The Killing Fields Diana Washington Valdez Copyright © 2006 by Diana Washington Valdez First Edition All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part or in any form without written permission except in the case of brief quotations in critical articles and reviews. The Killing Fields: Harvest of Women Published by Peace at the Border Peace at the Border Film Productions, LLC 1222 North Rose Burbank, California 91505 Peace at the Border Publishing and Peace at the Border Films are trademarks. Book Editor: Robert Locke Photography Coordinator: Leonel Monroy Published in Spanish as Cosecha de Mujeres: Safari en el Desierto Mexicano, 2005 by Oceano de Mexico, Mexico City (ISBN 970-651-988-2), www.oceano.com.mx and Oceano de España, Barcelona (84-494-2719-3), www.oceano.com. For educational, business or sales promotional use contact publisher. Visit us at www.peaceattheborderfilms.com; www.borderechoes.com www.harvestofwomen.com; email [email protected] Printed in the United States ISBN: 978-0-6151-4008-7 Library of Congress Control Number: 2006932347 Comments “It’s a chronicle of the worst kind of corruption and of a government’s apathy toward its people. I don’t think the Mexicans will ever solve even one of the crimes. The book explored every possible avenue, and I believe that all of them are correct. The cops probably are involved, there were copycats, there was the Mexican version of a serial killer, the traffickers did their part, and maybe even the rich men had their hand in it. The government doesn’t care. These were just some of the thousands of poor girls born into a life of misery in Mexico every day. In that respect, they were, or are, gender crimes.” James Kuykendall, Retired Drug Enforcement Administration, Author of ¿O Plomo O Plata? (Silver or Lead?) “Diana Washington Valdez has done an outstanding job of investigative reporting on a social issue that just won’t go away. Young working class women in Juarez, Mexico, have been the victims of unspeakable violence, rape and murder, over a period of many years. What initially seemed to be a matter of police incompetence has evolved into a national disgrace. Ms. Washington Valdez has shown the way, and highlighted the problem with cold, hard facts learned at considerable personal risk. All that is needed now is the political will to seriously follow up on her good work.” Gordon F. Ellison, Retired Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent and Legal Attache “[This book] awakens in all of us the stark reality of the vulnerability of women in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Mexican governmental indifference toward its working class women population is shown at its highest forms, clearly depicting these women as second class citizens in a city where the rich, the politicians, and the well connected have it all, while the rest of its citizenry live in squalor, fear, and an overall sense of total frustration. Diana Washington Valdez has done a superb job in exposing these realities.” George A. McNenney, Retired United States Customs Service Special Agent in Charge “The book is a powerful and blunt document, important for its clear lines of investigation: two or more serial killers, low-level drug dealers, two gangs, a group of powerful men, and copycats. In addition, it presents a previously unexplored line of investigation that points to an analysis of femicides as messages directed at U.S. and Mexican economic interests, be they bilateral anti-drug projects or trade accords.” Marisa Belausteguigoitia Mexico National Autonomous University Gender Studies Program, Mexico City “This book is very good. It is remarkable for its references to powerful people, such as the “narco juniors,” and how they may have disposed of our daughters’ bodies. I read it slowly because I want to understand everything that has happened.” Paula Flores Gonzalez Mother of Sagrario Gonzalez Flores “I am convinced that the book contains much truth. My other daughter wanted to read it, too.” Bertha Marquez Mother of Adriana Torres Marquez “Many things about the book impressed me, such as the allegations that people in the drug trade are involved in the murders. There are many truths here, and I would like for this journalist to continue her research …. I hope that it will help us to some day find out who killed our daughters and for the whole truth to come out.” Ramona Morales Mother of Silvia Morales “In her book, Washington Valdez gives a detailed and chronological account of how these murders in the border town progressed. (She) acknowledges that these women are victims of a corrupt society that existed in this part of Mexico before the murders began.” Radio Arte La Femme’s Expressions “Journalist Diana Washington Valdez investigates the sexual homicides of women in the Mexican town of Juarez. This heartbreaking expose implicates high-level police and well-known citizens in the unsolved murders.” Carmen Ospina Criticas Magazine The Killing Fields Harvest of Women The truth about Mexico’s bloody border legacy by Diana Washington Valdez Peace at the Border Los Angeles Introduction This book by border journalist Diana Washington Valdez reminds us that justice has not prevailed for the families of hundreds of girls and women who were brutally murdered and disappeared in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, across the border from El Paso, Texas. Harvest of Women: Safari in Mexico will make your heart stop and your mind question why the atrocities that began twelve years ago continue to this day. The cold facts will direct you to the same conclusion – that it is only a matter of time before the drug cartel crosses the Rio Grande and these heinous crimes begin to occur on the U.S. side of the border. This thoroughly researched book, with its disturbing findings, is an excellent source of information for people who want to be genuinely informed about this tragic human rights issue. It should be required reading for students of Border Studies. The concerns over what was taking place in our neighbor city prompted the Legislature to address the matter. As a result, I introduced a resolution during the 78th Texas Legislature requesting that the FBI be directly involved in assisting the Mexican authorities in their investigations into the murders. Texas Governor Rick Perry signed House Concurrent Resolution 59 on June 22, 2003. State Representative Norma Chávez Texas House of Representatives, District 76 El Paso, Texas Jennifer Lopez “I admire the efforts by human rights activists around the world and fellow artists like Salma Hayek, Eve Ensler, Jane Fonda, Sally Field, Gloria Steinem and journalist Diana Washington Valdez. I am deeply honored to join them to continue the work on this very important issue.” – Amnesty International news release. [Amnesty International awarded Ms. Lopez the Artists for Amnesty Award for producing Bordertown, a movie about the Juarez femicides that was presented at the 2007 Berlin International Film Festival.] For my mother Teresa, for Kendrick, and my entire family; To the memory of Monique Nicole, And the other little stars whose lights were dimmed. Contents Prologue Deaths That Cry Out 1 Part I Chapter 1 Border Safari 7 Chapter 2 Near Cartel Ranch 13 Chapter 3 Lomas de Poleo 19 Chapter 4 Atrocities 27 Chapter 5 Sagrario’s Death 35 Chapter 6 The Gringo 43 Chapter 7 Cristo Negro 47 Chapter 8 Death Of A Lawyer 57 Chapter 9 Cotton Field Murders 63 Chapter 10 Crime Scene 71 Map of the Danger Zone 77 Part II Chapter 11 The Drug Cartel 81 Chapter 12 Amado’s Cartel 87 Chapter 13 Isabel and Heidi 95 Chapter 14 Cartel Wars 105 Chapter 15 The Police Cartel 113 Chapter 16 Terror With A Badge 117 Chapter 17 Police Blotter 125 Chapter 18 Sharif the Egyptian 139 Chapter 19 Investigations On Trial 149 Chapter 20 Escaped Serial Killer 157 Part III Chapter 21 FBI: Operation Plaza Sweep 173 Chapter 22 FBI: Mexico’s “Dirty War” 183 Chapter 23 FBI: The Femicides 197 Chapter 24 FBI: Botched Operation 209 Chapter 25 Modus Operandi 219 Chapter 26 Operation Sagrario 227 Chapter 27 Mexico’s Secret Files 235 Chapter 28 Pacts Of Power 241 Chapter 29 Chihuahua City 247 Chapter 30 The Femicides Spread 255 Map of Mexico Femicides 265 Part IV Chapter 31 The Politicians 269 Chapter 32 The Pact 279 Epilogue: What Must Be Done 291 A Personal Note 303 Acknowledgements 305 Photographs 309 Glossary 331 Sources 333 Bibliography 347 Appendix 1: Chronology 359 Appendix 2: Victims 363 Appendix 3: U.S. Congressional Resolution 379 About the author 383 About Peace at the Border 385 Index 387 Prologue Deaths that cry out It was the brutality with which they killed the young women that first caught my attention. That winter’s day of 1999, I stayed up into the early morning hours reading narratives that described death after horrible death. Despite what the Mexican authorities said, the murders were not normal. And, they were many. Dating back to 1993, girls in their adolescent and teenage years suffered unspeakable atrocities, including gang rape and mutilation. Between 1993 and 2005, approximately 470 girls and women died violently in Juarez, Mexico – far more than the 379 deaths the Mexican Federal Attorney General reported for that period. They were killed in various ways: strangled, stabbed, bludgeoned, shot to death. Dozens more are missing. Janeth Fierro, one of the early victims, was only twelve years old in 1994 when she was abducted. The authorities recovered her strangled body and determined she had been raped. In September 1995, the body of Silvia Rivera Morales, a seventeen year-old student, was dumped in Lote Bravo, just south of the Juarez International Airport.