It’s International Women’s Day and in Mexico they are protesting the long trend of violence against their gender. Last year 10 women were killed every day and there were 16,000 cases of rape (New York Times). Since the rise of the cartels the country has seen increased violence against an unarmed populace and an outnumbered police force. Extrajudicial killings and torture upon detainment by the government is also not uncommon.

Women have seen the brunt of these trends. Between 2014 and 2018 only about 5% of cases of violence against females has been prosecuted. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says the statistics are false and have been cooked up by the liberal press to discredit him (CNN). In Juarez alone 1,500 women have been killed and dumped in the desert since 1993 (Sun). This editorial from Medium details the fearful environment most women in Mexico endure. There is the constant threat of rape, torture and death (DailyMail).

Last year’s protests were virulent but not quite as violent (previous Blog). In the meantime, the US arrested Mexican Army General Salvador Cienfuegos on charges of running a cartel. He did this while he was in charge of the guys fighting them. Mexico wanted him returned and promised to prosecute him. Then Attorney General Barr obliged and he was sent home, swiftly exonerated and the DEA lost it’s immunity while investigating crime in the country. Some say the country is actually run by a cartel of military officers called El Syndicado.