From the New York Times, I'm likeable borrow? This is a daily for the past three years, the city of San Fernando Mexico had experienced a temporary law in the cartel violence that four years marked it as one of the countries most dangerous places. My colleague, awesome Ahmed went to San Fernando to piece together what happened there and found a remarkable story of one woman's implausible quest to bring the cartel to justice.

It's Wednesday February thought. I wasn't: where does the story of Miriam Rodriguez start for you? I first heard about Miriam Rodriguez in twenty seventeen. I've been in Mexico for a few years as the bureau Chiefs here, but it wasn't intel. I sat down with her son, Luis and daughters area. There are many figured out her story it was about who gave the Catania back and twenty fourteen Miriam her family were living in San Fernando. She had three children. The family were shopkeeper shown to store called rodeo boots, ass old cab, weaker hats, church, pants and boots, and her daughter pointy rural care. In her youngest. I helped out the shop was used

figuring out schooling and what she was gonna do next. In late January, of twenty fourteen, Karen was driving home one day and a car blocked her path, arm gunman jumped out basically be adopted here in our own car, family was very close, Azalea, the eldest sister Louis, the middle brother, and care and the little sister What was he has just begun even about this this area was trying to call her sister, who always answered young boys. Don't get up a meal for gay at any time, but now care wasn't picking up throughout the raw material of all sizes in a double or responding the messages and she became more and more frantic senator messages. Calling calling one does not getting any Rebecca s eyes, our water

that's it just a boy s any of them, then the whole family who convened in the House Louise had come in from Sudan Victoria, which is about two and a half hours away. Azalea was there man who is also out of town- and they begin to think through how to respond to the procedure that was hours later, they got a call from the kidnappers. Let us since tat a man ass, they passed the phone. The current does improve life quickly to the phone back, demanded a ransom family hung up and spent the night. Considering what to do and how to do it and does the family

sense of hoodies. Kidnappers are really had a very clear sense because the people that ran organised crime in the town of San Fernando with disasters they had absolute control and anyone who if there are even knew about San Fernando is very clear on who is calling the shots and what we need to know about. The data is visitors began as but if the armed wing of one of the larger cartels the Gulf Cartel, but when little bit before two thousand ten, they split and form their own cartel entirely. Bus to state were San. Fernando located became a war zone. Tamaulipas Borders, Texas and San Fernando? Has the misfortune of beings located in a strategic crossing point for the entire state heading up to the border. These two cartels were fighting it out along the border, inviting it out national areas of family bus and this data cartel it taken over San Fernando and in the course of their opera,

actions, whether it was drug smuggling, human trafficking. One of the ways they raise money was too kidnappings and kidnappings of locals, and so was pretty clear. The moment they haven't heard from Karen what had happened, but the only confirmed it when the kidnappers actually called- and there is little doubt those kidnappers were members- This cartel, so what'd currants, family, do and who did turned you knowing how routine there's gotta get up a guess. I think In ordinary circumstances, people will turn to the police, but that's not the case in a lot of Mexico and certainly not in San Fernando, the police are had a corrupt, complicit or just completely incapable of Anything in fact something like ninety five percent of homicides go unsolved. Now think about that. For me,

five out of every hundred homicides the police detected. Whoever is investigating figure out who did it another. Ninety five out of that hundred assists remains in total in utter impunity. The Mexico not failed state. It's got one of the largest economies in the world. Multinational companies is home to a remarkable culture, cuisine art, but there are these play. Since, like San Fernando scattered throughout the country where people's lives are diktat by the whims of armed men where life is certain cried by violence weathers Literally, no state coming to save or protect you, and I can't put a specific number on how many people that is, but Mexico's at its most

point and more than twenty years since they begin collecting this kind of data? And I think that speaks volumes about how many people live under that vice grip of impunity. Most people who suffer kidnappings now our best bet is to pay. They don't even go to the police at first. A better deal with his customary at Amsterdam gave me the family did the same. In fact, people they went to local bank and kidnappings. Common, the banks were abused, offering families these lands once they meet me in the basis. The kidnappers the initially asked four million pieces, which is about fifty thousand dollars in today's exchange. As a lot of money for almost shopkeepers, they set on a lower amount, but the family still needed alone to cover it

you have done it before the bag with the money and that the kidnappers, at the appointed time outside the local hospital, and her father walked from there to the gates, flop, cemetery, where they promised should be returned and after I was waiting. He realized. She wasn't coming three years now pay this money and she is nowhere to be seen. Is there a bizarre nightmare scenario and so our family was sort of left with that and that void after having basically use their life savings indebted themselves to a bank, so the family. Probably now assumes we're never gonna Karen back families in these situations. They start to look for a glimmer of hope, even when they don't exist. Louis hold his family, hey. We shouldn't worry about this. There was that there was a shoot out last night and maybe they got tied up and he couldn't return current. I'm sure, though, bring her back. I'm sure they're bring her back but

time passed they continue to wait and nothing happened. The kidnappers stopped answering their phones, but it was a small community where everybody, Cotonou, each other So eventually Miriam asked one of our contacts to give a meeting with the cartel and they sent one of their young recruits to talk with her and what happens So she meets with this young man, and you know late teens, early twenties at a restaurant called a junior one of Miriam favorite, restaurants in fernando, while they're sitting there. She hears is his radio buzz on an awful lot of lower level. Cartel guys have hand radios communicated, children street and she hears a name Sama. Big anything of it and they continue with their conversation. Miriam begins, implore. The shaggy man, please give me back my daughter, I give you anything, you want, we paid. Fifty thousand dollars will pay more. Just please give My daughter and the young man looks it earns. Has we don't have? We never took her

we don't know who took her. It must have been some one else now. The time Miriam thinks that's strange. My discards hell has absolute control, nothing happens, no one would be kidnapped without either their explicit involved or at least their knowledge. So it sounds strange that someone who works for them would suddenly say. Well, we don't have a and we don't know who took her, but the young man said. Listen, I understand what you're going to If you give me some money, I can move some people around. We can start looking for I'll help you in Miriam even though she knows deep down that it can't be sure he doesn't know anything, even though she knows deep down, he's, probably to her. She pay the young man a few thousand dollars and they left it at that and then weeks later she called and she called and she and he stopped answering you, then she finally realized she had been well this young member of a cartel. We exploits the rhetoric, s family, then he just extracts a little more exactly he

uses that vulnerable position, which is often went organs Crime does to extract more money, it, wasn't just them once it became known people, knew the Carnegie get that they would call Miriam or some one in the family. We have Karen. If you spend and another thousand dollars, and you painted this account at this particular location will return her in the family. Of course. No, it wasn't true and I think the most tragic partisan paid that anyways at the time the trauma, this kidnapping head, create problems for Miriam and she moved in with her daughters area where she sat and jests obsessed over this you have described. It is waking up in going to bed and tears just utterly destroyed until one morning she woke up, down the stairs as far as aliens in the kitchen and she looked at her and she had to sell most peaceful look on her face. She said you know what,

there, never bringing my daughter back. In fact, I believe- my daughter's dad. Going to spend the rest of my life chasing, on every single one of these guys. Until I get justice and she was a different marry him after that. we'll be right back the daily for some of the world's best content, most innovative ideas suited square space and only one platform that helps you bring your ideas alike, with modern templates, mobile, responsive designs, simple, drag and drop tools, and twenty four hours support. You can create a professional website, portfolio or online store in just a few minutes, had to square spacewalk HANS Lash daily for a free trial. Then, when you are ready to launch use code daily for ten percent off your first

purchase of a website or domain doesn't mean you said it. Miriam becomes a different person after realizing that her daughter isn't coming back, and what does that mean? What does she start to? Do you know down in that space of helplessness? She something in herself. It basically allowed her to move forward by trying to hunt down these p she began her campaign for justice and it began with a memory from that lunch while she'd been sitting there. If you remember, she heard the name sailor, it was a nickname course, but it was a starting point. So she loved and their parents social media, counter facebook. And began hunting for that name days on end tell your cause. Her. All of the day and the late night. She would just be looking at her phone ardor computer scrolling through social media, looking for the name Sama and eventually a couple of weeks. She got a lucky break. And she saw the names on attack on a photograph there.

With a real identifying characteristics. There was no real name. There is no one, to associate rolling back to, but in that form was the young man she met with for lunch with personal, please, from the young woman now she's, where A unifying. The restaurant called allows was done, which is an ice cream shop that two and a half hours away in the Tower Luis lives. You that Estonia will be speaking Miriam son so she began staking out the ice cream shop, hoping that one day summer would show up and sure enough. After we, so that one day summit did show up and she followed him and his girlfriend home. If she was going to get to do anything she not only need to investigate and locate summer, but she needed government name to go on the arrest warrant. But to get that you have to talk to someone in that house might know. His actual name it dawned on Mary. I'm dead summer would recognize her if she went knocking on the door so

went home and she has to plan. She daughter here, fire engine red she cut it. She put on an old Uniform Foreign she worked at the health ministry. She drove back to the neighbourhood and conducted a pole point through the entire block everyone's name, including audio releases, Edison De Soto, the young man. She knew a summer. So what does she do with this information with this real name for summer? So she takes us information and brings back home and is trying to figure out what to do with and, of course, in order to issue an arrest warrant do not only need the name and the cooperation of the authorities, so she is looking for police officer or some official who will take for seriously and yet none of the People want to listen to her until one day she he sits down with a police officer, and I spoke to the police sir. You remember sitting down with this desperate mother, carrying a black computer bag and before they order

she slaps it on the table, and she opens it up size is trove of information, so his real name. Other people involved pictures from Facebook numbers addresses and his jaw drops he's absolutely floored said Tom. If his own detectives don't do work like that, and he he vowed to take up the case any dead, So please went to the location where Santa had been, but by then he laughed. After all, this work, amazing breakthrough. She did not get her man because the police are delayed and he'd moved on It wasn't until September, which was a few months later. Her son Luis, was working in the cowboy shop of Ceuta Victoria and it was They before mexican Independence Day, which the big Festive Dan, Mexico, and rightly so. To close Z, slender man walk into the shop, pick up a hat and look at it and browse basically,

and he doesn't second taken. He realizes. Oh, my god, it's some of his mother had shared all of these facebook photos with You know exactly what he look like, even though we've never met him and he immediately froze, and he thought I got to call my mom. So he calls his mother. She's back in San Fernando two and a half hours away. His mother says Miriam says: don't you lose em, don't leave em his while of course knows exactly what to do. She causes police officer and she says: hey my son is ensued outweighs at this address. He has identified some of the poorest, I told you about the person you haven't restaurant, for can you get there and the police officer races so these essentially veils summer for the next hour, following around the Plaza societies, abrasions in fireworks until the police arrive when they rest Sama, they capture him and the plaza, and he, kicking and screaming and claiming his innocence, but when they bring back the precinct, some starts to give some names. One of them is in We, the young, guys just turned eighteen famous, Cristiano

and the other is sky, Jose Golly Chopper, Jose much more seasons. Member of organ crime is a bit older he's not San Fernando niece, has nothing the police get nothing from him. A Christian It is a bit younger than more impressionable alot, more fearful of the police. So under questioning at one point here, stops any looks at the officer and Miriam Merom attended these these interrogations It's a mere is involved in the interrogation she's involving the interrogations, because she was the one feeding. The police information should be like ask. This, and if he says he doesn't know that person Sean this facebook photo that I've downloaded. It proves that he has knowledge of this person at one point, Cristiano is so upset. He asked the police off. She said I'm sorry can I please call my mom I'm hungry in Miriam here's. This and adjusts strikes her. She realised this. This is just a little boy and so

She pulled out of her purse a piece of fried chicken that she had rat, determining goes to viable Coca cola. She brings the Coca COLA back and the police officers just looking at her. He said what are you doing? Do you know what kid, did he killed your daughter and Miriam books and she says yeah? I know exactly way that I know what nobody did better than you do, but. The mother knew still a child, and so after she fees him, Cristiano becomes much more open and begins to tell her in the police what happened against described the location where the kidnapping victims are taken by their help, the God of Security House merely me no shows up at this place and psycho. It's a horror, show she's, thereby herself she just thereby herself and she begins going through these small Adobe structures on the property. Looking at soiled mattresses and bullet holes in the walls of asking

there are a lot of fun Newman how's it going on. My internet goes set up a dirty. Do ass. You, like a star no fund, a guy named nomadic almost you're good at it again you cohesion and the first thing she finds a seat cushion that she recognizes from current car. And in our hearts, palpitates and she continues to search and she finds a daughter, scarf scarf that she had given her, and it turns out that this is where her daughter was taken. Months of searching this big question about what had happened now, she's here in the physical location by herself, where her daughter it most likely been killed and do the police find parents body there lay down on the video Just this one. So the authorities are taken

by Cristiani shows them. This pit details in the cartel had been dissolved and bodies, and acid in point remains in this pit, and there are a lot of bodies sing I gave you see, is TAT what that guy is tat in dress. I guess they send. You guys and police find a bone fragments from the femur. Karen current have been killed and buried there. This is an absolutely horrifying site, amass break the mass grave, the mass graves in the community in a state and a country where there are no shortage of mass graves. It so grin The poor go into these open stretches, land with long metal spikes. And they hammer them into the ground where they feel like the earth might be disturbed and then they

some out and they smell for death to see if there might be a mass grave. That's how the poor search for their dead here. So in a country where so few cases are so Miriam finally does now have an answer, and I wonder if that fails to her like a bit of closure and is her work now done I think, for a lot of people. It would be finding the remains of your loved one. You were very and move on from area is the end of chapter one and the beginning of chapter two. She has vowed to herself. She is going to track down everyone responsible and she there were a lot more than just a few people. She'd found so Miriam began to second chapter of going after those individuals, one of them She talked to his grand she located his grandmother in the small town internally bus and she said: oh, my grandson-

he's doing better now, he's converted to Christianity and he's going to this church, so Miriam started going to the church ass. She had pictures of him from his airing in organised crime, and I find him and eventually got to police, to arrest him for another. He tracked him down to his job and then found out his wife was pregnant and showed up at her prenatal appointment where he was with her. A third one was selling used cars in another state entirely, but she had friends in a used car business and she gave them pictures and said if you ever see this person. I think he's in this area. Please tell me and ultimately found that person that way. It was the series of remarkable investigative, creative ways of finding the people responsible I mean she's a superhero, one by one by one. She is tracking these people down through inventive homespun detective methods.

She is getting. People arrested, who seem to be other ways out of reach of Mexico's legal system completely, should basically forced the police. Doing their job by doing their job for them and making it for them to say now. She even tracks, come on down to the international Bridge between Mexico and Texas and held them down at gunpoint. While she waited for the police to arrive in the police, Altima still came and arrested them, but she hadn't he would have disappeared and who knows when how she might have found him. Is that the only time that she does this? The last person she physically assisted in the capture of was a woman whose working as a babysitter ensued and he was alone, will descend sought, or rather yes and sumerian- begin to spend night after night outside of the house, where she had been told elder was babies and she spent so long out there. She would have to pay and cups because she didn't wanna, leave her car for fear of being seen her car

At one point, she would listen to the radio while she was waiting outside and her son Louise had to come and give her a jump the next day, so she could leave, but then eventually she did seer and she got the police involved and orchestrated and arrest so how many people does Miriam end up getting arrested? She gets ten people arrested through this wild three year campaign, scarcely get so good. At this she comes to represent others who have missing or dead relatives that the government's been ignoring and she became a petition. The government on their behalf, forming a collective in San Fernando for the first time ever, the collective became this much bigger thing than just Miriam. Suddenly she was giving others the power to fight back as well the power to demand answers about things. They remained quiet about for most of their lives and that brought

more attention to her and what she was doing without attention came more scrutiny, and I assume that includes scrutiny from the cartel yeah. You know nobody had done this. Nobody had gone against the cartels. This kind of way, and she was standing up against them and not just her. But she was teaching others to do that as well. In forcing the government to do something about it. But- in early twenty. Seventeen in them only by the Rapporteur, fool rails, as until they had will sooner the sunshine. Is this you that big thirty isn't that wonderful legs had a historian who stood up by his administration as a man who was a prison break the very same prison where she put Karen's kidnappers and killers. Another time Miriam had been receiving threats. Of course,

she never told her children about it. She didn't want to scare them. She went to the government and is a video recording of this by the way that they can never getting you don't matter if my lab, when he came up with them, will be coming to think she needs protection that the people who escape from this prison she has entailed through her network that they are coming after her right and the government pseudo acknowledges and says. I have please pass by a house every now and then, of course, tat like everything else they had done was. Insufficient. So, following this prison break in March of twenty seventeen and following the government's inability to offer her the sort of round the clock protection, she felt she needed Miriam continue with her investigation continued with her life and on mother's day in twenty six, teen she had dinner with Azalea her favorite restaurant and then she went to her shop. Rodeo boots do a final accounting of what she had in the store

drove home from there to ten minute drive from radio boots to her house, but you didn't know there was a white Nissan truck, trailing her filled with men. Many of whom he just escaped from prison, the same prison break she'd been fearful of she pulled up in front of her house. Almost eleven p M got out began to walk to adorn. She hears Are pull up behind her and the men jump out and shoot thirteen rounds at her and she dies on her lawn in some, is this feels inevitable and still heartbreaking. After all this work, the cartel strikes back. He, I think they alternately, did a calculation the cost of her staying alive and continuing her movement and spreading was greater them than the cost of killing her the blow back. That might ensue from that, and they were right at least some degree and so what did happen and what were the repercussions for her killers? A few people,

arrested after pressure was placed on the government, but in Louis's words de intellectual authors, the people that actually plan ahead. They were never found a few years later. Kidnappings were right back where they were before and, to me it's it is perfect metaphor for impunity. Filling. The lesson is not just the impunity of the cartel, but that the cartel always wins yeah. I think, if you ask me to tell you the story of impunity in Mexico, I'll, tell you the story of a mother whose daughter is kidnapped and killed by the cartel who heartbroken? Does the extraordinary thing tracked on all of these individuals responsible and get the police and the government?

do their jobs and then winds up dead by the very same cartel as an act of revenge. So what then, is the legacy of Miriam Rodriguez? It's complicated. I think it's a lot more complicated than we would like it to be after Miriam staff, the town almost went dormant. I've spent by its own tragic history, even cartel violence actually quieted down in the wake of Miriam staff, yeah until at least last year, when a young. Fourteen year old boy was kidnapped, Luciano the Gaza from a public park and his mother, like Miriam, decided to make it an issue, shall press conferences, she held marches searches. She made it a public spectacle forcing the government to a reaction, the governmental do we found some of the people responsible and, most importantly, they found Luciano body in a shallow grave and an open field a few days.

The family held a futile and Louis, and his area attended. And during the eulogy, the father said something that I think resonated with both of them and we said we may Have you back the way that we wanted, but at least we have somewhere to mourn. So what is her legacy? part of it is just that it's somewhere to mourn and I think, for Louise in his area, if not the legacy, that the impact of what their mother had done was shown away for people to get there to have closer to find them of their loved ones, which is no small feet. Mexico were eighty thousand people are missing. Miriam template, albeit a complicated one, to template, says you can ask it's been done. You can push, but maybe not to

it is both an inspiration and sadly, a cautionary tale. Doesn't thank you very much. We appreciate it. Thank you. Ravening we'll be right back. HBO presents Q into the storm, a new six per documentary series charting labyrinthine journey to unmask the person behind Q and on from executive producer, Mackay and directed by Cullen hold back the serious chronic. A three year global investigation and the evolution. Of the anonymous character known as Q, while way in the car. Quences of unfettered free speech permeating the internet, Starkist corners, unprecedented access reveals how Q uses information warfare to manipulate the internet, politics and people's thinking Q in

the storm premier Sunday March, twenty first at nine p m on each Bio MAX hears what else you need tender day in his first formal answer to the impeachment charge against him. Lawyers for former President Trump denied that he was responsible for the riot at the capital or that he intended to interfere with the congressional certification of President binds victory in a pre trial. Brief lawyer said the trumps speech on January. Six calling for his supporters to fight like hell was not meant as a call to violent action and was protected, speak under the first amendment

the Senate impeachment trial is scheduled to begin next week. On Tuesday, a russian court sentenced Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic Alexey nobody to more than two years in prison. The sentencing will silence Nevada. But is likely to energize his supporters and hardened their anger output, which tens of thousands of Russians have expressed over the past two weeks. In massive protests, tidies episode was produced by Nina potluck and were shall bond John. It was ended by might, then why and LISA an engineered by Chris. Would special thanks to Anna Sofa,

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