News

Mexican Authorities Failed To Investigate British Activists Kidnapping Until UK Gov And UN Applied Pressure

This British-Mexican political activist fighting corruption has allegedly been kidnapped by armed men but the local authorities are only looking into it now after pressure from the British government and the United Nations.

Claudia Uruchurtu Cruz was allegedly dragged by kidnappers into the back of a red truck that drove off with her in the boot during an anti-corruption protest in Mexico.

The 48-year-old activist, whose family has settled in the city of Sheffield, was attending a protest against the mayor of the Asuncion Nochixtlan municipality in the south-western Mexican state of Oaxaca when she went missing on 26th March.

Newsflash

The dual British-Mexican national was protesting against the municipality’s president, Lizbeth Victoria Huerta member of the centre-left Morena party.

Huerta, who is running for election in June, is currently under investigation by the Mexican Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office for the alleged misappropriation of public funds.

Local media outlet Didxha reported that the protests began after Huerta allegedly ordered her bodyguards to beat a businesswomen half to death after she asked the president to pay back a MXN 500,000 (GBP 18,143) loan.

According to the activist’s sisters, Elizabeth and Sara Uruchurtu Cruz, ages not given, Claudia was last seen in the town’s central square where she was mobbed by a group of people who bundled her into the back of a red pick-up truck and drove off.

Newsflash

The Mexican Ombudsman’s Office for Human Rights heard testimonies from witnesses who corroborated the account given by the sisters regarding how the victim disappeared.

Elizabeth and Sara added that Claudia had been subjected to constant threats because of her political activism.

They went on to directly accuse the municipal government of orchestrating their sister’s disappearance.

Local news outlet Sinembargo reports that the authorities had refused to look into the case until pressure from the federal Mexican government forced their hand.

Newsflash

The Mexican government came under pressure to act from the United Nations (UN) and the British government.

The UN Committee Against Forced Disappearance signed an open letter addressed to the Mexican government pressuring them to locate the missing woman.

Whilst Claudia’s sisters who live in the northern city of Sheffield in the United Kingdom wrote to the British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab asking him to work with the Mexican government in finding Claudia.

Several MPs from the city of Sheffield have also written to the foreign security on behalf of the victim’s family raising their concerns about the situation.

Newsflash

The Attorney General’s Office issued a statement on Twitter announcing they had issued a ‘Pink alert’ which is applied if a woman in the state is missing.

The Attorney General is currently treating this as a missing person case, not a kidnapping as no demands have been issued for her release.

Huerta has claimed complete innocence in the case and has said that she is willing to collaborate in the investigation.

The Attorney General’s Office is yet to release any information regarding potential suspects or leads in the case.

Don’t miss Our New Story!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.