Poverty, death threats and negligence from the local government towards the people of Lomas del Poleo were alleged by the North American Human Rights Delegation at a news conference in Juarez Friday.
The delegation is comprised of U.S. organizations including Amnesty International, National Lawyers Guild, La Raza Legal Center and the International Civil Commission for the Observation of Human rights among others.
Sitting at a table outside of the Presidencia Municipal in Juarez, the delegation concluded that human and civil rights violations are taking place against the residents of Lomas del Poleo with the consent of the local government. [see report via link at bottom of this story]
The 10 members who visited the borderland from Feb 29 through March 7 say they found that the residents of Lomas del Poleo live under pervasive intimidation from Pedro and Jorge Zaragoza, two prominent businessmen accused of trying to displace the residents with the purpose of profiting from their land. The Zaragozas have rarely spoken on the issue, but allege that they own title to the land, which is being occupied by speculators.
However, the delegation presented the media with a 20-page report on the violations taking place in Lomas del Poleo, including the cutting off of the community’s electrical infrastructure and the demolition and burning of private homes and public buildings in the community.
In addition, the violations have been well-documented by church groups and other El Paso area activists. [background]
The leader of the delegation, Renee Saucedo, an attorney with La Raza Legal Center, said that the main objective of their visit was to spread awareness about the issue. She said that she did not receive any support or any sort of welcome from the authorities in Juarez. But that did not stop them from gathering interviews, video, audio, still photography and direct observation with help from the people of Lomas del Poleo and other local organizations, although private security guards denied the delegation access to Lomas del Poleo.
Saucedo said that she tried to contact the Zaragozas to meet with them during her visit, but she never received a response.
The visit was critiqued by some local media, which criticized the visit of the delegation and claimed that they should worry about their own country and their own issues; however, Saucedo responded: “Maybe you should follow in our footsteps and create a Mexican delegation that oversees the rights of the immigrants in the U.S.” Saucedo said this is a project of international solidarity.
Francisco Dominguez, also a member of the delegation and a photojournalist documenting the journey, said that he is involved because this is a personal issue. “My heart does not stop at the border, this is our people, and this is our blood.”
The delegation will return back to California and will spread the findings of their report to other organizations and the media. Saucedo said this is not the end of the delegation, and promised they will continue to monitor the progress that takes place in Lomas del Poleo.
The Juarez authorities were not present at the conference nor did they sponsor the delegation in any way.
In a recent El Paso Times story, Juárez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz was quoted as saying "When the fence went up, the police at that time could have acted. Now the police can't do anything until the court makes a decision. The land dispute will have to be resolved in court and the police does what the court says."
Members of the Delegation were: Giancarlo Campagna, Guillermo Castellanos, Francisco Dominguez, Elise Ficarra, Max Garcia, Karl Kramer, Antonio Medrano, Ken Montenegro, Renee Saucedo and Jill Shenker.
Related Documents:
