Memorial For Mexican Drug War Victims Inaugurated

Photo: Cuartoscuro

Monument inaugurated to remember more than 70,000 victims killed or missing during the six year government's war against drug cartels.

By H. Nelson Goodson

April 5, 2013

Mexico City, Mexico - On Friday, a memorial wall dedicated to more than 70,000 murdered victims and victims who have disappeared during former President Felipe Calderón administration was inaugurated. The monument "Memorial a las Victimas de la Violencia en Mexico" bares not a single name of a victim.

The memorial was finished four months ago, but human rights groups and government officials finally decided to inaugurate it.

The federal government provided land space at the Marte Military Camp in Mexico City and $30M pesos ($231K U.S.) to establish the memorial after Isabel Miranda de Wallace, a human rights activist requested President Calderón to create a monument.

Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong, Mexico's Government Secretary confirmed that more than 70,000 victims have been murdered, including thousands that have been reported missing during the 6 year war that Calderón waged on organized crime and drug cartels in Mexico.

Many of those numbers provided by Chong don't include an additional 70,000 undocumented immigrants from South and Central America that have disappeared while traveling from Tenosique, Tabasco-Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz. Only 80 of those undocumented immigrants have been found alive.

An estimated 20,000 of undocumented immigrants are kidnapped every year by criminal organizations and drug cartels to get ransom from family members.

They've become targets and helpless victims of violence, extortion, kidnappings, including murder perpetuated by criminal organizations while crossing through Mexico on their way to the U.S. border.

The following organizations, Alto al Secuestro, de Miranda de Wallace, Fundación Camino a Casa, de Patricia Prado, and México SOS, de Fernando Martí collaborated with the government to create the memorial.