In late January, 19 people — 16 indigenous migrants from Guatemala — were brutally murdered in Camargo, Tamaulipas, just a few miles south of the U.S. Border.
The horror of that mass murder deepened when 12 state police officers from Tamaulipas were charged with the crime. It has also been discovered that these state police forces were supplied with Sig Sauer guns produced and exported from the U.S.
Stopping the export and smuggling of guns — that are disproportionately killing people of color — is why we convened this webcast. Please watch and hear from our expert panel on these complex challenges.
•Juan Manuel Juárez, a journalist in Tamaulipas who covered the tragic Camargo events will begin our webcast with an exclusive (pre-recorded) report. Juan Manuel reports on events in northeastern Mexico and recently inaugurated the news site Elefante Blanco.
•Stephanie Brewer, Director for Mexico and Migrant Rights at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) where she advocates for policy improvements on both sides of the border to protect human rights and support the rule of law in Mexico.
•John Lindsay Poland, writer, activist, researcher and analyst coordinates Stop US Arms to Mexico, a project of Global Exchange. He has written about, researched and organized action for human rights and demilitarization of US policy in Latin America for 30 years.
•Juan Ortiz, artist, activist and community organizer is a doctoral student and fellow in Mexican American studies at the University of Arizona
•Marco Castillo, Co-Director of Global Exchange introduced and hosted the webinar.
•Daniella Burgi-Palomino, Co-director of the Latin America Working Group moderated.