Violencia

Headline: Daughter Seeks Justice for Uber Driver Mother, Killed in Mexico City

Subhead: Brisa García calls for investigation into Karla Patricia Cortés’ death as a femicide, as 10 women are killed daily in Mexico.

Article:

In the late afternoon of December 29, Karla Patricia Cortés Cervantes, an Uber driver, left her home in Mexico City to start her shift. Hours later, her daughter Brisa García received devastating news: her mother’s body had been found in the Azcapotzalco borough, north of the capital. Since then, García has been crusading for justice, demanding that the authorities investigate her mother’s death as a femicide.

Cortés, a 41-year-old mother of two, became one of the countless women whose lives have been cut short in Mexico, where, according to EL PAÍS, more than 3,000 women are killed each year, with a 95% impunity rate.

García took to Twitter to share the news of her mother’s death, urging Uber Mexico’s platform to take responsibility. She recounted that Cortés had received a fatal gunshot wound around 8:00 PM, concluding, "It was not a simple assault."

Disturbing videos surfaced on social media, showing Cortés’ white van parked in an Azcapotzalco street, with another person inside. In one chilling moment, Cortés’ lifeless body is seen being thrown onto the asphalt as the vehicle drives away. The van was later found abandoned.

García suspects foul play, accusing the Mexico City Prosecutor’s Office for Homicide and Feminicide of trying to dismiss the case as a simple homicide. Despite repeated requests, the office has not commented on the case.

Cortés was a devoted mother to her two daughters, one of whom is a minor. García has criticized the lack of protection protocols implemented by the authorities for her younger sister, whom she will now become the legal guardian of. She also alleges that they have been threatened by Cortés’ former partner.

"My mother was a brave, hardworking woman. She went out to work and never returned," García said, calling on Uber to implement stricter safety measures for female drivers, including life insurance for those who have lost family members.

Uber has claimed to have collaborated with the City of Mexico Prosecutor’s Office following three information requests between December 30 and January 2. Meanwhile, García has organized a peaceful march to the prosecutors’ office, set for Monday, to continue pressuring for justice.

Mexico’s femicide crisis remains a pressing issue, with women’s advocacy groups pushing for stronger laws and increased protections. García’s fight for justice for her mother is a heartbreaking reminder of the urgency for change.

Mexico Ends 2024 with Over 26,000 Homicides, Setting the Stage for a Grimmer 2025

The preliminary figures from Mexico’s attorney generals, revealed in the government’s Security Report, showed that the country closed 2024 with 26,715 homicides. This figure represents a slight increase compared to the same period in 2023, averaging around 70 daily homicides. However, experts warn that the final tally, to be delivered by the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP) on January 20, is expected to surpass 80 daily homicides.

Between January and November 2024, a grim total of 39,631 victims were reported. Of these, 23,581 were intentional homicides and 16,050 were negligent homicides, with firearms being the primary weapon in most cases. As the clock struck midnight on December 31, Mexican prosecutors counted 69 homicides nationwide, with another 60 registered on January 1. States like Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Michoacán, and Veracruz topped the list of violent deaths. In Culiacán, Sinaloa’s capital, the new year began with a string of violent incidents, including five killings and three men found decapitated along the Culiacán – El Dorado highway.

May 2024 was the deadliest month of the year, with 4,021 cases reported. Colima led the list of states with the most homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, at 103.10, above the national average of 21.01. Following closely were Morelos (69.62), Baja California (53.91), Chihuahua (46.62), Guerrero (45.39), Guanajuato (43.92), and Sonora (43.03), among others. These staggering statistics do not even account for the more than 113,000 enforced disappearances, most of which have been connected to Mexico’s ongoing war on drugs, initiated in 2006 under former president Felipe Calderón.

come 2025, Mexico will implement a constitutional reform giving unprecedented powers to the Secretary of Public Security, Omar García Harfuch. These powers include coordinating the National Intelligence System, working in tandem with the Attorney General’s Office and the National Guard. The first test of these new abilities comes at the onset of the new year.

Mexico’s generalized violence also disproportionately affects women. According to the SESNSP, 733 women were killed between January and November. However, organizations dedicated to studying this issue, such as the Citizen National Observatory of Feminicide (OCNF), estimate that this number could be twice as high due to underreporting. In 2023, only 25% of female homicide cases were classified as femicides, out of a total of more than 3,000 women killed.

Despite the government’s claim of a 12% reduction in femicides compared to the same period in 2023, 12 states have seen an increase in these crimes. Since President Claudia Sheinbaum took office, 15,158 women have been killed violently. Nuevo León, Mexico State, and Mexico City have the highest concentration of these crimes in the first 11 months of 2024. However, several other states, such as Baja California Sur, Nayarit, Aguascalientes, Coahuila, Baja California, Tabasco, and Guerrero, have also witnessed an increase in the investigation of femicides.