DOCUMENTED TRUTH
Lydia Cacho had documented the sexual slavery of dozens of children in Cancún. Through intensive interview-ing, in many cases with adults who recounted their experiences as children, she uncovered Succar’s operation: children, mostly in their early teens but some as young as 5 years old, coerced into having sex – while being videotaped – for the amusement of (presumably) adult men in a worldwide market.

…In Mexico City, according to Teresa Ulloa, who heads a group called the Regional Coalition against the Traffic of Women and Girls in Latin America and the Caribbean (CATW), some 200,000 people suffer from some form of sexual exploitation. “One percent,” she told reporter Gabriel Zaragoza of La Jornada, “do so willingly, the rest through brute force, trickery, coercion, abuse of authority or a condition of vulnerability.” An estimated 25 percent of the victims, she added, are men or boys.

Yes, Mexico’s (hopefully) fading system of author-itarian cronyism is scandalous. But the organized, entre-preneurial abuse of children is a great deal more so.

- El Universal and Miami Herald

Feb. 27, 2006

Bajo Reserva
Periodistas de EL UNIVERSAL
El Universal
Martes 27 de junio de 2006

Durante casi dos meses, el góber precioso de Puebla, Mario Marín , deambuló por los pasillos de la Suprema Corte de Justicia para hacer citas y antesalas en las oficinas de los ministros, para exponer su verdad: el gobierno poblano nada tiene que ver con el encarcelamiento de la periodista Lydia Cacho .

El trato que recibió el gobernador-amigo del Rey de la Mezclilla, Kamel Nacif, más bien fue un tanto frío. De ninguna oficina se le vio salir con la sonrisa que acostumbra. Por el contrario, cuentan en la Corte que abandonó los despachos de los ministros Genaro Góngora y Olga Cordero con tremenda cara larga.

Defamation case raises issues of fairness
JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.

The New York Times

MEXICO CITY — A roiling scandal here over the attempts of a state governor to jail a reporter has raised questions about whether the rich and powerful are using their influence with politicians to silence critics.
It began in December when a Cancún journalist who had written a book about child pornography and pedophile rings in the resort town was arrested with no warning and driven across the country to the state of Puebla. The writer, Lydia Cacho, was then charged under state law with defaming a textile businessman, Kamel Nacif, in her book, “The Demons of Eden.” In her book, Cacho wrote that Nacif was a friend of Jean Succar Kuri, a man accused of pederasty in Cancún, and was paying for his legal defense.
Defamation and slander are criminal charges in Mexico, and Cacho was held briefly in jail before being released while state prosecutors began their investigation into the charges. In Mexico, with no grand jury system, an arrest can be made before the charges are substantiated.
Last week, however, someone gave an audiotape to a Mexican radio station and a national newspaper, La Jornada, that renewed the debate over Cacho’s arrest. The recording carries an ugly conversation celebrating Cacho’s arrest between two male voices that the journalists from the newspaper and the radio station said had been identified as the Puebla State governor, Mario Marín, and Nacif.
On the tape, the voice that is said to be the governor’s tells the other man that he has dealt a blow to someone presumed to be Cacho, using an expletive to refer to her. “I told her here in Puebla the law is respected, and there is no impunity,” the voice continues.

Click for complete The New York Times article

A recent editorial by Fred Rozen in the Miami Herald Mexico Edition / El Universal, echoing statements by the Archbishop of Puebla state, make an important point by describing the need for the press and public to maintain focus on the fact that child sexual exploitation in Mexico is the main human rights crisis that must be resolved in that society. Mario Marin, they say, is of lesser importance than addressing child sexual exploitation directly.

We agree.

To accomplish that goal, however, it is critical that we shine a very bright spotlight on public officials such as Puebla Governor Mario Marin.

The world makes a false assumption that governments effectively work to stop child sex trafficking. The only way to counteract that misconception is to show how deep of a problem corruption really is in the context of official protection of child sex traffickers.

Keep the focus on Governor Marin!

In the end, we will see that the work of ending child sex trafficking will become a much easier task to accomplish once the role of official corruption is fully exposed.

- Chuck Goolsby

Feb. 27-March 1, 2006

Wire services
El Universal
March 14, 2006

A reporter whose arrest and transfer across state lines triggered a scandal on Monday filed formal complaints accusing a governor and state attorney general of abuse of power, attempted rape and influence peddling.

Lydia Cacho, the author of a book about a network of pedophiles, presented citizen´s complaints with authorities at the federal Attorney General´s Office in Mexico City against Puebla Gov. Mario Marín.

Cacho also implicated Blanca Laura Villegas, Puebla´s top law enforcement official, Rosa Celia Pérez, the judge who presided over a hearing following Cacho´s arrest, and a businessman linked to reputed child molesters by her book.

Marín was implicated after Mexican news media released recorded telephone conversations in which he allegedly speaks with the businessman about punishing Cacho for her book. Marín first refused to respond to the recordings, then called a news conference to say the voice on the tapes was not his.

Cacho´s “The Demons of Eden” was published last year and chronicles networks of pedophiles, child prostitution and pornography.

The book links the businessman allegedly taped talking to Marín to the accused head of a child prostitution and pornography ring.

In December, police agents from Puebla traveled to Cacho´s Cancún home and arrested her on libel and slander charges which grew out of complaints by the businessman. Authorities then drove her 1,700 kilometers to jail in Puebla. She was later granted bail, but still faces charges.

Though Puebla prosecutors insist making the arrest across state lines violated no laws, the manner in which Cacho was detained raised questions among human rights groups. The recordings purportedly featuring Marín appear to provide more evidence her arrest was improper.

The lower house of Congress has urged the governor to step down while authorities investigate allegations he participated in a possible revenge plot against Cacho. Only the Puebla legislature has the power to remove Marín from office. The case has prompted street protests in Puebla, demanding that Marín resign.