The following information is from Amigos de las Mujeres de Juarez:

Recent events in Ciudad Juarez may help explain the latest threat to female activists working in the city. According to recent reports found on FronteraNorteSur.com, the Mexican government has implemented a military coalition known as “Operation Chihuahua Together”.

In a response to increased drug trafficking and increased drug cartel related homicides the government has brought the military into the city of Juarez in an effort to control the drug crisis taking place throughout the state of Chihuahua. Unfortunately, the military presence has been unable to curb the violence. Instead, the city’s murder rate has already exceeded the rate for the full year of 2007. If this trend continues, the number of murders will likely double from 2007 to 2008. Increased drug cartel activity, increasing murder rates and military attempts to crack down the violence make conditions exceptionally difficult and dangerous for femicide activists.

Activists like Esther Chavez Cano and organizations like Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa, and Justica para Nuestras Hijas continue to organize and fight. On March 8th of this year only a few weeks prior to the arrival of military forces in Ciudad Juarez the groups mentioned above along with other activists from both sides of the US-Mexico border joined on International Women’s day to protest the violence that continues to target the women of northern Mexico. The protest held on March 8th of this year marked the 15-year anniversary of the femicide in Ciudad Juarez.