In a country where most violence crimes go unpunished, court officials in the border Mexican state of Chihuahua appear to be sending a message by handing down a stiff sentence in the kidnapping, pimping, and murder of 11 women.
This week a court in the border city of Juarez sentenced five men to 697 years in prison each for the kidnappings, forced prostitution, and eventual murder of at least 11 women in that border city, information released by the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office revealed.
The five convicted rapists and killers were identified as Jose Antonio Contreras, Jesus Hernandez Martinez, Cesar Romero Esparza, Edgar Regalado Villa, and Manuel Vital Anguiano
Prosecutors were only able to prove that the men had acted from 2009 to 2012 in those 11 murders, yet many questions remain about the hundreds of other women who have died in that city.
According to the organization Global Fund For Women, since 2001 more than 600 women have been brutally murdered and abused in Juarez and about 3,000 have gone missing in what has become known as the “missing and murdered women of Juarez”.
In addition to the gruesome murders, Juarez went through a period of epic violence in 2010 as drug violence caused the murder rate to fire up earning the city the title of “Murder Capital of the World.” During that time, rival cartels targeting each other led to 2,500 to 3,000 murders a year. In recent years the rate has decreased dramatically. However, as Breitbart Texas has reported, violence continues in areas such as Rancho Anapra and Valle De Juarez.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award winning journalist with Breitbart Texas you can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.