Padre Alejandro Solalinde @ Cencos
The priest Alejandro Solalinde Guerra, founder and director of the migrant home “Brothers on the Path” in the city of Ixtepec, Oaxaca, declared on 12 May that he will abandon his priestly functions at the space for some months. The reason for his temporary leave have to do with the fact that he has received several death-threats since the year 2010, after having denounced hte existence of an international network that kidnaps migrants. These threats have become more frequent in recent months. Solalinde notes that the death-threats against him originate in groups that serve “influential politicians” and drugtraffickers. He found ex-governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz responsible for whatever aggression he or any member of his team could suffer.
The cleric affirmed that the attacks could come from organized crime or the government, given that “now there is no difference between them.” He stressed that the trip he would take to Europe starting on 21 May with a brief stay in the U.S. and Canada would be only a pause in his work, not a definitive exile. He plans during this trip to present the vulnerabilities and risks suffered by human-rights defenders in Mexico, in particular those who defend migrants. “If anything should happen to me or to my team, I will indicate Ulises Ruiz [as responsible], but he is not the only one. For this reason I demand that authorities investigate the matter. During the six-year term [of Ulises Ruiz] I was attacked, and he did nothing. Gabino Cué tries to change things; he has good intentions, but Ulises’ apparatus is still intact,” he declared.
For more information (in Spanish):
Solalinde: Si me pasa algo yo señalo al ex gobernador oaxaqueño Ulises Ruiz
(La Jornada, 16 de mayo de 2012)
Amenazas de muerte obligan al padre Solalinde a salir de México (El Informador, 14 de mayo de 2012)
Rechazan que Solalinde deje defensa de migrantes (El Universal, 13 de mayo de 2012)
El Padre Solalinde visitará Europa para presentar los riesgos de las personas defensoras y de los migrantes en México (Cencos, 15 de mayo de 2012)
Priest who denounced abuse, kidnapping of migrants in southern Mexico flees death threats (The Washington Post, 14 de mayo de 2012)
Página Web de Hermanos en el Camino
Audio:
Alejandro Solalinde, sacerdote. Abandonar el país después de varias amenazas de muerte, ‘Jamás voy a dejar mi misión’ (El Mañanero, 16 de mayo de 2012)
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