Miriam Rodríguez Martínez

{{Infobox person

| name = Miriam Rodríguez Martínez

| image =

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| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1960|02|05|df=y}}

| birth_place = San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico

| death_date = {{death date and age|2017|05|10|1960|02|05|df=y}}

| death_place = San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico

| other_names =

| occupation = Human rights activist

| years_active = 2014–2017

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Miriam Elizabeth Rodríguez Martínez (5 February 1960 – 10 May 2017) was a Mexican human rights activist. She became one of the many "Missing Child Parents", (a class of victims of organized crime, labeled as such by local news media) after her daughter was abducted and killed. On 10 May, 2017, Rodríguez was shot dead by gunmen who had broken into her home.

Life

Miriam Elizabeth Rodríguez Martínez was born on 5 February 1960 in San Fernando in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.{{Cite news|first=Carlos Manuel|last=Juárez|url=https://adondevanlosdesaparecidos.org/2020/05/11/tres-anos-sin-justicia-en-el-asesinato-de-miriam-la-madre-activista/|title=Tres años sin justicia en el asesinato de Miriam, la madre activista|date=11 May 2020|accessdate=18 December 2020|newspaper=A dónde van los desaparecidos|lang=es}} Her daughter, Karen Alejandra Salinas Rodríguez, disappeared in 2012.{{Cite news|last=Villegas|first=Paulina|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/12/world/americas/mexico-mother-activist-murdered-daughter-tamaulipas.html|title=Gunmen Kill Mexican Activist for Parents of Missing Children|date=12 May 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-03-08|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} Karen's remains were discovered in 2014.{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/obituary/2017/05/20/obituary-miriam-rodriguez-martinez-died-on-may-10th|title=Obituary: Miriam Rodríguez Martínez died on May 10th|newspaper=The Economist|date=20 May 2017|accessdate=13 December 2020|issn=0013-0613}} Rodríguez pursued her daughter’s killers for years, resulting in ten of them being captured.{{Cite news |last=Ahmed |first=Azam |date=2020-12-13 |title=She Stalked Her Daughter’s Killers Across Mexico, One by One |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/13/world/americas/miriam-rodriguez-san-fernando.html |access-date=2024-01-31 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Some of the men arrested for her daughter's case escaped prison after their arrest. Along with finding her daughter, she made efforts to help other parents whose children had disappeared, and from it came the Colectivo de Desaparecidos (The Vanished Collective) organization.

Rodríguez was killed on 10 May 2017, the day Mexico celebrates Mother's Day. She was shot 12 times by gunmen who broke into her home, and died on her way to the hospital.{{Cite news|first=David|last=Agren|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/12/mexican-woman-who-uncovered-cartel-murder-of-daughter-shot-dead-miriam-rodriguez|title=Mexican woman who uncovered cartel murder of daughter shot dead|date=12 May 2017|accessdate=9 March 2020|newspaper=The Guardian}} In solidarity, protesters raised their voices in protest the day she was killed, calling on the Mexican and U.S. governments to ensure the safety of human rights defenders.{{Cite web |date=19 May 2017 |title=Justice for Miriam Rodriguez |url=http://solidarity-us.org/justiceformiriam/ |accessdate=9 March 2020 |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Ahmed |first=Azam |date=2020-12-13 |title=She Stalked Her Daughter's Killers Across Mexico, One by One |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/13/world/americas/miriam-rodriguez-san-fernando.html |access-date=2021-01-04 |issn=0362-4331}}

Miriam Rodríguez Martínez

Life

References

Further reading