Guilty Verdict for 5 Men in Abductions, Murders of 11 Juarez Women Monica Ortiz Uribe - Fronteras Desk
go to original July 24, 2015

Victims' mothers gather in prayer outside the courthouse in Ciudad Juárez before closing arguments. (Mónica Ortiz Uribe)

A high-profile trial in the Mexican border city of Juárez ended last weekend in a guilty verdict for five men accused of sex trafficking and murder.

The victims were young women who vanished from the streets of downtown Juárez beginning in 2008 and throughout a period of intense drug violence. The skeletal remains of some of those women were later found in the desert outskirts of the city.

On Saturday a three judge panel declared five men guilty in the abduction and murder of 11 of those women. A sixth man was acquitted.

Judges said they believe the women were vulnerable because of their poor socioeconomic status and taken advantage of by a local sex-trafficking ring with ties to a powerful drug cartel.

Women's rights organizations that participated in the trial consider it a milestone because they worked alongside police during the investigation.

Juárez has a long history of violence against women. In past murder cases, authorities have been accused of planting evidence and torturing suspects.

See the original at Fronteras Desk

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!