Abuses go unnoticed in Mexico

The turf war that is taking place located on the US/Mexico border in El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico has been escalating since 1993.

The drug-related homicides that have taken place due to the war between cartels are mostly of young, poor, factory/maquila (factories that are run by the U.S. in Mexico to take advantage of cheap labor and lax regulation) women, Moran informed Lumen. "They are tortured, raped, and found in the desert," Moran said.

Not just the cartels are committing these acts of murder. In "Killing Fields of Juarez," journalist Diana Washington Valdez says other culprits are rich white men from the United States, drug dealers, serial killers, and men who prey on women.

"And who cares?" Moran asked. "They are poor women, they can go missing and who will go looking for them? Women are seen as less than and they can get away with it."

Valdez had to go into hiding for two years after her book was published. "The FBI came into the Barnes and Noble in El Paso to whisk her away, she had so many death threats because she was so close to the truth," Moran explained. "Journalists are under attack for writing and telling the truth."

The mayor of Palomas, Mexico, Estanislao "Tani" Garcia, was abducted and murdered when he did not cave into the pressures of the drug dealers, Moran said. "Many of all professions, many college students" have been killed. "We have lists of college students and professors who are missing," Moran said.

Those who are victims are hung, beheaded, shot, tortured, mutilated, and bodies are found dumped in mass graves.

Students are interested in joining SOAHR, they can contact Moran via email at demoran@viterbo.edu.