Lydia Cacho/Mexican journalist garners another award for exposing child trafficking

http://www.cnylink.com/news/view_news.php?news_id=1266728409

Tully Award to Mexican Journalist: Lydia Cacho exposes child trafficking

"....Cacho, 45, is an investigative print reporter, with a background in radio and TV, who wrote a series of articles for the newspaper “Por Esto” in Cancún about child trafficking, sexual tourism and the political protection afforded to organized crime in that upscale resort.

After Random House Mexico asked her to write a book, she published these findings in 2005 as “Los Demonios del Edén” (Demons of Eden: The Power that Protects Child *advertiser censored*). In particular Cacho focused on the fates of some 200 children at the hands of Jean Succar Kuri, the wealthy Lebanese owner of Sol y Mer Villas resort, and his cohort, international textile magnate Kamel Nacif. Nacif had a well-established relationship with Mario Marín, governor of the state of Puebla, where some of his plants were located. Eight months later, at Marín’s orders – Nacif was suing her for defamation, then a criminal charge that could put her in prison – Cacho was arrested, driven across Mexico and on the way tortured in an unsuccessful attempt to force her to recant her work.

Last Monday, Cacho was clear that her captors would simply have killed her in the end – she recounted in chilling detail a cell phone call and the terse phrase “change of plans” that interrupted their stop at a dark beach – had not a network of callers from Amnesty International, PEN International and other groups bombarded both Marín and the media, and one friendly state senator showed up at the Puebla jail holding Cacho....."


more at link



I greatly admire this woman's tenacity. She refuses to be shut down. I cannot wait until her book is translated into English. I'm very hopeful that she might be eligible to win the Pulitzer. Here's some background on her if you haven't heard of her:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lydia_Cacho


I wish she'd speak to the recent debacle in Haiti and about the recent concerns about African adoption/trafficking practices. She's a powerhouse.

I have a simple question. Why is it that every new John Grisham or Jonathan Kellerman novel will be translated into 28 languages within a few months of publication but an investigative book of international importance goes un-translated?

Is there a political agenda here? Cacho's book, "Los Demonios del Edén", has won all sorts of awards for the meticulous investigative reporting and the fearless exposure of some of Mexico's most famous and wealthy men. Why can't English speaking Americans read it? After all, some of the crimes which are uncovered occur where Americans frequently vacation or even own property. I would think this book would most certainly be picked up by a publisher and translated into English, French, German, Dutch, Japanese, etc.

Why not?

When I talk to people (such as LE or the DAs office) who should know a good bit about human trafficking and pedophile rings, why have they never heard of this Lydia Cacho and her work?

Why?

Hey MizzIzzy,

I'm gonna request that this thread get to moved to the "Up to the Minute" forum.

And then I'm gonna read it

Salem

On February 3, 2021, federal prosecutors arrested the former governor of Puebla, Mario Marín Torres, for the torture of journalist Lydia Cacho in Acapulco, Guerrero. The arrest was announced by the current governor of Puebla via Twitter.

Marín had been hiding in Acapulco, in his sister’s home, for eight days. Federal prosecution had been surveilling the house for four days before his arrest.

An Arrest After 15 Years of Impunity
The detention comes 15 years after the torture of Cacho by members of the Puebla police force in Cancún in December 2005. The torture of the journalist is widely regarded as retaliation for the publication of Cacho’s 2005 book, The Demons of Eden: The Power that Protects Child *advertiser censored* (Los demonios del Edén, el poder que protege a la pornografía infantil), that exposed a prostitution and child *advertiser censored* ring that involved prominent politicians and businessmen, including former Governor Marín.

Marín was implicated in the ordering of the torture when an anonymous source released a recording between the former governor and businessman José Kamel Nacif, one of the other figures implicated in Cacho’s book. In the call, Nacif urged the “gober precioso” (or “precious governor”) to retaliate against Cacho. Cacho filed charges against Marín, Nacif, and other state figures in March 2006.

The lack of accountability for those responsible has been a source of international embarrassment for the Mexican justice system. After no action was taken by the Mexican government in the years following her torture, Cacho turned to The Human Rights Committee of the United Nations (UN). In 2018, the UN Committee issued a ruling that found that Mexico had not fulfilled its obligation to investigate this case and hold those responsible accountable.

Since the ruling, Mexican federal prosecutors brought the charges against the police commanders that carried out the torture ordered by their superiors. In April 2019, arrest warrants were issued for Marín and Nacif. They both fled, evading arrest. After a brief cancellation of those warrants in November 2020, the warrants were re-issued in December 2020. Marín was considered a fugitive by authorities until his arrest in Acapulco.

Cacho reacted to the arrest on Twitter. She has been working with organizations such as Europol and Interpol to locate Marín and Nacif since the issuance of the initial arrest warrants in 2019.
Crime and Violence Archives - Justice in Mexico

https://twitter.com/lydiacachosi