CARAVANA PASO A PASO HACIA LA PAZ
(Caravan Step by Step Towards Peace)
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(Civil Movmenet against the Kidnappings of Migrants in Mexico)
The location of kidnappings of migrants in Mexico is directly related to the territories
controlled by organized crime. This is especially the case in the states of Tamaulipas,
Tabasco, and Veracruz, where the overwhelming presence and control by organized crime is
clearly linked with local, state and federal authorities. In places like this, justice is a remote
idea, a mirage, an illusion of a failed democracy.
It is in these lands in which mass kidnappings are carried out against the migrant population,
directly under the nose of an authority that chooses to look the other way, and which lacks
both the desire and capacity to confront organized crime.
In this sense, the state of Veracruz has become a pioneer: it has become the example of
kidnappings and aggressions committed against the migrants that travel through Mexico.
The authorities have abrogated their responsibility to ensure social wellbeing and justice in
favor of the interests of organized crime. Veracruz society finds itself today in an alarming
state of abandonment, when the simple act of saying out loud the word “zeta” can mean
persecution, extortion, and even murder.
The Zetas have generated millions in profits through mass kidnappings of migrants in transit,
for whom extreme poverty has obligated them to travel on freight trains in order to reach
their families or start the search for a better life. The terrible cost of these actions can be
seen in the hidden cemeteries which dot the state, the forgotten mass graves, and the
unclaimed bodies buried in the shame of the Mexican government. The massacre of our
Central American brothers cannot be ignored. More than 10,000 migrants are kidnapped
every six months in Mexico. Those migrants’ family members in the United States and
Central America have literally paid a high price in thousands of dollars in ransom money for
the government’s incompetence and the corruption that overwhelms the country.
For these reasons, the Caravan Step by Step towards Peace, in an effort to stop the
kidnappings and spread awareness of this undeniable reality has the following objectives:
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increase awareness, both at the national and international level, of the
phenomenon of the kidnappings of migrants as they cross Mexico.
hold simultaneous actions in Central America and North America
coordinate efforts with the local population in Veracruz in the cities where the
kidnappings frequently occur and work together to end impunity
document the actions of the caravan to aid in raising awareness and building
towards future actions
In order to achieve these propositions the caravan, through peaceful demonstrations, will
take the following actions during its progression from the border town of Ciudad Hidalgo,
Chiapas to Orizaba, Veracruz.
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We will share testimonies from migrants and their families who have been
affected by kidnappings. They will highlight the relationships that exist between
organized crime and the authorities in the different points along the route.
Our allies will hold coordinated demonstrations against the kidnappings and
impunity in front of the Mexican consulates and embassies in Central America
and the United States.
We will build dialogue and coordination with the Veracruz community and
humanitarian organizations, the cities of Medias Aguas, Tierra Blanca, and
Orizaba, to lay the groundwork for future actions that reduce migrant
kidnappings in the state of Veracruz.
We will put out a document to increase awareness about the difficulties that
civil society faces in order to support the condemnation of the kidnappings in
the cities of Medias Aguas, Tierra Blanca, and Orizaba.
The Caravan Paso a Paso hacia la paz recognizes the fundamental right of all people to
migrate, to exercise their freedom of expression and to protest. We demand that the
federal government guarantee the security necessary for social and economic
development, to be able to travel without being harassed, and to return peace both to
Mexican homes and to our migrant brothers as they pass through Mexico.
This new leg of the “Caravan Step by Step towards peace” is crucial because the Veracruz
government has systematically denied that kidnappings occur on its soil. There is no
information about public servants that have been prosecuted for their links with organized
crime, with the exception of a single agent of the municipal police and a few people who
come from Central America; however, they have never brought charges against the leaders
of organized crime or against the government functionaries who, either by commission or
omission, have allowed the kidnappings to happen. Our hope lies in the Veracruz
community, the members of the different churches in Veracruz and the religious leaders
there.
Our motto “Peace is the fruit of Justice” reflects what is at the base of the work done by all
those involved in the protection of the human rights of our migrant brothers. We reaffirm
that peace, as a social project, comes from the fair implementation of justice, and requires
the participation of civil society, so that they can generate a new national compact. Peace,
understood in this way, requires an absolute end to the impunity, collusion and the simple
failure of the government to act.
Therefore, we demand:
1. That the authorities at all three levels of government investigate and bring to light the
aggressions and kidnappings that migrants have had to endure in the state of Veracruz,
and that they prosecute and punish, to the full extent of the law, those responsible for
and those complicit in these crimes against migrants.
2. An end to the nighttime raids, done under risky conditions, by Immigration agents,
federal police, and the Mexican army. These raids are both unconstitutional and
constitute a systematic and constant violation of the human rights of migrants. These
immigration operations do not only put peoples’ lives at risk, they also create an
environment of insecurity and xenophobia in the communities the migrants pass
through, and undermine the relationships between countries in the Mesoamerican
region.
3. The prosecution of authorities at the three levels of government for acts of omission and
complicity. Dismissing guilty individuals from their positions does not absolve them of
their responsibility for more that 20 thousand cases of kidnappings each year, as
reported by the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), for the massacre of the 72
migrants in San Fernando, Tamaulipas, without explication or investigation, for the
recently discovered mass graves of Mexican and foreign migrants, nor for the
kidnappings perpetrated at the end of 2010 in the state of Oaxaca and the ubiquitous
violence in Veracruz.
We must continue to reflect upon the relationship that exists between national security and
the criminalization of migration. Specifically Plan Merida, which is implemented and
financed by the United States, directly influences immigration control policy across the
continent. This agreement translates to a regional policy of externalizing borders, and the
conflation of organized crime, terrorism, and undocumented migration.
The organizers of the caravan include civil organizations like Albergue de los Migrantes: Hermanos en el
Camino A.C.; el Movimiento Migrante Mesoamericano; i(dh)eas, Litigio Estratégico en Derechos Humanos A.C.;
Nuestros Lazos de Sangre; Familia Latina Unida; Alianza Braceros del Norte; and Culutra Migrante. We invite
everyone interested in defending the human rights of our migrant brothers to participate.