Recently, Veracruz, Mexico has become synonymous with words like corruption and fear instead of being recognized as the festive port it once was renowned as. There is a deep polarity between the wealthy elite and the rest of the marginalized underprivileged citizens. That wealthy elite has gained the notoriety of being untouchable due to the widespread corruption that has run rampant in the state’s justice system. The police have gained the reputation of protecting the wealthy while disregarding the poor. Leon Krauze of the New Yorker writes, “Mexico has a deeply flawed judicial system, and its flaws become most apparent when cases are brought against the powerful and the wealthy.” Daphne Fernandez has become a rare exception to the corruption in the Veracruz justice department, but as one can imagine her path to being an exception did not come easily.
In early January 2015, Daphne went out with her classmates to a local club. As the night was coming to a close, Daphne was waiting outside the club for her friend to pick her up. According to her father, Javier Fernandez, a black Mercedes then pulled up to Daphne and forced her in the car. While Daphne was in the car she recognized three of her former school mates, Jorge Cotaita Cabrales, Gerardo Rodríguez Acosta and Diego Cruz Alonso. The driver of the Mercedes was Enrique Capitaine Marin. According to Daphne, she was not only sexually assaulted by Cotaita and Cruz in the car, but she was raped by Capitaine when they arrived at his house.
After months of silence, Daphne could no longer take the pain and confided the sexual assault to family members. Javier decided to take action but not the way we as Americans would assume. Initially, Javier refused to go the police. In an interview, Fernandez told Krauze, “In Mexico, the last thing the system of justice provides is justice. I just didn’t trust the authorities.” That distrust towards the Mexican justice system would prove to be valid. After secretly recording the Daphne’s alleged assaulters apologizing for their actions towards Daphne, Javier went to the authorities. However, even with this evidence, months went by with no action. Fed up with the justice system, Javier went to the local media to gain attention. The story caught fire, and became global news.
In Veracruz, the members of the police force are no less criminals than the members of the Zeta cartel that of which control the port city. The Veracruz justice system’s actions, or better put, inaction, is consistent with that of an organized crime group. The police department is a structured group, which has existed for a period of time, and has acted in concert while committing crimes with the primary motivation of financial and/or material gain. Police turning a blind eye to crime in exchange for monetary gain provided by the city’s elite is a crime within of itself. The Mexican populous know how corrupt the police are, so much so that only 20% of sexual assaults are even reported to authorities (CNN Mexico). Krauze writes, “When asked to explain their reluctance to go to the police, a majority of crime victims say that they don’t want to “waste their time” with an untrustworthy, corrupt system.”
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/dec/22/mexico-veracruz-police-force
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/los-porkys-the-sexual-assault-case-thats-shaking-mexico
TRANS-NATIONAL CRIME AND TERRORISM 