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Parents Of Mexican Kidnapping Victims Speak In Durham

Left to right, Clemente Rodriguez, Felipe de la Cruz and Anayeli Guerrero de la Cruz and Jose Archila spoke about the human rights violations occurring in Mexico.
Left to right, Clemente Rodriguez, Felipe de la Cruz and Anayeli Guerrero de la Cruz and Jose Archila spoke about the human rights violations occurring in Mexico.

A group representing the parents of the 43 Mexican students kidnapped this past September came to Duke Monday as part of an international tour to press authorities to "return our children to us as alive as they were when they were taken."

The parents spoke to members of the news media and the local community in Duke's Friedl Building about their children and the human rights violations occurring in Mexico. 

The 43 students of an Azyotzinapa teachers college were attacked on Sept. 26, 2014, and have not been publicly seen since. Six other people (three students and three bystanders) were killed during the attack, which human rights organizations believe were perpetrated by local police operating in collusion with criminal gangs and local government authorities.

"The invitation of people of the United States to share our struggle is very timely since our plan is to travel to Central and South America and to Europe from where we have already received more invitations," said Felipe de la Cruz Sandoval, a representative of the Ayotzinapa group. "It is important that both citizens and government leaders of other countries are aware of the injustices in Mexico and the international community see what is the globalization of repression."

Amnesty International and many other human rights organizations, as well as the U.S. State Department, have for years found Mexico to be violating human rights through arbitrary arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killing. Organizers of the national caravan hope that the parents’ presentations will educate the American people about what is taking place in Mexico. 

The visit was organized by faculty in the Department of Romance Studies and Movimiento 43- NC, a local coalition working for social justice.

Left to right, Jose Archila, Clemente Rodriguez, Felipe de la Cruz and Anayeli Guerrero de la Cruz, all part of a group representing the families of the 43 students kidnapped in late September in Guerrero, Mexico, spoke about their children's experiences and about the human rights violations occurring in Mexico during a press conference on Monday, March 30th at the Friedl Building. Julio Guerrero, far right, with MOVIMIENTO 43-NC, introduced the group.