250.
Silvia Gabriela Laguna o Luna Cruz251. Silvia
Guadalupe Díaz252. Silvia Marchant 253. Silvia
Ocón López 254. Silvia Rivera Salas 255. Sofía
González Vivar 256. Soledad Beltrán 257. Soledad
Sáenz Acosta 258. Sonia Ivette Ramírez 259. Sonia
Yareli Torres Torres 260. Susana Enríquez
Enríquez 261. Susana Flores Flores 262. Teodora
de la Rosa Martínez 263. Teresa de Jesús González
Mendoza 264. Teresa Mélida Herrera Rey 265.
Teresita López 266. Tomasa Salas Calderón267.
Vanessa Horcasitas 268. Verónica Beltrán
Manjarrez Máynez269. Verónica Guadalupe Castro
Pando270. Verónica Huitrón Quezada271. Verónica
Martínez Hernández272. Verónica Santillanes
Madera273. Victoria E. Parker Hopking274. Violeta
Mabel Alvídrez Barrios275. Virginia Rodríguez
Beltrán276. Viridiana Torres Moreno277. Yésica
Martínez Morales278. Yolanda Álvarez Esquihua279.
Yolanda Tapia Vega280. Zenaida Bermúdez Campa281.
Zulema Olivia Alvarado Torresy 72 desconocidas más
281 identified and 72 unidentified women
24References
- http//images.google.com/images?svnum10hlenlr
rlsRNWE2CRNWE3A2005-202CRNWE3Aenqcrossesi
njuarezmexico - 1 www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/
predators/ciudad_juarez/ - (2) 28 U.S.C. 1350
- 3 William Paul Simmons, (2006), Remedies for
the Women of Ciudad Juarez through the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights,
Northwestern Journal of International Human
Rights, 4(3), at page 493 - 4 Sosa v Alvarez-Machain et al.
- 5 Seattle Journal for Social Justice, spring /
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AND JUSTICE IN AFRICA Remembering Justice in
Rwanda Locating Gender in the Judicial
Construction of Memory, Matthew J. Burnett - 6http// www.humanrifhtsfirst.org/international_
justice/w_cont_12.htm - (7) Graham-Humphreys v. Memphis Brooks Museum of
Art, Inc., 209 F.3d 552, 561 (6th Cir. 2000). - (8)http//72.14.203.104/search?qcachet5bZxed4IXE
Jflgjustice.org /dmdocuments/UsSkl arAmiciAppeal
Jiang20040128.pdfchuidianvphilippineshlen
glusctclnkc d10 Brief Amicus Curiae of the
World Organization Against Torture USA and Other
Groups in Support of the Appellants, In Re Wang
v Zemin - (9) Ontunez-Turios v. Ashcroft Bullies v. Nye
Zheng v. Ashcroft - 10 Grinberg, Emanuella. In Juarez murders,
progress but few answers CNN Court TV April
2004. - 11 Lupsha, Peter. Whats Going on in Mexico
Today is Beyond Fiction PBS Frontline.