On Wednesday April 3rd, elements of the Federal police arrested activist Cipriana Jurado leader of the Non-Governmental Organization, Centro de Investigacion y Solidaridad Obrera and the comrade Carlos Chavez of the organization Agrodinámica Nacional. Agents of the Federal police stopped by force comrade Cipriana and forced her into a car without registration plates, alleging that there was an arrest warrant against her which was never shown during the arrest, nor when she was transferred to the county jail.
At the same time, in the town of Casas Grandes, Carlos Chavez was arrested, he is a co-founder along with Armando Villarreal Martha, the activist who was murdered four weeks ago, of the organization Agrodinámica Nacional. Comrade Cipriana was released on April 4th opening a preliminary inquiry against her for her involvement in a demonstration on October 12, 2005 at the Santa Fe international bridge when she participated in a mobilization in support of rural workers. Carlos Chavez was moved to Ciudad Juarez in the afternoon and handed over to the Attorney General and accused of the same offences. Since the time of arrest numerous organizations have mobilized to demand the release of the comrades and to denounce the intervention and their harassment by the Army and the Federal forces, making the state responsible for the integrity of the detainees and calling for an end to the criminalization of social movements and community activists, as it is rumoured that there is a list of 40 comrades who have an arrest warrant out against them and that the army came to the city with a photographic archive of social activists of the border.
Pedro Paulino Nain, a comrade from the anarchist social center "Kasa de Kultura para Todxs" was arrested in February of this year for his participation in a mobilization in 2003. He has been harassed and scared off attending the social center, and on the same day of the detentions, Sunday, April 3rd, the activists from the social center were informed by an unknown person that the the army had a photographic archive of the members of Kasa de Kultura para Todxs.
Since last April 28 more than 2,000 Mexican Army troops patrol the streets of Ciudad Juarez, they have set up dozens of roadblocks and even helicopters flying over the city as the Federal Government's alleged response to the wave of organized crime-related violence on this border. These actions are part of the so-called “Joint Operation Chihuahua”.
Military elements move through the streets of this city, aiming their long arms at pedestrians, and intimidating the community, besieging the city and violating human rights. Although the army’s advance through the country is justified by the calederonista government as part of the combating of drug trafficking, we know that this argument is only a screen to militarize the country and criminalize social struggles. The patrolling military forces have brought only misery and violence for the Juarenses. For weeks there have been a growing number of complaints against the armed forces, ranging from the torture of members of the municipal police, abuse of power opening fire on a police patrol car, and raping a policewoman of 22, inhuman kidnappings and robberies at the roadblocks, requiring citizens to remain squatted for over half an hour with their hands behind their neck. The state of terror and siege is such that the Municipal police have refused to patrol the city.
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