I was born and raised in Zacatecas, in 2012 we were under the control of the Zetas, it was complete hell. I was 6 and I remember when my 17 year old brother at the time came in crying telling us that the Zetas told him he had 2 months to join them or get out of the town or we, his family, would be killed. We were lucky enough to have papers and immediately moved to the U.S. We would walk around the town and just see bodies in bags, and people going missing left and right. I still have nightmares about this every single night. You are right, we were petrified.
I'm glad you guys could get out :| i can't begin to imagine how that must have been and still is. I hope your family is safe nowadays and living a normal life
In a small town in Veracruz a smaller group started enrolling middle school age kids in 2014. They promised them money and power, kids were disappearing, and I know people that were able to get out, but are still struggling with addiction due to it.
There's a before and after in Mexico after 2012 when Calderón started his "war". This was all funded by the US. And through an operation called "Fast and Furious", the US gave the guns and the power to cartels. Every single criminal group has been funded by them to destabilize a nation so they can swoop in and "save the day" by setting military bases. But we know how it works. We've seen how Syria and Afghanistan and Iraq, etc were basically looted by the US. I'm just grateful the World is waking up now to who the puppet masters behind the curtains really are.
@@lissetteorona7010yes and it’s specific in some areas, my family is from one part and thankfully it’s gotten so much better now, not at all free but easier to live in. I has family almost get kidnapped, actually my cousin and uncle did but I don’t think it was zetas and after stealing all the stuff they and one night of captivity they let them go, oh they only let them drive the truck back to our town, they said they’d have someone waiting to take the truck once they made it safely back. I know it wasn’t the zetas bc they stole all jewelry but let my uncle keep his wedding ring😂
The number of people in these comments sharing stories of their family members disappearing in Mexico is incredibly sobering. It’s one thing hearing statistics, it’s quite another scrolling through comments and reading story after story of personal experiences. My heart goes out to all of you
I was a 15 something years old when all of this happened, I grow terrified I will get mistaken by a rival cartel kid and get killed by no reason at all, or get drugged and forced to go into gunfights forcefully, a good chunk of people of my same age don't achieved to be in this world no more, shit is traumatizing...
While listening to this i remembered my uncle being kidnapped or something and honestly i think he was murdered... we never talked about it ... I'm scared and sad that it's something we've almost buried or avoided to face... the family already was distant with him but he's still family and it's tragic nonetheless. I might need to ask my mom about it but I'm not trying to re traumatized her .. either way i feel so much for these families. Mexico is filled with such humble peaceful people just trying to exist and you have the polar opposite terrorizing their communities. It is un just.
My brother got murdered in Mexico. He was pumping gas, and there was a shooting where a couple of people were killed who were pumping gas, including the cashier register at the gas station. I read the newspaper article. The newspaper article read that they didn't know if it was a cartel shooting.
Stephanie, my uncle was kidnapped and held ransom by Los Zetas in Veracruz, 2010. I had to pack up my life and move to Mexico to take care of my GMA bc she went crazy. They asked for over 50k pesos. My grandpa had to identify his remains and to this day you can see the pain in his eyes as my uncle was discarded like trash, dismembered. Rest in peace my uncle Jazmani Aguilar Aguilar.
They told him they had a job for him at the local primary school since he had just finished college with a teaching degree, he was supposed to be going to a meeting about the job but they just took him for a week. We also were able to come up with the money but they never gave us a drop off location for the money. We are sure they had already killed him.
Corruption has made it to where there is no justice for my family and most families that live through these tragedies in Mexico. In fact, im forced to see the people who did this to him every time I go visit my family. I can’t enjoy my stays bc we live in fear of being targeted again.
My uncle was also murdered by the cartel, they broke into his house and shot him multiple times along with his girlfriend. My other uncle was the one to found him in the home when he hadn’t heard from him the whole day. Im sorry you went through this as well. It’s the fact we know we’ll never get true justice. Rip Fransico (chino) Razo.
unfortunately i know lots of people who were victimized in some way, and their families knew either after or *during* and didn't do shit. this lady was special
I know all about it. Mama bear here. My son was murdered in 2022. I made sure his killers went to jail. Took me and his dad a bit to find them but we did and now they’re paying for having dared taken my son’s life. RIP my Chris 😢
As a Mexican, I believe that the president at that time was behind all the violence in Mexico. Even the last president, AMLO, had some ties with the high elites to keep the conflict at bay. Overall, narcos are just individuals with low self-esteem who get manipulated; some are just brainwashed with narco culture. As you mentioned, the US has a lot to do with this. The cowards pulling the strings from these pathetic puppets are the ones that make me feel sick. It’s the same phenomenon that you see with Scientology and how their system work. This world needs courage, and not pathetic bastar that sell their as for money or status. Miriam, as a compatriot, I have the highest respect for you~
@@BabzV it was teamwork with my son’s dad, my dad and me . They like to boast about whatever terrible thing they do and it reached our ears from friends that were in those circles and we got them arrested. I still have that hole in my chest. We put them behind bars but there are still many more that will take someone else’s son. I really don’t feel peace. Their mothers can visit them in prison, I can only talk to and hold my son’s urn 😪 Nothing will bring him back… and 25 years isn’t enough
As a mexican, “they” did the same to my family back then… unfortunately we couldn’t pay on time. They killed them and never even recovered the body so we had to have an empty burial. So Miriam… I admire your strength and I send you love
I'm so sorry. How foul. Please stay super safe. And Romans 10:9-11 says, "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved".Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
@@alisonmercer5946drug and human trafficking. Mostly drugs though. The U.S. is a HUGE consumer of drugs (other countries too) and that is where their funding comes from. :( that’s why we have so many migrants trying to enter the U.S. , not just from Mexico, but central and South American countries too. It’s so sad. The more people consumer illegal drugs, the more we help them have a hold over these countries and their government. It is SO effed up. 😢
The thing that hits me hardest about these cases is when you give dates for the story, I think back to what I was doing around that time and... It gives so much perspective that I think we all need. When she realized her daughter was dead, I was working on my senior essay. We naturally think that our own problems are the end of the world, but somewhere in the world, someone has it infinitely worse.
I agree. It's a very humbling and strange feeling. To know that sort of stuff was happening while you were conscious, that people are living completely separate lives during the exact timeframe you are.
Mama bear instincts are real. She gave them everything they wanted and they STILL took Karen's life. Miriam Rodríguez not only avenged her daughter but by killing 10 lives she saved the lives of many. She did better than the police who allowed these casualties, the loss of her child, to occur. Rest in peace, Miriam Rodríguez.
The disclaimer made me tear up. Thank you. My family was forced to leave Mexico-and was lucky enough to be able to do so-due to cartel violence and have not returned since. I lost a friend brutally in 2020. Thank you for promoting kindness and empathy. The love of a mother is like no other. I would go to the ends of the earth for my daughter. Miriam actually did. What an amazing mother and what a heartbreaking story.
Romans 10:9-11 says, "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved".Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
I can confidently say in the name of Mexicans…Thank you for covering this case. Miriam, Marisela Escobedo, and groups of mothers such as Sabuesos Guerreras have dedicated their life to bring justice and perhaps even closure to the missing of Mexico and their families … thank you, thank you, thank you.
No one outside of Mexico really understand how much cartels affect Mexican citizens. 3 of my cousins have been "disappeared" and one was kidnapped and released after we payed thousands of dollars in ransom. The only reason he is alive is because the man who was assigned to k!ll him showed compassion and let him go behind his boss's back. Who knows if that guy is still alive.
Apuesto a que ese hombre fue reclutado forzosamente por eso mostró empatía porque no quiere estar ahí si no que es obligado, con tanto desaparecido varios sobretodo hombres son reclutados forzosamente.
As a Mexican myself, please please please be really careful when you do any videos about cartels. They have no limits, no borders, please always stay safe. And THANK YOU for clarifying we’re not all involved in organized criminal groups, we’re just trying to live with this horrible situation Mexico is going through (and will forever go through since politicians are also criminals) Video idea: cover the “Paulette” case, one of the most viral cases in Mexico. edit: you guys are going nuts for something so irrelevant. Yes, I’m MEXICAN, no I’m not living in the US. I’ve seen a lot of bad things happen, even to some close ones just for speaking up, yet this is in no way implying something bad will happen to Stephanie. Every single one of us speaks from experience, my experience is probably really different from the rest of you and I’m glad we’re giving visibility to topics some of us are usually forced to being silent about :)
@@Yellstrike No. They can find her, if they really wanted to. The channel has already hinted that Rotten Mango is based at or otherwise connected to Atlanta, Georgia. Just look at the "Post" section on the channel page, where they advertised a need for a Korean-speaking worker who can relocated to Atlanta. It may be dated 7 months ago, but how hard do you think it would be to follow the breadcrumbs from there?
Miriam Rodríguez pursued her daughter’s killers for years resulting in 10 of them being captured. 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. 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.
@@lamoskgrI mean to be honest I get it but I buy frm the cartel so I cant hate on em they aint horrible ppl like folks say they ass got me a jet to fly back to chicago they ass cool but they do crazy sht sumtimes this was wild
@@xSlamma Your comment basically: “yea that sucks they murder innocents and ruin so many lives, but I buy from them so they’re totally cool teehee” You’re part of the problem.
@@xSlamma you think that till you make one mistake. Everyone’s capable of equal bad and good. Everyone in the cartel is in survival mode they are just as if not more at risk of meeting the same fate as their victims-desperation and fear will make you do some really cruel things and of course every cartel member is human and many have families and are lovable but that won’t change what theyll do if they’re ordered to take you out. I’m lucky to be alive and so are you , be careful and make no mistake with who you’re dealing with
“I hope common sense finds you soon” is iconic and so real. For people to assume that Mexican citizens are part of the problem of the Cartels rather than seeing as the victims they are is insane. I always appreciate how much you do to respect these stories and the communities involved and this disclaimer at the beginning of this was perfect. Thank you and all your incredible researchers (and thank you for outsourcing research to people who actually speak the language, that’s amazing).
I remember when all of this was happening my family gathered together to talk... We decided that if any of us got kidnapped we weren't going to try to bring us back. Sometimes, when my dad went out to work i heard him tell my mom "if they take me, don't give them money... Ill be fine" i was like 12 years old? Its sad that was our reality
How is your family now? I hope you moved away and I pray you’re protected in Jesus name! This crime makes no sense to me…just to take anyone… I had a close friend her name is Shaddai… She saw heads and bodies go down in a river…this was 3 years ago…Her college was attacked as well, but she already had a bad feeling and fled by God’s mercy. I hope her father turned away from wickedness…and She and her mol could leave her father. Really unfortunate what many of you face !! May God cover you according to Psalm 91! 🙏🏻💓
@@royaldiadem324 moving out was not a possibility, it was something that we just had to face. Got better? Less worse haha when other people got to run the government and stuff. I'm still living in Mexico and it's a beautiful place. I'm glad your friend got to flee that nightmare, is something that can hunt you forever
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. Miriam was shot 12 times by gunmen in front of her house and died on May 10, 2017.
😯..yknow I bet she knew that was coming some day and was ready to die that way. Someone like that should be so much more awarded accredited and known all over the world. Only for this YT Rotten Mango episode I would never have known this absolute badass mama bear who fought for the most special part of her who they had ripped away. What a legend ❤ I hope you and your daughter are together wherever we go.
I think this is the first rotten mango video i've had to pause, hearing you described the cartel war in Mexico, brought some suppressed memories. When we lived it, we didn't have time to process it really, we still had to go to school, work, etc. One day my house was caught in the middle of a shooting, my family and me had to duck down for the whole night while we heard people die, neighbors cry and our house shake from the grenades explosions, we didn't sleep. That morning I walked with eyes covered out of my house and went to school, i had a math test to take.
this brings tears to my eyes, how can we live like this? I am even afraid to like the video. fear is so terrible. are we ever going to have our old mexico back?
Same, the PTSD is real. The house next to mine was a safe house and we didn´t know it. One day we woke up for school (I think I was like 10) and found out that we were surrounded by the army, helicopters flying in circles, people with snipers on the roofs aiming to that house. Everything was so noisy and you could hear the radios and them talking or yelling to the people who were inside that house. One of the officers saw us at the window and yelled at us to go hide far from the entrance and to close all our windows. My family was so scared, we stayed locked in one room for hours until we stopped hearing anything.
the case of Marisela Escobedo Ortiz was also one that always stuck to me. Marisela was murdered in front of the government palace while protesting for the arrest of her daughter’s murderer. it so sad seeing mothers go through so many obstacles while trying to seek justice for their children, only to be killed during their fight.
There's another case of a husband being kidnapped, so the wife finds out where one of the kidnapper's mothers lives and does the same to her. She tells them that whatever they do to her husband, the mother will also suffer the same fate. If they cut off a finger, the mother will get a finger chopped off. If they kill him, she will be killed as well. It's a crazy real-life story with news footage. At the end, they return the husband in exchange for the kidnapper's mother.
You should never mess with a mom, never mess with her child because mothers have a primal need to protect and avenge their children. THIS WOMAN IS AN AMAZING MOM. Edit: For clarity, yes, I am aware that not all mothers are like this one.
I absolutely agree, but I'm not talking about some mothers. I'm speaking of mothers who care, mothers who love their children. A mother isn't just someone who gives birth, a mother nurtures, unfortunately not alot of biological mothers are true mothers.@Flamsterette
My cousin was found in a body bag a few years ago. I’ve had uncles taken for ransom. My grandpa worked as a criminal court judge for years as well as a detective, prosecutor and public defender. He met el chapó and el mayo zambada, unfortunately he passed away 2 weeks ago but he is a huge inspiration of why I want to go into law. He was the bravest person I know, he got frequent threats and had survived an assassination attempt but his body guard took the shot.
Two years ago, my aunt called my mom from Mexico, crying because some cartel men had broken into her house and taken my cousin. They were trying to recruit him and he tried to fight back. In his struggle they cut off his right ear in front of my aunt. Then they dragged him out of the house. She never saw him again and there wasn’t anything she could do.
Stephanie I beg of you to take a look into the case of the chibok girls, were 100+girls were kidnapped and only 82 returned, and how the government is turning a blind eye on the whole cult to their advantage,I had been begging you to talk about this shed light on this situation so they know we are watching
I debated through the entire video on whether or not to comment but i feel i have to. my eldest brother fell victim to sicario/cartel violence in 2020. going into detail isn’t very easy, so i won’t. we know he’s gone, and his body was never given back to us. everyday my family and i wish there was something we could have done to get him back or protect him. Miriam’s motherly spirit is so special, may she rest in peace. Thank you for bringing awareness so compassionately, Stephanie.
The Tijuana cartel/affiliated cops kidnapped my uncle who was a cop just bc he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, he had a wife and two young babies. That was 25 years ago and we still have no trace of him he simply vanished. Twenty five years of nothing being done and thousands going missing every day for fentanyl it’s insane.
My uncle was also kidnapped and murdered in Guerrero Mexico back in 2006 or 2005(not sure what year) I don’t know what cartel took his life but he too had a wife and a kid. It’s really unfortunate that he passed and it had a tremendous effect on my grandmother. She developed alzheimers and my family and I suspect it was because of that event. I can only hope she was able to greet her son in the afterlife.
@@mgam4963 I’m so sorry your family had to go through cartel violence as well it’s truly heartbreaking, I never got to meet my uncle but it tore my family apart, my grandma still believes he will come back, my mother developed schizophrenia, the babies he had one of them turned out fine but the wife and daughter are…. In bad paths let’s just say. I can’t even imagine the outcome of other families that went through the same or worse. Mexico is so beautiful but it hurts
The thing is, she has the same mindset as Bukele but Western leaders attack people with this kind of mindset. Its simply because they want their neighbors to continue to be weak and poor and ruled by criminals so that they can continue to assert their global dominance.
@@darling8686 ahh that wasn’t meant to be mean haha it’s just your right universally I was trying to add to your point and that to say Miriam was unjustified would be insanity haha
She died on Mother’s Day. I fell apart when I heard that. I started yelling and bawling. May she and her daughter rest easy. I hope those people end up found and arrested.
As someone who grew up in Mexico City, not even close to where this issue was going on. I can say that the Zetas genuinely traumatized me as a little kid. They’ll show what they did to other people in newspapers, magazines and tv. And they would not censor it or anything.
I would love to travel to mexico as it looks so beautiful in both landscape and culture but this stuff genuinely does scare me. Obviously most people aren’t associated with them, but the thought of being in the wrong place at the wrong time terrifies me. Does anyone have any advice on traveling to mexico safely outside of americanized resorts (which aren’t inherently safe anyways)
@@sloop3720I’m Mexican so here’s my tips: - To avoid any posible problems, stay in tourist areas only (specially those aimed towards foreigners). Like hotel areas, restaurants and natural parks. It’s gonna be more expensive, yes. - Don’t go driving in the highways at night! And if you can, take the paid highways instead of crossing across small towns (these can be really dangerous). And if you get stopped by military people with sneakers or different color boots don’t be rude and just give them a bit of money (they ask for it, but’s not that common if you don’t go to places with heavy cartel influence) and drive away. But’s better to take buses to go from state to state, though that doesn’t mean your bus will be completely safe. - Don’t get into fights at all!! Specially while driving and if the person has a huge truck. As long as you do you, you’re mostly safe (in places where cartel influence isn’t that noticeable). - As a woman, I don’t recommend clubbing in Mexico. If you’re drinking alcohol, it’s safer to do it at your hotel than going out. (Risk of your drinks being spiked and you potentially getting kidnapped like in everywhere else). - And the usual keeping your purses on your sight to avoid being pickpocketed! Mexico has walkable cities and places and pickpockets are possible specially in the farmer markets.
@@diosnumber1stfanme too I’m first generation mex American and my family looks at me crazy when I say that I don’t want to go I’m genuinely scared of visiting
I mean, one president did try and it just made things worse for the general population. The saddest and most frustrating part is that, as long as cartels still have access to US money and weapons, they will keep having the police, the government, and the army grabbed by the metaphorical balls.
Do you think the government is a friend? Family? A parent? Why do people think that gov. is giving a damn in reality? The only one who cares about a loved one, child is YOU as a mother, father, sister/brother, family. Even family does not allways really care about one another.
@@heide-raquelfuss5580 That’s the point. A mother shouldn’t have to loose they’re daughter if the government has more resources, people and responsibility to protect the people who have family members that are actively trying not to get involved. Disgusting how they take their money then do fuck all to protect them.
She was probably scared bc the justice system failed her yet again by letting 29 people she suffered to put in there out by digging a hole like a dog. It’s defeating and depressing
Many criticize Bukele for the way he has prisoners (gang members), but tbh everywhere in the world they should follow his footsteps when it comes to these type of people...
@@madellynpineda5020I'm sure Bukele has his dirt nobody has been able to dig up yet, and I'm just waiting for it to come out at some point because the current state of affairs is so fucked up in North America that it's made me cynical of politicians. HOWEVER, he did pull his country out of the chaos it was in before he came into office. He's changed things for the better as a progressive candidate should and he's actually picking up the trash off the streets (trash being the violent gangs). Hell, even my mom who's Salvadorian loves him and thinks he's quite charming, and it's hard to please her at all. He's the kind of young politician that both U.S. and Mexico need.
isnt it just the same in USA except that violent prisoners dont have to dig out, they let woke judge release them and mostly will end up in policeactivity
@@carolinacoreas7716Bukeles is the result of both our parties, hes bring hopes to the country but because we know it couldnt be worse that what we have 20 years ago and more , so But he never dod what he promises to the minorities the support him during his elections. So however like it say is not worse them before so that plays on his favor. Our country has had many militarized leaders so
I was living in Tamaulipas at the time when Los Zetas ruled there, my mom would get constantly called from our school to come pick us up whenever there were shootings around the area from the cartels fighting. If the shooting was happening very nearby our school then we’d get held inside with our bodies down on the ground until the shooting was over. A year later my family moved to the US, and honestly people in America have no idea how blessed and privileged they are to be born American.
As a Mexican myself, i honestly want to say, please be careful with doing any cartel videos. just in case, also i want to thank you for clarifying that not all Mexicans are involved in cartels. some people just try to live the lives they were blessed with.
Every time a serious case (not meaning to take away from any other case) but when cases that involve very powerful people, I feel worried about their safety. Please @StephanieSoo always be careful ❤❤
As a Mexican-American, I really appreciate the disclaimer at the beginning of the video, many do tend to demonize Mexico and and us as a whole for the whole idea of Cartels and the dangers of the bad parts of Mexico. So again, Tysm! 😊❤️
Primos, all Americans don't think that. As an African American, I know what it's like to have people stereotype you. So trust I know the stereotype isn't true. ❤
All my heart and respect goes to Mrs. Miriam, Karen and Luis and of course, to all the “desaparecidos/as” .Thank you Stephanie and your team for kept pushing this real stories and awareness.
When Los Zetas were a big cartel in Mexico I lived in one of the plazas (Zacatecas) they were in control of back in 2012. There were constant kidnappings of civilians including CHILDREN who were murdered and butchered for their organs to sell on the black market. People would always be in fear of being stopped in the middle of the street to have their truck stolen and kidnapped by Los Zetas. It was a scary time, what made it worse was the fact that people were even afraid of the authorities because they were all affiliated with the cartel. And quite honestly that is still the case.
Indeed. Scary. We live in a scary horrible world. Killing people for organ harvesting is a worldwide issue. But people do not know this ( at least most do not know it ).
Thank you for this one. It hits close to home, the zetas killed my cousin her husband and shot their one year old daughter while celebrating her first birthday in Zacatecas. Needless to say our hatred for the zetas runs deep.
I'm so sorry to hear about your family. I have friends and family living in Zacatecas and we can only pray that they stay safe. So I know what you mean when you say that the hatred runs deep. My mom says that Zacatecas will never be the same after what they did there.
As a Mexican thank you so much for speaking on this case, the Zetas marked the lives of every Mexican, we used to do drills at school just in case to protect ourselves against a shooting incident, no one could go outside without fear, it was truly scary during that time along with the war on drugs which started around that time as well. I do appreciate a lot that you mentioned that no one is more affected by the cartel than us.
idk if there's any truth to this, just my personal observation, when she first went out to seek revenge, she was probably completely fearless because she was so deeply depressed that she didn't care about what might happen to her but when she started this group and helped other families in the same situation she had a purpose again
I need people to understand - if everyone in Mexico were involved with cartels, there wouldn’t be anyone left for the cartels to exploit. Just think about it for a second. It doesn’t make any sense for an entire country to be criminals. At minimum, for criminal enterprises, it’s really bad for business.
And without bad Americans with money (either from their families or from their crimes), the cartels wouldn't have a reason to be tyrants. The bad people in Mexico and the bad people in America should be on a small island by themselves, without the addicted, without the entitled, and without the victims available, the rest of us would be a lot safer. My favorite babysitter would pick me up at school in the U.S., we would cross the border and go to her house in Mexico, her and her family have been and will always be some of my favorite people. And not a single one of them was a criminal (well, one nephew liked to shoplift, but that was the worst). They were hardworking and loving people who accepted this little gringo girly and taught me so much about family.
Drugs don't flow to Mexico through US. It isn't complicated. Government cooperates with cartel and cartel is working with Chinese nationals to flood us with fentanyl and it isn't just criminas being killed by it. Maybe the new president will clean up? That'll be nice. Maybe Americans can clean up our government also. It'll be great if we the people can elect good people and change both of our countries @@traveling_bookseller
I agree with what you said, but I just wonder if everyone are criminals in a nation. Will they just end up exploiting lower ranking members of their own group?
It’s kind of ridiculous to blame Americans for Mexican cartels being the way they are. Most Americans don’t have anything to do with what they produce and the sheer violence isn’t part of the transaction at all. Cartel members are violent just for the fun of it. Listen to the brutality from this video alone - most of it is done without purpose. No American is pushing cartel members to skin people alive for a gram.
I absolutely agree and nobody in their right mind would think otherwise. However, cartels are so powerful and untouchable since not even the government can deal with them apparently (it's also possible for people in high government jobs to work with the cartels), so this is why so many foreigners are afraid to go Mexico. Tourists are also a target for these despicable pieces of trash.
I read here that Miriam died by being shot 12 times in front of her home in 2017. I imagine she actually figured that is how she would go out. Her's is the name of a real hero, someone who SHOULD be known. That was a woman who was fighting to avenge the only person who had ever who literally owned part of her heart, shared her heart, still remembered how carefully she carried and loved her in utero, this woman just kinda stuns me in how inspirational, fearless, determined, she's an absolute Queen Mama Bear. I hope wherever we go after death she was immediately reunited with Karen ❤
You should cover the case of “Paulette”, one of the MOST infamous cases in Mexican history. A 5yo rich disabled girl who disappeared in her own house and later turned out to be killed and “hidden” in her own bed, tucked in between the bedsheets. Every media outlet covered her disappearance, and even FILMED live on top of her bed when she was allegedly kidnapped (but she was already dead in the bed). The principal suspect of her murder -her own parents-, but because they were the owners of very important companies in Mexico they got away with it. The WHOLE case is documented in video by mexican media (even when they found the little girl dead in her bed). It was obvious that she was killed elsewhere and she was later hidden in the bed, but the parents alleged that she got trapped in her bed and died by accident🤡
There is a show on netflix covering this case called "The Search". It was infuriating how many people were involved and trying to save face. It seemed like nobody cared about what happened to Paulette just as long as they were not blamed for how the case unfolded.
My mom left Mexico at 15 and never looked back. It’s sad because it is such a beautiful country and most of the people there are just trying to live their lives like everyone else.
i had a close family member who was kidnapped by a cartel affiliated gang, in a latin american country but not in mexico, it is the most terrifying thing we've ever experience. we were SO lucky we got her back and they just wanted money, and we had to take out loans and borrow from friends to cover her ransom. it DEEPLY saddens and destroys me that these cartels terrorize their OWN people, their own community, knowing exactly how we live well below our means. whats worse is that they also grew up in the same environment as us and still choose to terrorize the community that helped raised them. miriam is a true hero, and an amazing mother. thank you for covering this case stephanie, and take care of yourself!
I live close to the border and my family used to visit Mexico all the time, but stopped going when they drove past a pile of bodies on the side of the road. My mom turned the car around and drove straight back to the US and nobody has visited since. It's sad because Mexico is such a vibrant country filled with kind people. The cartels are a horrific minority.
If that actually happened, then I'm sorry y'all had to even see that. Such a cruel and crazy world we live in. I wouldn't want to go back either after experiencing that.
I too live next to the border of one of the top 10 most dangerous citirs in mexico i feel you i love mexico and its people but the cartel ruin it so much we jus want peace💗
As a former Tamaulipas resident this video really touched me. I moved to Texas about 5 years ago and I can still remember drive by shootings so clearly. I was so young even then and it’s true Cartels target just anyone. My family and I were robbed at gun point in the Reynosa- Rio bravo carretera and they took our car along with any valuables. My mom asked one of the guys if she could keep her purse and he said no. My mom told him “God Bless you” and when you mentioned that scene with the people in the ranch it really brought me back. Amazing coverage Stephanie, I thank you so much.
As a Mexican-American woman, thank you for using your platform to point out how rhetoric is heavily weaponized against us within America. Not many people ever consider that perspective. ❤️
I like how Stephanie introduced the case as "The Case of Miriam and Karen Rodriguez", because it really isn't just the story of a woman getting revenge for her daughter. I love y'all's work! ❤
My Mexican mother was also diagnosed with cancer and the most heartbreaking part for her was telling her 13 yo daughter (me) she was diying. She passed two years later, it’ll be three years from now in three days. My mom, just like Myriam had the guts of a soldier, she rescued her sister and cousin from an abusive relationship and gave shelter to anyone who needed it in the family. Moms and more importantly Latino/Mexican moms are such brave people, there’s another case where a Mexican mom visibilised her daughter feminicide so ruthlessly she got killed, in front of a government building none the lest. Mexican girls live by the fear of being kidnapped, if not by the cartels in the north area or the golf, by organized crime gangs, and then raped. My utmost fear was always thinking about how the rescue money would destroy our economy. Pd: ‘La machorra’ is normally a despective way to describe a masculine woman or a lesbian, could be read as ‘dyke’.
I lost my mom from cancer as a teenager as well, she was so strong, just like your momma.. May she rest easy and may you find some peace and healing sweetheart. 💜🌷
All the explanation at the beginning regarding Mexico's problems with the cartels was spot on and so well said. Thank you, from Cancún with all my heart, for saying what's true.
My dad worked as a garbage man in Reynosa (about 20 mins away from San Fernando) and he always speaks about the amount of bodies he saw just laying on the streets or where the garbage was disposed, and not belong able to say or do anything in fear of the cartel. He always told us to be careful when going over there around 2014-16, because the trafficking was so bad and they were just taking children and women off the streets.
Me and my mom and a group of 9 other people were in Reynosa in 2013 and we were being hunted down to. I’m ever so grateful that we were in safe hands all along. i’m not really sure how everything was being orchestrated, but the people we were with had good connections, and they were able to save us all from ever even encountering them. We were told that the Zetas were looking for us, but we thankfully never saw them. our journey to the US took approximately two weeks, so that probably has something to do with the fact that we never witnessed anything. The angels that we met on our way here made sure to get things done fast. Just long enough to warn us, but not long enough to let us stay and witness anything.
I was born and raised in Reynosa. My parents divorced in about 2005 and my mom re-married an American man who re-located all of us to Austin in 2006. We didn’t move because of violence and crime, but rather opportunity. It was really hard and traumatic to see my hometown in such disarray. I haven’t lost anyone that I know of, but I pray for those who have.
Absolutely. I could be wrong but I feel like people nowadays take love for granted, and hearing a story where that was the thing motivating a mother to get justice is incredibly powerful ❤
For the very FIRST TIME, in all your episodes I have never cried until today. It hurts me to know and hear about how my people, my country is. I hear stories in MY town about kidnapping and murders but it’s just town news. So many unsolved cases in only one town and it’ll stay in that town bc that’s how it is. BREAKS MY HEART
My father also got kidnapped by the Zetas back in 2011. The only reason why they let him go is because my dad's father in law is connected to them. Unfortunately most Mexican families do have at least one family member involved in that. I'm just grateful to God for letting him live. We are not close but just knowing he's alive and healthy and safe brings me comfort.
The fact that my mom confronted the Z’s when she was younger not knowing who they were and managed to get away without getting touched is actually crazy cuss if she had never confronted them and fought back she would’ve never been with my family today and I wouldn’t ever be born…
I just want to speak on this: I'm from the very Northeast of Tamaulipas, around the Reynosa area. Cartel activity has just gotten worse and worse over the years. It's honestly a really sad reality a lot of Mexicans have to live through. The golf cartel doesn't really exist anymore, instead they became seperated into different cartel groups and there's an ongoing war happening in the area with other mexican cartels. Innocent civilians have been caught in crossfire and it is us who pays the consequence. A lot of crimes aren't reported either because the cartels have the civil police on chokehold. Living right next to the border has really given an insight into how privaleged a lot of American-born citizens are when it comes to things like these. I've crossed the border many times, even go to school there. It's honestly crazy how different life is on both sides. Thank you for covering cases like these and bringing awereness to the real issue: cartels, NOT mexicans 💓
but you do have elections? Cartels will not go away... they have followed into US. The thing is El Salvador has shown what to do. You either do it or keep blaming everyone else and live in that mess.
Dude what does having elections have anything to do with this? El salvador is well on its way to becoming a dictatorship To "end" this a larger portion if not all of the population (including the innocent) must be no more and become no man's land. No infrastructure no food no nothing. Once a person becomes corrupted by the ease of taking advantage of others via terror its end game. To turn around and grow out of it its an impossibility. This means parents eliminating their children. This means making peace with death every moment of existance and detachment from everyone. No more children. No more victims. No more economy. No more resources. No more opportunity. The corruption is so inbedded that it requires complete annihilation for things to change. Pity because Mexico could be a 1st nation but its history of imperial damage really has a chokehold. I'm an optimist and any time I showed signs of it I was scolded and told "el que no tranza no avanza" (one who does not scam does not succeed) - with that said how can there not be a wipe out? I love Mexico and its ppl but a I also know its issues spand too many generations.
@@mrsmerilyIs not that simple, as the other comment said you cant compare. Cartels are deep and complex there Is not one simple solution, they operate as a militar y army, have a lot of militar weapons (even tanks) that acttually buy from the U.S. Also during the time the story takes place the goverment had a similar aproch, an open war againts the cartels that make everything worse like making the big groups (with some form of code and organitation) to separete and form more cruel and unestable groups and a lot of civilian lifes were lost. So there is not an easy solution, It needs a systematic aproach but .. with our goverment Is not gonna happen.
I mean if I don't have a family I could maybe stay and fight for my land or something. But to wake up every day and go to work when bullets and or psycho could start raining all of the sudden...
@@6lu3b3rry kind of sucks that that's the world we live in, though. That every second someone in the world even thinks of let alone commits the most horrific acts
My brother went missing 2 years ago he got picked up in his own home while his wife and kids were hiding in their room. I wish they called and asked for ransom but they never did. We still search for him till this day. My mom died in life that day she hasn’t been the same since.
Not Mexican, but as a Latina, this story speaks volumes across the hispanic nationalities, especially now. It's insane how deep the rabbit hole goes, and I'm glad it's getting covered by you. Thank you for this.
Stephanie is such a good narrator and she’s so natural, it doesn’t seem or sound like she is reading from a teleprompter. I often wonder how she remembers the entire story without skipping a beat. It’s super human!
as a Mexican I couldn’t be more grateful to you for telling people the truth, most people trying to get to the US aren’t trying to harm anyone, they’re trying to run💔 thank you for bringing what my people go through to light to people who may not know💙 the stigma surrounding us is very wrong and hurtful, my mommy would never hurt anyone she came to the us when she was a kid, the cartel found them trying to cross the border and held them at gunpoint, forced them to give them everything they owned, and if they liked a woman there they’d take her with them. If anyone tried to protect her they would be killed. My mother knows so many stories of husbands either dying and the wife getting taken or the husband living, same with daughters. There’s nothing that the people could do since the police are also run by the cartel. I wish it would stop.
You can also watch “Noche de fuego” (it’s a fictional film, not a documentary). Also, there’s a documentary called “El guardián de la memoria”, directed by Marcela Arteaga. The only problem is that I don’t know in which legal platform you could watch it, but I highly recommend it.
mirian was a revolution. I just hope I can be 10% of the woman she was if I'm in some situation where I cannot count on my government, institutions, law and almost anyone, just myself... There's so much incredible woman doing the most in this world for justice and peace, she even united other mothers... this woman are not celebrated or remembered enough. Un abrazo latino a todos los hermanos que luchan por encontrar a los desaparecidos en México, mucha fuerza para cada familia.
man i remember my dad finding out my uncle was on the list of the “disappeared”. it’s been nearly a decade, the last time he heard from his brother was before my dad left for the US, he begged his brother to come but when my uncle was getting his life together, he went missing without a trace.
The government got rid of her because she was actually one of the most feared ppl in the area, and so did the government because She checked them and made sure they did their job. I'm glad that her legacy carried on.
My grandparents live in a ranch near San Fernando, my grandpa was kidnapped once in front of my toddler cousin with heart issues. They let my grandpa go in exchange of a ransom and some favors, my cousin needed a heart transplant, but thankfully everyone lived.
@Koshkinayekaterina last time i heard weather they teavh them right or wrong dorsnt always help, and they cant fully control their children. My aunt was a drug addict, her mom taught her good and bad, but she got into it due to her mental health. She needed a release
There is something about having non-Mexican people talking about how the cartel violence has impacted Mexican people. A lot of tv shows show the violence, but rarely address how messed up things are. I really appreciate Stephanie talking about how peoples daily lives were impacted. When we visited our family in Tamaulipas everyone goes about their day as usual, but there are small reminders of the tension that is there. Like the heavily armed marines that are deployed, abandoned homes that have been shot at, and avoiding certain parts with more activity. It definitely has an impact on the psyche of people that live there.
As a Mexican im so glad you're shedding light into the violence many families have to deal with on a daily. Every day thousands of us loss our everything in the span of a day and it never even makes it in the local news. Many foreigners have no idea what its like to live this way but hopefully this becomes more known
Sorry, I gotta say it 😭 the Pablo Escobar quote “Plata o plomo” literally means “Money or bullets”. Plata is an urban way of saying money and Plomo is an urban way of saying bullets/shots
I’m really glad you noted Los Zetas were former Mexican special forces trained and armed by the U.S. most people in the states conveniently leave that part out.
My mom was born in the north east of Mexico. Chihuahua, Chihuahua. I used to visit every summer in the 90s with out a problem. It was safe. I didn't have a curfew as a 10 year old. As long as I was in the street we lived on. 2007 shit hit the fan with the cartels. Everything changed inwent back as a 17year old. Expecting to roam around and be free. My uncle would lock me up in the house all day and all night. I was not allowed out unless I was with fam. Now I go back as a 30 something year old with my son. And I watch him like a HAWK. I don't let him out of my sight for a split second. So much so. That I almost got kidnapped while we were in downtown town in an alley way trying to make our way for a taxi. I was behind in our group. When my aunt grabbed me and pushed me into the first cab she could wave down. I say this for us tourist to be careful down in Mexico and beware always. Don't let your guard down but please go out and travel there it's beautiful and the people are beautiful and loving. And they need the tourism. I still go and take my son every year. Like Karen I stand out alot. I'm Mexican too but I'm american fed. Idk these gmos got me at 5'7" height. Which is really tall for our culture. I just look Americanized and they can all spot that. It the reason why my uncle would keep me locked up. He would say, "you just don't look like a local" and that makes you a target
steph! in 21:32 plata means money, so when escobar said "plata o plomo" means that either you gave them money/ cash or you'll have a bullet across your head. Plata also means silver but in latinoamerica we refer to money mostly in cash as "plata"
we have a similar word in russian, i wonder if they are etymologically related we have плата which can mean payment or a computer chip or a sheet of paper
@@fool4343 it might be related. apparently "plata" derives from Ancient Greek "platús" which means "wide" (apparently silver was often made into sheets). I couldn't find anything suggesting a clear connection between плата and "platús" but apparently плата comes from плат "cloth" "kerchief" "tablecloth", considering the similarity in meaning "something wide" like a sheet it doesn't seem unlikely that there is a connection. In German there's the word "platt" (eng. "flat") which derived from "platús" which again shares some similarity in meaning
Thank you for covering this case, as mexican I am very grateful for your support in spreading the information and awareness. My family also suffer from a disappearance, my cousin, after leaving her job never came back and the police didn’t even bother to investigate at all. Also you should do the case of the 43 disappearances from Ayotzinapa, related to the Jalisco new generation cartel.
I have a friend who immigrated from Mexico a few years ago. He said you could only tell cartel from military by their shoes. Military would wear the same boots. You could see cartel members wearing sneakers or other types of shoes. Otherwise they looked the same
In Mexico we have a common joke about that, like if we see the police/militars arresting someone (sometimes even talking to someone) we always say "check if they are wearing sneakers"
My mother has a house in Eagle Pass a border town, and when we visit the city we listen to the Mexican Radio Stations. I was always surprised by the public service announcements they make about the "missing" , they say things like "we miss them" "they are important" help us fight this, very straightforward messages. I never realized it was such a HUGE problem. Makes me thing about what my X spouse used to say... We in the world run around with a false sense of security. Thank you for the great reporting.
I think this is the first video of her that I can't really watch because of how triggering just the introduction was. I was 8 and my brother a newborn when this happened and I lived through the time that the Zetas arrived to my state. I had to stop going outside because some neighboor was killed in the street behind my house. I'm still dealing with paranoia of going ouside. I feel like this is a case I don't remember because of how much was happening back then, but thank you Stephanie for covering it and I send my condolences to the victims of this case and to everyone who grew up during this time like me.
My family (my mom, my brothers and myself) almost fell victim to the cartel when we lived in Mexico. I was 2 when my oldest brother warned all of us to get out of town and start a new life somewhere else, otherwise we would’ve been killed. Me and my mother were held at gun point the day before we left. Im so glad we got out of the area but it makes me so worried for the people that i grew up with that still live there. All i can do is hope that mexico gets a stable government thats able to control what goes on in the streets. Thank you so much for bringing attention to things like this. 💗
The Iguala mass kidnapping is Mexico’s infamous crime and a case I would never forget. I heard this on the news three years ago to remember the 43 students that disappeared. I would love to hear it from you so people can learn and know the names of these young men who have their lives lost at a very young age.
México is a beautiful country with beautiful people but sadly it's run by organized crime, locals can't do anything freely and "police" are there to protect cartels, willingly or not. Recently Netflix released a documentary on Homero Gomez titled "El guardian de las Monarcas" or the guardianof the monarchs, he is one of the many environmental activist who have been murdered for trying to proctect forests and wildlife. It's a very bittersweet, more bitter than sweet story, it'd be really nice if Stephanie could do a story on him so more people get to know who he was.
@@adanice49in the documentary they explain that there's illegal tree felling in one of the forests where Monarch butterflies arrive from their migration, he was protesting against it, calling law enforcement and politicians to do something and they turned their back to him. It is a good doc, I recommend it c:
Wow, Miriam was an absolute hero !!!! Thank you Stephanie for telling her story. May Miriam and Karen rest in peace. My sympathy to their family and to the families torn apart by horrible senseless violence.
May this amazing mother Rest In Peace and find comfort now reunited with her baby girl. I know her lost daughter was there to tell her Happy Mother’s Day once again. May the rest of her family and friends find their peace, grieve, and heal in their own ways. My heart goes out to this family and all the others who have been affected in similar ways, especially the children involved.
41:05 this is slightly wrong, they would not just pay for their meal because they were nice or trying to build rapport. They would close down the doors to the restaurant, take away patrons mobile devices and sequester them until the cartel party was done with their meal and THEN they would pay for everyones bill and leave. It was because they wanted to feel safe while they ate, not for the people.
I was born and raised in Zacatecas, in 2012 we were under the control of the Zetas, it was complete hell. I was 6 and I remember when my 17 year old brother at the time came in crying telling us that the Zetas told him he had 2 months to join them or get out of the town or we, his family, would be killed. We were lucky enough to have papers and immediately moved to the U.S. We would walk around the town and just see bodies in bags, and people going missing left and right. I still have nightmares about this every single night. You are right, we were petrified.
I'm glad you guys could get out :| i can't begin to imagine how that must have been and still is.
I hope your family is safe nowadays and living a normal life
Sadly Zacatecas is still at war 😢
In a small town in Veracruz a smaller group started enrolling middle school age kids in 2014. They promised them money and power, kids were disappearing, and I know people that were able to get out, but are still struggling with addiction due to it.
There's a before and after in Mexico after 2012 when Calderón started his "war". This was all funded by the US. And through an operation called "Fast and Furious", the US gave the guns and the power to cartels. Every single criminal group has been funded by them to destabilize a nation so they can swoop in and "save the day" by setting military bases. But we know how it works. We've seen how Syria and Afghanistan and Iraq, etc were basically looted by the US. I'm just grateful the World is waking up now to who the puppet masters behind the curtains really are.
@@lissetteorona7010yes and it’s specific in some areas, my family is from one part and thankfully it’s gotten so much better now, not at all free but easier to live in. I has family almost get kidnapped, actually my cousin and uncle did but I don’t think it was zetas and after stealing all the stuff they and one night of captivity they let them go, oh they only let them drive the truck back to our town, they said they’d have someone waiting to take the truck once they made it safely back. I know it wasn’t the zetas bc they stole all jewelry but let my uncle keep his wedding ring😂
The fact that Miriam died on Mexican’s Mother’s Day breaks my heart. She was truly a good mother.
You know her
It’s my birthday on that day
Probably did research on her@@scottbarnes9910
@@scottbarnes9910Do you?
@@Rainbowztars nope
The number of people in these comments sharing stories of their family members disappearing in Mexico is incredibly sobering. It’s one thing hearing statistics, it’s quite another scrolling through comments and reading story after story of personal experiences.
My heart goes out to all of you
ive been scrolling for an hour just sobbing at these stories.
I was a 15 something years old when all of this happened, I grow terrified I will get mistaken by a rival cartel kid and get killed by no reason at all, or get drugged and forced to go into gunfights forcefully, a good chunk of people of my same age don't achieved to be in this world no more, shit is traumatizing...
While listening to this i remembered my uncle being kidnapped or something and honestly i think he was murdered... we never talked about it ... I'm scared and sad that it's something we've almost buried or avoided to face... the family already was distant with him but he's still family and it's tragic nonetheless. I might need to ask my mom about it but I'm not trying to re traumatized her .. either way i feel so much for these families. Mexico is filled with such humble peaceful people just trying to exist and you have the polar opposite terrorizing their communities. It is un just.
The u.s needs to go into Mexico and set order
My brother got murdered in Mexico. He was pumping gas, and there was a shooting where a couple of people were killed who were pumping gas, including the cashier register at the gas station. I read the newspaper article. The newspaper article read that they didn't know if it was a cartel shooting.
Stephanie, my uncle was kidnapped and held ransom by Los Zetas in Veracruz, 2010. I had to pack up my life and move to Mexico to take care of my GMA bc she went crazy. They asked for over 50k pesos. My grandpa had to identify his remains and to this day you can see the pain in his eyes as my uncle was discarded like trash, dismembered. Rest in peace my uncle Jazmani Aguilar Aguilar.
They told him they had a job for him at the local primary school since he had just finished college with a teaching degree, he was supposed to be going to a meeting about the job but they just took him for a week. We also were able to come up with the money but they never gave us a drop off location for the money. We are sure they had already killed him.
Corruption has made it to where there is no justice for my family and most families that live through these tragedies in Mexico. In fact, im forced to see the people who did this to him every time I go visit my family. I can’t enjoy my stays bc we live in fear of being targeted again.
😢
My uncle was also murdered by the cartel, they broke into his house and shot him multiple times along with his girlfriend. My other uncle was the one to found him in the home when he hadn’t heard from him the whole day. Im sorry you went through this as well. It’s the fact we know we’ll never get true justice. Rip Fransico (chino) Razo.
I’m genuinely so sorry for all the pain you and your family members have had to endure. May your uncle rest in peace.
I'm not mad at her at all. What parent wouldn't want revenge for their child.
unfortunately i know lots of people who were victimized in some way, and their families knew either after or *during* and didn't do shit. this lady was special
I know all about it. Mama bear here. My son was murdered in 2022. I made sure his killers went to jail. Took me and his dad a bit to find them but we did and now they’re paying for having dared taken my son’s life. RIP my Chris 😢
@@milagrosmendez77I'm so sorry for the loss of your son Mila..
You got his killer?
You amazing woman you! 💜
Rest easy Chris. 🌷
As a Mexican, I believe that the president at that time was behind all the violence in Mexico. Even the last president, AMLO, had some ties with the high elites to keep the conflict at bay. Overall, narcos are just individuals with low self-esteem who get manipulated; some are just brainwashed with narco culture.
As you mentioned, the US has a lot to do with this.
The cowards pulling the strings from these pathetic puppets are the ones that make me feel sick.
It’s the same phenomenon that you see with Scientology and how their system work.
This world needs courage, and not pathetic bastar that sell their as for money or status.
Miriam, as a compatriot, I have the highest respect for you~
@@BabzV it was teamwork with my son’s dad, my dad and me . They like to boast about whatever terrible thing they do and it reached our ears from friends that were in those circles and we got them arrested. I still have that hole in my chest. We put them behind bars but there are still many more that will take someone else’s son. I really don’t feel peace. Their mothers can visit them in prison, I can only talk to and hold my son’s urn 😪 Nothing will bring him back… and 25 years isn’t enough
As a mexican, “they” did the same to my family back then… unfortunately we couldn’t pay on time. They killed them and never even recovered the body so we had to have an empty burial. So Miriam… I admire your strength and I send you love
I'm so sorry. How foul. Please stay super safe. And Romans 10:9-11 says, "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved".Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
These comments are heartbreaking why are these gangs so powerful? I guess that might be a long answer?
Lo siento mucho por la pérdida tuya y de tu familia y amigos. 🫂😞
@@alisonmercer5946drug and human trafficking. Mostly drugs though. The U.S. is a HUGE consumer of drugs (other countries too) and that is where their funding comes from. :( that’s why we have so many migrants trying to enter the U.S. , not just from Mexico, but central and South American countries too. It’s so sad. The more people consumer illegal drugs, the more we help them have a hold over these countries and their government. It is SO effed up. 😢
@@alisonmercer5946 It appeals to rich men acting out their brainrot on people, so easy money.
The thing that hits me hardest about these cases is when you give dates for the story, I think back to what I was doing around that time and... It gives so much perspective that I think we all need. When she realized her daughter was dead, I was working on my senior essay. We naturally think that our own problems are the end of the world, but somewhere in the world, someone has it infinitely worse.
real
Same, I immedeatly thought of how I would've been celebrating my brother's 2nd birthday.
I agree. It's a very humbling and strange feeling. To know that sort of stuff was happening while you were conscious, that people are living completely separate lives during the exact timeframe you are.
I'm too stoned for what u said but that was well said
Legitimately tend to think this as well as I learn about different cases happening worldwide
Mama bear instincts are real. She gave them everything they wanted and they STILL took Karen's life. Miriam Rodríguez not only avenged her daughter but by killing 10 lives she saved the lives of many. She did better than the police who allowed these casualties, the loss of her child, to occur. Rest in peace, Miriam Rodríguez.
She didnt kill them, she had them jailed...
loss of freedom and lifestyle for the criminals....
@irenedemarco1354 she did kill some of them but not all 10
Sadly, a lot of times police is in cahoots with criminals
@@suan333the police, the military, federal and local government. That’s the reason we can’t get rid of cartels.
people are humans so emotions
The disclaimer made me tear up. Thank you. My family was forced to leave Mexico-and was lucky enough to be able to do so-due to cartel violence and have not returned since. I lost a friend brutally in 2020. Thank you for promoting kindness and empathy.
The love of a mother is like no other. I would go to the ends of the earth for my daughter. Miriam actually did. What an amazing mother and what a heartbreaking story.
Romans 10:9-11 says, "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved".Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
Sorry for your loss
I hope you and your family live a happy, healthy, and safe life from now on!
I’m so sorry for your loss. I pray you and your family stay safe and healthy for the rest of your lives
I can confidently say in the name of Mexicans…Thank you for covering this case. Miriam, Marisela Escobedo, and groups of mothers such as Sabuesos Guerreras have dedicated their life to bring justice and perhaps even closure to the missing of Mexico and their families … thank you, thank you, thank you.
Marisela even wanted to do the right thing goint to the police and the system failed... So sad
Hermana ❤
@@asjktururu8693 I am mexican and I agree with her. If you don't have anything good to say, just leave
@@asjktururu8693 in the name of Mexicans... no todos
I am so sorry that you and your people are going through this horror.
No one outside of Mexico really understand how much cartels affect Mexican citizens. 3 of my cousins have been "disappeared" and one was kidnapped and released after we payed thousands of dollars in ransom. The only reason he is alive is because the man who was assigned to k!ll him showed compassion and let him go behind his boss's back. Who knows if that guy is still alive.
Knowing how heartless and hollow they are, that guy probably died for not obeying or treason.
This is so sad. Reading all of these stories, this world truly is cruel.
HE WAS PROBABLY THERE NOT BY CHOICE SADDLY
@ probably not.
Apuesto a que ese hombre fue reclutado forzosamente por eso mostró empatía porque no quiere estar ahí si no que es obligado, con tanto desaparecido varios sobretodo hombres son reclutados forzosamente.
As a Mexican myself, please please please be really careful when you do any videos about cartels. They have no limits, no borders, please always stay safe. And THANK YOU for clarifying we’re not all involved in organized criminal groups, we’re just trying to live with this horrible situation Mexico is going through (and will forever go through since politicians are also criminals)
Video idea: cover the “Paulette” case, one of the most viral cases in Mexico.
edit: you guys are going nuts for something so irrelevant. Yes, I’m MEXICAN, no I’m not living in the US. I’ve seen a lot of bad things happen, even to some close ones just for speaking up, yet this is in no way implying something bad will happen to Stephanie. Every single one of us speaks from experience, my experience is probably really different from the rest of you and I’m glad we’re giving visibility to topics some of us are usually forced to being silent about :)
to you as well, stay safe. sending you prayers and love. ❤
Cartels can’t find her 🤣 she can say whatever she wants
@@Yellstrike No. They can find her, if they really wanted to. The channel has already hinted that Rotten Mango is based at or otherwise connected to Atlanta, Georgia. Just look at the "Post" section on the channel page, where they advertised a need for a Korean-speaking worker who can relocated to Atlanta. It may be dated 7 months ago, but how hard do you think it would be to follow the breadcrumbs from there?
@@aprilbennett4161 Don’t write detailed infos like this in a comment section.Please delete or correct this comment,for her own safety…
@@Yellstrikeyes they can. They aren’t just in Mexico. They’re all over.
From a Mexican immigrant, thank you for clarifying not everyone is linked to the cartels; I wouldn't be a LPR if we were.
LPR? Spell out your obscure abbreviations.
@@FlamsteretteIt means Lawful Permanent Resident.
@@manzanitasol926 Ah. Best of luck to you.
By doing nothing against such criminals makes us all complicit.
@@kiwioffgrid2437 what? what are we supposed to do against cartels?
Miriam Rodríguez pursued her daughter’s killers for years resulting in 10 of them being captured. 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. 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.
R.I.P Miriam Rodríguez
@@lamoskgrI mean to be honest I get it but I buy frm the cartel so I cant hate on em they aint horrible ppl like folks say they ass got me a jet to fly back to chicago they ass cool but they do crazy sht sumtimes this was wild
@@xSlamma Your comment basically: “yea that sucks they murder innocents and ruin so many lives, but I buy from them so they’re totally cool teehee”
You’re part of the problem.
@@xSlamma dont. ever. defend the fucking cartel. they have killed innocent people. there is never a reason to kill (unless, youre miriam)
@@xSlamma you think that till you make one mistake. Everyone’s capable of equal bad and good. Everyone in the cartel is in survival mode they are just as if not more at risk of meeting the same fate as their victims-desperation and fear will make you do some really cruel things and of course every cartel member is human and many have families and are lovable but that won’t change what theyll do if they’re ordered to take you out. I’m lucky to be alive and so are you , be careful and make no mistake with who you’re dealing with
“I hope common sense finds you soon” is iconic and so real. For people to assume that Mexican citizens are part of the problem of the Cartels rather than seeing as the victims they are is insane. I always appreciate how much you do to respect these stories and the communities involved and this disclaimer at the beginning of this was perfect. Thank you and all your incredible researchers (and thank you for outsourcing research to people who actually speak the language, that’s amazing).
I remember when all of this was happening my family gathered together to talk... We decided that if any of us got kidnapped we weren't going to try to bring us back. Sometimes, when my dad went out to work i heard him tell my mom "if they take me, don't give them money... Ill be fine" i was like 12 years old? Its sad that was our reality
How is your family now?
I hope you moved away and I pray you’re protected in Jesus name!
This crime makes no sense to me…just to take anyone…
I had a close friend her name is Shaddai…
She saw heads and bodies go down in a river…this was 3 years ago…Her college was attacked as well, but she already had a bad feeling and fled by God’s mercy.
I hope her father turned away from wickedness…and She and her mol could leave her father.
Really unfortunate what many of you face !!
May God cover you according to Psalm 91! 🙏🏻💓
@@royaldiadem324 moving out was not a possibility, it was something that we just had to face. Got better? Less worse haha when other people got to run the government and stuff. I'm still living in Mexico and it's a beautiful place.
I'm glad your friend got to flee that nightmare, is something that can hunt you forever
0@@royaldiadem324
@@royaldiadem324 Hope you and your friend are doing well! I'm not super religious by any means but I hope God continues to guide you to safety
My heart goes out to you and your family that is horrid, I really hope your family is better now and feeling and living better💗🫶🏽
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. Miriam was shot 12 times by gunmen in front of her house and died on May 10, 2017.
😯..yknow I bet she knew that was coming some day and was ready to die that way. Someone like that should be so much more awarded accredited and known all over the world. Only for this YT Rotten Mango episode I would never have known this absolute badass mama bear who fought for the most special part of her who they had ripped away. What a legend ❤ I hope you and your daughter are together wherever we go.
Viva la Miriam!
@@partially_discombobulated9818❤
Wow she was an Aquarius. What a beautiful woman ❤
I wondered if she could have gone further if she'd been offered plastic surgery.
She is the mother I hope I can be.
I think this is the first rotten mango video i've had to pause, hearing you described the cartel war in Mexico, brought some suppressed memories. When we lived it, we didn't have time to process it really, we still had to go to school, work, etc. One day my house was caught in the middle of a shooting, my family and me had to duck down for the whole night while we heard people die, neighbors cry and our house shake from the grenades explosions, we didn't sleep. That morning I walked with eyes covered out of my house and went to school, i had a math test to take.
47:23 47:24 47:27 47:28 47:29 47:30 47:33 47:33 47:35 47:35 47:36 47:36 47:36 47:37 47:38 47:38 47:38 47:39
@@severaltimes4854Youre a disgusting human being, like did u think that was funny to do?
My condolences ❤️❤️
this brings tears to my eyes, how can we live like this? I am even afraid to like the video. fear is so terrible. are we ever going to have our old mexico back?
Same, the PTSD is real.
The house next to mine was a safe house and we didn´t know it. One day we woke up for school (I think I was like 10) and found out that we were surrounded by the army, helicopters flying in circles, people with snipers on the roofs aiming to that house. Everything was so noisy and you could hear the radios and them talking or yelling to the people who were inside that house. One of the officers saw us at the window and yelled at us to go hide far from the entrance and to close all our windows. My family was so scared, we stayed locked in one room for hours until we stopped hearing anything.
the case of Marisela Escobedo Ortiz was also one that always stuck to me. Marisela was murdered in front of the government palace while protesting for the arrest of her daughter’s murderer. it so sad seeing mothers go through so many obstacles while trying to seek justice for their children, only to be killed during their fight.
Omg i remember sobbing while watching this on Netflix.
There's another case of a husband being kidnapped, so the wife finds out where one of the kidnapper's mothers lives and does the same to her. She tells them that whatever they do to her husband, the mother will also suffer the same fate. If they cut off a finger, the mother will get a finger chopped off. If they kill him, she will be killed as well. It's a crazy real-life story with news footage. At the end, they return the husband in exchange for the kidnapper's mother.
@@rrivera497oh damn is this like on Mexican news??
@@mirandaozuna4224 th-cam.com/video/0z8H5yAEY9E/w-d-xo.htmlsi=25oR4kItfzF-CLhz
@mirandaozuna4224 if you know spanish they interview her and says that
You should never mess with a mom, never mess with her child because mothers have a primal need to protect and avenge their children. THIS WOMAN IS AN AMAZING MOM.
Edit: For clarity, yes, I am aware that not all mothers are like this one.
SOME mothers do.
I absolutely agree, but I'm not talking about some mothers. I'm speaking of mothers who care, mothers who love their children. A mother isn't just someone who gives birth, a mother nurtures, unfortunately not alot of biological mothers are true mothers.@Flamsterette
@@Nanno-Anais "You should never mess with a mom" is a VERY GENERALIZED statement.
*was
😢 she was gunned down by the cartels
@@Flamsterette why do you feel the need to comment indra so many post passive aggressively, and correcting grammar under a true crime video?
My cousin was found in a body bag a few years ago. I’ve had uncles taken for ransom. My grandpa worked as a criminal court judge for years as well as a detective, prosecutor and public defender. He met el chapó and el mayo zambada, unfortunately he passed away 2 weeks ago but he is a huge inspiration of why I want to go into law. He was the bravest person I know, he got frequent threats and had survived an assassination attempt but his body guard took the shot.
I’m sorry for your loss 💔
@@Pxig3333 ❤️
God bless your grandpa, uncle and cousin. Sorry for loss.
Two years ago, my aunt called my mom from Mexico, crying because some cartel men had broken into her house and taken my cousin. They were trying to recruit him and he tried to fight back. In his struggle they cut off his right ear in front of my aunt. Then they dragged him out of the house. She never saw him again and there wasn’t anything she could do.
i am beyond sorry for what your family went through. NOBODY should endure that abuse and torture. i am so sorry.
@@katyaoleynikunfortunately you don’t know that. it’s unnecessary of you to assume they’re lying.
@@katyaoleynik Lmaoo sorry to pop your bubble but things like this actually happen
@@dandelimoon Sorry to pop your bubble but no, they don’t
@@kenziereiss Fortunately I do know that because it’s a fact
Stephanie I beg of you to take a look into the case of the chibok girls, were 100+girls were kidnapped and only 82 returned, and how the government is turning a blind eye on the whole cult to their advantage,I had been begging you to talk about this shed light on this situation so they know we are watching
There were over 200 taken and some of the ones returned were pregnant. 💔
I would love to see Stephanie research this one. 😢
Hope she finds this comment!
@@paulaisaiah9664 that’s the most heartbreaking thing ever 😕😕 my heart ❤❤ goes out to all those girls
I wanna know more about this
i hope she sees this-!
I debated through the entire video on whether or not to comment but i feel i have to. my eldest brother fell victim to sicario/cartel violence in 2020. going into detail isn’t very easy, so i won’t. we know he’s gone, and his body was never given back to us. everyday my family and i wish there was something we could have done to get him back or protect him.
Miriam’s motherly spirit is so special, may she rest in peace.
Thank you for bringing awareness so compassionately, Stephanie.
I'm so sorry, may he rest easy ❤
i’m so deeply sorry. 💔
The Tijuana cartel/affiliated cops kidnapped my uncle who was a cop just bc he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, he had a wife and two young babies. That was 25 years ago and we still have no trace of him he simply vanished. Twenty five years of nothing being done and thousands going missing every day for fentanyl it’s insane.
My uncle was also kidnapped and murdered in Guerrero Mexico back in 2006 or 2005(not sure what year) I don’t know what cartel took his life but he too had a wife and a kid. It’s really unfortunate that he passed and it had a tremendous effect on my grandmother. She developed alzheimers and my family and I suspect it was because of that event. I can only hope she was able to greet her son in the afterlife.
@@mgam4963 I’m so sorry your family had to go through cartel violence as well it’s truly heartbreaking, I never got to meet my uncle but it tore my family apart, my grandma still believes he will come back, my mother developed schizophrenia, the babies he had one of them turned out fine but the wife and daughter are…. In bad paths let’s just say. I can’t even imagine the outcome of other families that went through the same or worse. Mexico is so beautiful but it hurts
🥲🙏
my cousin I grew up with was kidnapped about 10 years ago. he was just 16 at the time, we never heard of him again
Whats the tijuana cartel? I live in Tijuana, and till now I didnt knew we had a cartel
Miriam is a fkin legend in my eyes.
She absolutely has my respect, and I pray she has been reunited with Karen and is at peace 🙏🏻💜😇
The thing is, she has the same mindset as Bukele but Western leaders attack people with this kind of mindset. Its simply because they want their neighbors to continue to be weak and poor and ruled by criminals so that they can continue to assert their global dominance.
*the eyes of every sane person
@@chxrryery4188 yeah srry-
@@darling8686 ahh that wasn’t meant to be mean haha it’s just your right universally I was trying to add to your point and that to say Miriam was unjustified would be insanity haha
She died on Mother’s Day. I fell apart when I heard that. I started yelling and bawling. May she and her daughter rest easy. I hope those people end up found and arrested.
As someone who grew up in Mexico City, not even close to where this issue was going on. I can say that the Zetas genuinely traumatized me as a little kid. They’ll show what they did to other people in newspapers, magazines and tv. And they would not censor it or anything.
I would love to travel to mexico as it looks so beautiful in both landscape and culture but this stuff genuinely does scare me. Obviously most people aren’t associated with them, but the thought of being in the wrong place at the wrong time terrifies me. Does anyone have any advice on traveling to mexico safely outside of americanized resorts (which aren’t inherently safe anyways)
@@sloop3720I’m Mexican so here’s my tips:
- To avoid any posible problems, stay in tourist areas only (specially those aimed towards foreigners). Like hotel areas, restaurants and natural parks. It’s gonna be more expensive, yes.
- Don’t go driving in the highways at night! And if you can, take the paid highways instead of crossing across small towns (these can be really dangerous). And if you get stopped by military people with sneakers or different color boots don’t be rude and just give them a bit of money (they ask for it, but’s not that common if you don’t go to places with heavy cartel influence) and drive away.
But’s better to take buses to go from state to state, though that doesn’t mean your bus will be completely safe.
- Don’t get into fights at all!! Specially while driving and if the person has a huge truck. As long as you do you, you’re mostly safe (in places where cartel influence isn’t that noticeable).
- As a woman, I don’t recommend clubbing in Mexico. If you’re drinking alcohol, it’s safer to do it at your hotel than going out. (Risk of your drinks being spiked and you potentially getting kidnapped like in everywhere else).
- And the usual keeping your purses on your sight to avoid being pickpocketed! Mexico has walkable cities and places and pickpockets are possible specially in the farmer markets.
@@diosnumber1stfan even so its still terrify me to go there
@@sloop3720
Don't.
@@diosnumber1stfanme too I’m first generation mex American and my family looks at me crazy when I say that I don’t want to go I’m genuinely scared of visiting
Frustrating how the government doesn’t do shit and when a mother with a dead child is a force to be reckoned with. 😢
I agree but they literally run every-move it’s scary
I mean, one president did try and it just made things worse for the general population. The saddest and most frustrating part is that, as long as cartels still have access to US money and weapons, they will keep having the police, the government, and the army grabbed by the metaphorical balls.
Do you think the government is a friend? Family? A parent?
Why do people think that gov. is giving a damn in reality?
The only one who cares about a loved one, child is YOU as a mother, father, sister/brother, family. Even family does not allways really care about one another.
@@heide-raquelfuss5580 That’s the point. A mother shouldn’t have to loose they’re daughter if the government has more resources, people and responsibility to protect the people who have family members that are actively trying not to get involved. Disgusting how they take their money then do fuck all to protect them.
Thats good old machista Mexico. Sad and true
She was a mother, a fighter, and a caring individual. Im glad her son was able to finish what she was trying to get closure for.
She was probably scared bc the justice system failed her yet again by letting 29 people she suffered to put in there out by digging a hole like a dog. It’s defeating and depressing
Many criticize Bukele for the way he has prisoners (gang members), but tbh everywhere in the world they should follow his footsteps when it comes to these type of people...
@@madellynpineda5020I'm sure Bukele has his dirt nobody has been able to dig up yet, and I'm just waiting for it to come out at some point because the current state of affairs is so fucked up in North America that it's made me cynical of politicians.
HOWEVER, he did pull his country out of the chaos it was in before he came into office. He's changed things for the better as a progressive candidate should and he's actually picking up the trash off the streets (trash being the violent gangs). Hell, even my mom who's Salvadorian loves him and thinks he's quite charming, and it's hard to please her at all. He's the kind of young politician that both U.S. and Mexico need.
isnt it just the same in USA
except that violent prisoners dont have to dig out, they let woke judge release them
and mostly will end up in policeactivity
@@loucipher7782it’s not the “woke” judges that let them go. It’s the misogynistic and conservative justices. Are you stupid?
@@carolinacoreas7716Bukeles is the result of both our parties, hes bring hopes to the country but because we know it couldnt be worse that what we have 20 years ago and more , so
But he never dod what he promises to the minorities the support him during his elections.
So however like it say is not worse them before so that plays on his favor.
Our country has had many militarized leaders so
Her daughter, Karen Alejandra Salinas Rodríguez, disappeared in 2012. Karen's remains were discovered in 2014.
No wonder Miriam went berserk
I was living in Tamaulipas at the time when Los Zetas ruled there, my mom would get constantly called from our school to come pick us up whenever there were shootings around the area from the cartels fighting. If the shooting was happening very nearby our school then we’d get held inside with our bodies down on the ground until the shooting was over. A year later my family moved to the US, and honestly people in America have no idea how blessed and privileged they are to be born American.
And Americans feel “oppressed” 🙄🤦🏻♀️ they are a bunch of spoiled brats
As a Mexican myself, i honestly want to say, please be careful with doing any cartel videos. just in case, also i want to thank you for clarifying that not all Mexicans are involved in cartels. some people just try to live the lives they were blessed with.
I worry a lot about that too! Her getting on someone's bad side 😬 She covers so many cases that involve insanely powerful people!
I pray that she will never be silenced and continue to criticize these corrupt people.
i wish she and others were able to speak out without these deranged people silencing them :(
Every time a serious case (not meaning to take away from any other case) but when cases that involve very powerful people, I feel worried about their safety. Please @StephanieSoo always be careful ❤❤
🙏😳
As a Mexican-American, I really appreciate the disclaimer at the beginning of the video, many do tend to demonize Mexico and and us as a whole for the whole idea of Cartels and the dangers of the bad parts of Mexico. So again, Tysm! 😊❤️
im not even mexican im from ecuador but i still get made fun of because of the cartel its crazy.
@@Natic24x I'm so sorry you have to deal with this terrible stereotype in Ecuador as well.
all mexicans are americans
@@SkyeWolfxit’s not a terrible stereotype js prove m who to not be mess with specially if you come from connections with people 😂
Primos, all Americans don't think that. As an African American, I know what it's like to have people stereotype you. So trust I know the stereotype isn't true. ❤
All my heart and respect goes to Mrs. Miriam, Karen and Luis and of course, to all the “desaparecidos/as” .Thank you Stephanie and your team for kept pushing this real stories and awareness.
When Los Zetas were a big cartel in Mexico I lived in one of the plazas (Zacatecas) they were in control of back in 2012. There were constant kidnappings of civilians including CHILDREN who were murdered and butchered for their organs to sell on the black market. People would always be in fear of being stopped in the middle of the street to have their truck stolen and kidnapped by Los Zetas. It was a scary time, what made it worse was the fact that people were even afraid of the authorities because they were all affiliated with the cartel. And quite honestly that is still the case.
If only the US wouldn't fund programs like The School of the Ameircas and train/teach people how to be murderous psycho traitors
Indeed. Scary.
We live in a scary horrible world.
Killing people for organ harvesting is a worldwide issue.
But people do not know this ( at least most do not know it ).
Thank you for this one. It hits close to home, the zetas killed my cousin her husband and shot their one year old daughter while celebrating her first birthday in Zacatecas. Needless to say our hatred for the zetas runs deep.
They plagued Zacatecas for a long time. And now its La Nueva Generación. It feels never ending
I'm so sorry to hear about your family. I have friends and family living in Zacatecas and we can only pray that they stay safe. So I know what you mean when you say that the hatred runs deep. My mom says that Zacatecas will never be the same after what they did there.
My parents are also originally from Zacatecas and we worry for our family there. The stories they tell are just saddening. I'm sorry for your losses.
As a Mexican thank you so much for speaking on this case, the Zetas marked the lives of every Mexican, we used to do drills at school just in case to protect ourselves against a shooting incident, no one could go outside without fear, it was truly scary during that time along with the war on drugs which started around that time as well. I do appreciate a lot that you mentioned that no one is more affected by the cartel than us.
idk if there's any truth to this, just my personal observation, when she first went out to seek revenge, she was probably completely fearless because she was so deeply depressed that she didn't care about what might happen to her but when she started this group and helped other families in the same situation she had a purpose again
I think you are right.
I didn't even think about it like that. That makes so much sense.
I need people to understand - if everyone in Mexico were involved with cartels, there wouldn’t be anyone left for the cartels to exploit.
Just think about it for a second. It doesn’t make any sense for an entire country to be criminals.
At minimum, for criminal enterprises, it’s really bad for business.
And without bad Americans with money (either from their families or from their crimes), the cartels wouldn't have a reason to be tyrants. The bad people in Mexico and the bad people in America should be on a small island by themselves, without the addicted, without the entitled, and without the victims available, the rest of us would be a lot safer. My favorite babysitter would pick me up at school in the U.S., we would cross the border and go to her house in Mexico, her and her family have been and will always be some of my favorite people. And not a single one of them was a criminal (well, one nephew liked to shoplift, but that was the worst). They were hardworking and loving people who accepted this little gringo girly and taught me so much about family.
Drugs don't flow to Mexico through US. It isn't complicated. Government cooperates with cartel and cartel is working with Chinese nationals to flood us with fentanyl and it isn't just criminas being killed by it. Maybe the new president will clean up? That'll be nice. Maybe Americans can clean up our government also. It'll be great if we the people can elect good people and change both of our countries @@traveling_bookseller
I agree with what you said, but I just wonder if everyone are criminals in a nation. Will they just end up exploiting lower ranking members of their own group?
It’s kind of ridiculous to blame Americans for Mexican cartels being the way they are. Most Americans don’t have anything to do with what they produce and the sheer violence isn’t part of the transaction at all. Cartel members are violent just for the fun of it. Listen to the brutality from this video alone - most of it is done without purpose. No American is pushing cartel members to skin people alive for a gram.
I absolutely agree and nobody in their right mind would think otherwise. However, cartels are so powerful and untouchable since not even the government can deal with them apparently (it's also possible for people in high government jobs to work with the cartels), so this is why so many foreigners are afraid to go Mexico. Tourists are also a target for these despicable pieces of trash.
She didn’t just get revenge, she took dangerous men off the streets when the government won’t because they’re in the gangs’ pockets.
I read here that Miriam died by being shot 12 times in front of her home in 2017. I imagine she actually figured that is how she would go out. Her's is the name of a real hero, someone who SHOULD be known. That was a woman who was fighting to avenge the only person who had ever who literally owned part of her heart, shared her heart, still remembered how carefully she carried and loved her in utero, this woman just kinda stuns me in how inspirational, fearless, determined, she's an absolute Queen Mama Bear. I hope wherever we go after death she was immediately reunited with Karen ❤
I pray she is with Karen as well,and that she has found peace 💜
She knew the day she put on that first full face of makeup back that it was most likely going to end that way ❤
You should cover the case of “Paulette”, one of the MOST infamous cases in Mexican history. A 5yo rich disabled girl who disappeared in her own house and later turned out to be killed and “hidden” in her own bed, tucked in between the bedsheets. Every media outlet covered her disappearance, and even FILMED live on top of her bed when she was allegedly kidnapped (but she was already dead in the bed). The principal suspect of her murder -her own parents-, but because they were the owners of very important companies in Mexico they got away with it. The WHOLE case is documented in video by mexican media (even when they found the little girl dead in her bed). It was obvious that she was killed elsewhere and she was later hidden in the bed, but the parents alleged that she got trapped in her bed and died by accident🤡
Omg I remember that one!! It made me so mad to hear they didn't face any repercussions
That one boiled my blood 😢 rip sweet baby girl
omg yes this!
I think Stephanie has covered this case, but it’s under her Stephanie soo channel, I think it was a mukbang
There is a show on netflix covering this case called "The Search". It was infuriating how many people were involved and trying to save face. It seemed like nobody cared about what happened to Paulette just as long as they were not blamed for how the case unfolded.
My mom left Mexico at 15 and never looked back. It’s sad because it is such a beautiful country and most of the people there are just trying to live their lives like everyone else.
i had a close family member who was kidnapped by a cartel affiliated gang, in a latin american country but not in mexico, it is the most terrifying thing we've ever experience. we were SO lucky we got her back and they just wanted money, and we had to take out loans and borrow from friends to cover her ransom. it DEEPLY saddens and destroys me that these cartels terrorize their OWN people, their own community, knowing exactly how we live well below our means. whats worse is that they also grew up in the same environment as us and still choose to terrorize the community that helped raised them. miriam is a true hero, and an amazing mother. thank you for covering this case stephanie, and take care of yourself!
I live close to the border and my family used to visit Mexico all the time, but stopped going when they drove past a pile of bodies on the side of the road. My mom turned the car around and drove straight back to the US and nobody has visited since. It's sad because Mexico is such a vibrant country filled with kind people. The cartels are a horrific minority.
That’s why the US government gave a warning about going south of the border. However, the border now is tight with security.
If that actually happened, then I'm sorry y'all had to even see that. Such a cruel and crazy world we live in. I wouldn't want to go back either after experiencing that.
@@Reppin920 your sarcasm is stunning
I too live next to the border of one of the top 10 most dangerous citirs in mexico i feel you i love mexico and its people but the cartel ruin it so much we jus want peace💗
Tight with security 😂@@Reppin920
Miriam wasn’t an evil person. She wanted justice and knew the law wouldn’t give her justice. Hopefully there is a place for her in heaven.
"I hope common sense finds you soon" is a phrase I'm gonna use a LOT. Thank you, Steph 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
As a former Tamaulipas resident this video really touched me. I moved to Texas about 5 years ago and I can still remember drive by shootings so clearly. I was so young even then and it’s true Cartels target just anyone. My family and I were robbed at gun point in the Reynosa- Rio bravo carretera and they took our car along with any valuables. My mom asked one of the guys if she could keep her purse and he said no. My mom told him “God Bless you” and when you mentioned that scene with the people in the ranch it really brought me back. Amazing coverage Stephanie, I thank you so much.
Im not fiving anyone like that any vlessing from a G-d
@@twincherry4958 What sense are you making???
@@Feliciathedoll I think they meant they’re not giving anyone like that blessings
This one has me sobbing. Jeez. The son inheriting his mothers vengenance got me immediately. That poor family
As someone who lost innocent family to these waste of human lives, thank you Miriam and thank you for covering this story
As a Mexican-American woman, thank you for using your platform to point out how rhetoric is heavily weaponized against us within America. Not many people ever consider that perspective. ❤️
I like how Stephanie introduced the case as "The Case of Miriam and Karen Rodriguez", because it really isn't just the story of a woman getting revenge for her daughter. I love y'all's work! ❤
I’ve heard this story plenty of times but Stephanie’s story telling is top tier
The love this mother has for her child is so beautiful
Yeah...Steph has a way of making your eyes and ears glued to her.
My Mexican mother was also diagnosed with cancer and the most heartbreaking part for her was telling her 13 yo daughter (me) she was diying. She passed two years later, it’ll be three years from now in three days.
My mom, just like Myriam had the guts of a soldier, she rescued her sister and cousin from an abusive relationship and gave shelter to anyone who needed it in the family.
Moms and more importantly Latino/Mexican moms are such brave people, there’s another case where a Mexican mom visibilised her daughter feminicide so ruthlessly she got killed, in front of a government building none the lest.
Mexican girls live by the fear of being kidnapped, if not by the cartels in the north area or the golf, by organized crime gangs, and then raped. My utmost fear was always thinking about how the rescue money would destroy our economy.
Pd: ‘La machorra’ is normally a despective way to describe a masculine woman or a lesbian, could be read as ‘dyke’.
Rest in peace to your mother. She was a Luchona and those types of people are the most valued ❤
I'm so sorry for the loss of your mother.
I lost my mom from cancer as a teenager as well, she was so strong, just like your momma..
May she rest easy and may you find some peace and healing sweetheart. 💜🌷
Sorry for your loss. RIP to your mom.
All the explanation at the beginning regarding Mexico's problems with the cartels was spot on and so well said. Thank you, from Cancún with all my heart, for saying what's true.
My dad worked as a garbage man in Reynosa (about 20 mins away from San Fernando) and he always speaks about the amount of bodies he saw
just laying on the streets or where the garbage was disposed, and not belong able to say or do anything in fear of the cartel. He always told us to be careful when going over there around 2014-16, because the trafficking was so bad and they were just taking children and women off the streets.
Me and my mom and a group of 9 other people were in Reynosa in 2013 and we were being hunted down to. I’m ever so grateful that we were in safe hands all along. i’m not really sure how everything was being orchestrated, but the people we were with had good connections, and they were able to save us all from ever even encountering them. We were told that the Zetas were looking for us, but we thankfully never saw them. our journey to the US took approximately two weeks, so that probably has something to do with the fact that we never witnessed anything. The angels that we met on our way here made sure to get things done fast. Just long enough to warn us, but not long enough to let us stay and witness anything.
Reynosa is about 2 hours away from San Fernando
@@aripinkberry1810why would it take 2 weeks to get to usa from reynosa which is border town with mcallen? literally
@@pachamamarecords I think 2 weeks to do it legally, if you just go to mcallen and stay longer than 2 days they might take you back.
I was born and raised in Reynosa. My parents divorced in about 2005 and my mom re-married an American man who re-located all of us to Austin in 2006. We didn’t move because of violence and crime, but rather opportunity.
It was really hard and traumatic to see my hometown in such disarray.
I haven’t lost anyone that I know of, but I pray for those who have.
That mother is an example of how strong some relationships are
Absolutely. I could be wrong but I feel like people nowadays take love for granted, and hearing a story where that was the thing motivating a mother to get justice is incredibly powerful ❤
For the very FIRST TIME, in all your episodes I have never cried until today. It hurts me to know and hear about how my people, my country is. I hear stories in MY town about kidnapping and murders but it’s just town news. So many unsolved cases in only one town and it’ll stay in that town bc that’s how it is. BREAKS MY HEART
My father also got kidnapped by the Zetas back in 2011. The only reason why they let him go is because my dad's father in law is connected to them. Unfortunately most Mexican families do have at least one family member involved in that. I'm just grateful to God for letting him live. We are not close but just knowing he's alive and healthy and safe brings me comfort.
Praise God
This is so heartbreaking. I wish the Mexican gov cared a lot more about innocent civilians
That didn’t happen unless he was willingly involved with them
@@katyaoleynikwhy have you made it your mission to go through this comment section and call people liars and blame victims?
@@Me-iq4se There’s no victim here
This is what happens when a bunch of psychopaths get together in a group. They're evil. Good on this mother for getting justice for her daughter!
The fact that my mom confronted the Z’s when she was younger not knowing who they were and managed to get away without getting touched is actually crazy cuss if she had never confronted them and fought back she would’ve never been with my family today and I wouldn’t ever be born…
That’s a CRAZYY story whattt
I just want to speak on this: I'm from the very Northeast of Tamaulipas, around the Reynosa area. Cartel activity has just gotten worse and worse over the years. It's honestly a really sad reality a lot of Mexicans have to live through. The golf cartel doesn't really exist anymore, instead they became seperated into different cartel groups and there's an ongoing war happening in the area with other mexican cartels. Innocent civilians have been caught in crossfire and it is us who pays the consequence. A lot of crimes aren't reported either because the cartels have the civil police on chokehold. Living right next to the border has really given an insight into how privaleged a lot of American-born citizens are when it comes to things like these. I've crossed the border many times, even go to school there. It's honestly crazy how different life is on both sides. Thank you for covering cases like these and bringing awereness to the real issue: cartels, NOT mexicans 💓
but you do have elections? Cartels will not go away... they have followed into US. The thing is El Salvador has shown what to do. You either do it or keep blaming everyone else and live in that mess.
Dude what does having elections have anything to do with this?
El salvador is well on its way to becoming a dictatorship
To "end" this a larger portion if not all of the population (including the innocent) must be no more and become no man's land. No infrastructure no food no nothing.
Once a person becomes corrupted by the ease of taking advantage of others via terror its end game. To turn around and grow out of it its an impossibility. This means parents eliminating their children. This means making peace with death every moment of existance and detachment from everyone.
No more children. No more victims. No more economy. No more resources. No more opportunity.
The corruption is so inbedded that it requires complete annihilation for things to change. Pity because Mexico could be a 1st nation but its history of imperial damage really has a chokehold.
I'm an optimist and any time I showed signs of it I was scolded and told "el que no tranza no avanza" (one who does not scam does not succeed) - with that said how can there not be a wipe out?
I love Mexico and its ppl but a
I also know its issues spand too many generations.
@@mrsmerilyIs not that simple, as the other comment said you cant compare. Cartels are deep and complex there Is not one simple solution, they operate as a militar y army, have a lot of militar weapons (even tanks) that acttually buy from the U.S. Also during the time the story takes place the goverment had a similar aproch, an open war againts the cartels that make everything worse like making the big groups (with some form of code and organitation) to separete and form more cruel and unestable groups and a lot of civilian lifes were lost. So there is not an easy solution, It needs a systematic aproach but .. with our goverment Is not gonna happen.
May I ask why don't you leave? Like I get it, it should not be like that, but why stay? If I have a family I run away everyday
I mean if I don't have a family I could maybe stay and fight for my land or something. But to wake up every day and go to work when bullets and or psycho could start raining all of the sudden...
Her never running out of stories is terrifying, when is it going to end?
never, because there are new cases everyday
8B people in the world…
@@6lu3b3rry kind of sucks that that's the world we live in, though. That every second someone in the world even thinks of let alone commits the most horrific acts
frr
@@minamiwa 7
My brother went missing 2 years ago he got picked up in his own home while his wife and kids were hiding in their room. I wish they called and asked for ransom but they never did. We still search for him till this day. My mom died in life that day she hasn’t been the same since.
Not Mexican, but as a Latina, this story speaks volumes across the hispanic nationalities, especially now. It's insane how deep the rabbit hole goes, and I'm glad it's getting covered by you. Thank you for this.
Stephanie is such a good narrator and she’s so natural, it doesn’t seem or sound like she is reading from a teleprompter. I often wonder how she remembers the entire story without skipping a beat. It’s super human!
as a Mexican I couldn’t be more grateful to you for telling people the truth, most people trying to get to the US aren’t trying to harm anyone, they’re trying to run💔 thank you for bringing what my people go through to light to people who may not know💙 the stigma surrounding us is very wrong and hurtful, my mommy would never hurt anyone she came to the us when she was a kid, the cartel found them trying to cross the border and held them at gunpoint, forced them to give them everything they owned, and if they liked a woman there they’d take her with them. If anyone tried to protect her they would be killed. My mother knows so many stories of husbands either dying and the wife getting taken or the husband living, same with daughters. There’s nothing that the people could do since the police are also run by the cartel. I wish it would stop.
Why doesn’t Netflix pick up stories like this ??!! Would love to see an elaborate documentary on the mothers who fought for their missing kids…
watch the 3 deaths of marisela escobedo.
@@pinguufuuuu I will do that. Thank you!
You can also watch “Noche de fuego” (it’s a fictional film, not a documentary). Also, there’s a documentary called “El guardián de la memoria”, directed by Marcela Arteaga. The only problem is that I don’t know in which legal platform you could watch it, but I highly recommend it.
mirian was a revolution. I just hope I can be 10% of the woman she was if I'm in some situation where I cannot count on my government, institutions, law and almost anyone, just myself... There's so much incredible woman doing the most in this world for justice and peace, she even united other mothers... this woman are not celebrated or remembered enough. Un abrazo latino a todos los hermanos que luchan por encontrar a los desaparecidos en México, mucha fuerza para cada familia.
We need to highlight people like her. I'm a Teacher so next Hispanic heritage, Miriam is going to be recognized.
I agree
Stephanie talked about her as if she was a flawed person but I don't think she deserved it
man i remember my dad finding out my uncle was on the list of the “disappeared”. it’s been nearly a decade, the last time he heard from his brother was before my dad left for the US, he begged his brother to come but when my uncle was getting his life together, he went missing without a trace.
Turns out fear is not the strongest emotion, love is. And vengeance probably
"Hope common sense finds you soon..."
Lmao best line ever
The government got rid of her because she was actually one of the most feared ppl in the area, and so did the government because She checked them and made sure they did their job. I'm glad that her legacy carried on.
being Mexican will teach you not to mess with two things. the virgin Mary, and a mother.
🌹🙏
So basically not to mess with mothers or Mother, lol!
And Mexico now supports abortion 😢
Kinda the same thing for most of the Mexican people
@@johanabiexactly 💯
My grandparents live in a ranch near San Fernando, my grandpa was kidnapped once in front of my toddler cousin with heart issues.
They let my grandpa go in exchange of a ransom and some favors, my cousin needed a heart transplant, but thankfully everyone lived.
Thats a good fucking mom.
Last I heard good moms don’t get involved with the cartel or their children
@@katyaoleynik last i heard good moms would do anything for their child
@@NagitosimpUwU Last I heard good moms teach their kids right from wrong so they don’t get into these situations to begin with!
@Koshkinayekaterina last time i heard weather they teavh them right or wrong dorsnt always help, and they cant fully control their children. My aunt was a drug addict, her mom taught her good and bad, but she got into it due to her mental health. She needed a release
@@NagitosimpUwU It sounds like you’re one of those lovely people who enjoys making excuses for criminals
There is something about having non-Mexican people talking about how the cartel violence has impacted Mexican people. A lot of tv shows show the violence, but rarely address how messed up things are. I really appreciate Stephanie talking about how peoples daily lives were impacted. When we visited our family in Tamaulipas everyone goes about their day as usual, but there are small reminders of the tension that is there. Like the heavily armed marines that are deployed, abandoned homes that have been shot at, and avoiding certain parts with more activity. It definitely has an impact on the psyche of people that live there.
As a Mexican im so glad you're shedding light into the violence many families have to deal with on a daily. Every day thousands of us loss our everything in the span of a day and it never even makes it in the local news. Many foreigners have no idea what its like to live this way but hopefully this becomes more known
Sorry, I gotta say it 😭 the Pablo Escobar quote “Plata o plomo” literally means “Money or bullets”. Plata is an urban way of saying money and Plomo is an urban way of saying bullets/shots
I was about to say the same thing
i also said that! I think the translator got confused
I thought ’plata’ translates to silver?
@@v1nc3nt_bl4ck4 but we also use the word “plata” to say money.. some latam countries use “dinero” though 😊!
Thank you for the information
THATS HOW A MOTHER RIDES FOR HER BABIES!!! She is a queen too me. And her skill!? That's no easy task to execute, wow.
I’m really glad you noted Los Zetas were former Mexican special forces trained and armed by the U.S. most people in the states conveniently leave that part out.
I was wondering how they started where they came from
My mom was born in the north east of Mexico. Chihuahua, Chihuahua. I used to visit every summer in the 90s with out a problem. It was safe. I didn't have a curfew as a 10 year old. As long as I was in the street we lived on. 2007 shit hit the fan with the cartels. Everything changed inwent back as a 17year old. Expecting to roam around and be free. My uncle would lock me up in the house all day and all night. I was not allowed out unless I was with fam. Now I go back as a 30 something year old with my son. And I watch him like a HAWK. I don't let him out of my sight for a split second. So much so. That I almost got kidnapped while we were in downtown town in an alley way trying to make our way for a taxi. I was behind in our group. When my aunt grabbed me and pushed me into the first cab she could wave down. I say this for us tourist to be careful down in Mexico and beware always. Don't let your guard down but please go out and travel there it's beautiful and the people are beautiful and loving. And they need the tourism. I still go and take my son every year. Like Karen I stand out alot. I'm Mexican too but I'm american fed. Idk these gmos got me at 5'7" height. Which is really tall for our culture. I just look Americanized and they can all spot that. It the reason why my uncle would keep me locked up. He would say, "you just don't look like a local" and that makes you a target
Wow that must’ve been so traumatic and the fact that you didn’t look like a local making you a target too ):
steph! in 21:32 plata means money, so when escobar said "plata o plomo" means that either you gave them money/ cash or you'll have a bullet across your head. Plata also means silver but in latinoamerica we refer to money mostly in cash as "plata"
*IN your head *Latino America (note the space)
wait i didnt get your accotation, osea que plata o plomo en la cabeza? i also heave always heard plata or plomo lol @@Flamsterette
we have a similar word in russian, i wonder if they are etymologically related
we have плата which can mean payment or a computer chip or a sheet of paper
Thanks for that both of u. I learned something new.
@@fool4343 it might be related. apparently "plata" derives from Ancient Greek "platús" which means "wide" (apparently silver was often made into sheets). I couldn't find anything suggesting a clear connection between плата and "platús" but apparently плата comes from плат "cloth" "kerchief" "tablecloth", considering the similarity in meaning "something wide" like a sheet it doesn't seem unlikely that there is a connection. In German there's the word "platt" (eng. "flat") which derived from "platús" which again shares some similarity in meaning
Thank you for covering this case, as mexican I am very grateful for your support in spreading the information and awareness. My family also suffer from a disappearance, my cousin, after leaving her job never came back and the police didn’t even bother to investigate at all. Also you should do the case of the 43 disappearances from Ayotzinapa, related to the Jalisco new generation cartel.
I have a friend who immigrated from Mexico a few years ago. He said you could only tell cartel from military by their shoes. Military would wear the same boots. You could see cartel members wearing sneakers or other types of shoes.
Otherwise they looked the same
In Mexico we have a common joke about that, like if we see the police/militars arresting someone (sometimes even talking to someone) we always say "check if they are wearing sneakers"
Militares con tenis 😭
These days, they've even started wearing boots too. Getting crazier day by day.
My mother has a house in Eagle Pass a border town, and when we visit the city we listen to the Mexican Radio Stations. I was always surprised by the public service announcements they make about the "missing" , they say things like "we miss them" "they are important" help us fight this, very straightforward messages. I never realized it was such a HUGE problem. Makes me thing about what my X spouse used to say... We in the world run around with a false sense of security. Thank you for the great reporting.
I think this is the first video of her that I can't really watch because of how triggering just the introduction was. I was 8 and my brother a newborn when this happened and I lived through the time that the Zetas arrived to my state. I had to stop going outside because some neighboor was killed in the street behind my house. I'm still dealing with paranoia of going ouside.
I feel like this is a case I don't remember because of how much was happening back then, but thank you Stephanie for covering it and I send my condolences to the victims of this case and to everyone who grew up during this time like me.
My family (my mom, my brothers and myself) almost fell victim to the cartel when we lived in Mexico. I was 2 when my oldest brother warned all of us to get out of town and start a new life somewhere else, otherwise we would’ve been killed. Me and my mother were held at gun point the day before we left. Im so glad we got out of the area but it makes me so worried for the people that i grew up with that still live there. All i can do is hope that mexico gets a stable government thats able to control what goes on in the streets. Thank you so much for bringing attention to things like this. 💗
The Iguala mass kidnapping is Mexico’s infamous crime and a case I would never forget. I heard this on the news three years ago to remember the 43 students that disappeared. I would love to hear it from you so people can learn and know the names of these young men who have their lives lost at a very young age.
This woman, Miriam, she ..I can't find the vocabulary to give her the praise she deserves ❤
Something in my Brain said, “Look if Stephanie has posted” And less than a minute? Earliest I’ve ever been.
Omg same
I had a mini rush when I was the first to press like !
Turn on notifications :)
Twins bruh
Omg same are we getting notifications over our Brains now?
With 111 likes at the time of this comment? You’re on a roll today
México is a beautiful country with beautiful people but sadly it's run by organized crime, locals can't do anything freely and "police" are there to protect cartels, willingly or not. Recently Netflix released a documentary on Homero Gomez titled "El guardian de las Monarcas" or the guardianof the monarchs, he is one of the many environmental activist who have been murdered for trying to proctect forests and wildlife. It's a very bittersweet, more bitter than sweet story, it'd be really nice if Stephanie could do a story on him so more people get to know who he was.
Aw shit why’d they murder him for trying to protect the environment? Like how does that impact cartel business 😭
@@adanice49in the documentary they explain that there's illegal tree felling in one of the forests where Monarch butterflies arrive from their migration, he was protesting against it, calling law enforcement and politicians to do something and they turned their back to him. It is a good doc, I recommend it c:
“Plata” in Colombia means money, the saying means they either take bribes or get killed.
This story always makes me cry no matter who covers it. Never ever loses its incredibly powerful effect on me.
Rest in peace to them both.
Wow, Miriam was an absolute hero !!!! Thank you Stephanie for telling her story. May Miriam and Karen rest in peace. My sympathy to their family and to the families torn apart by horrible senseless violence.
May this amazing mother Rest In Peace and find comfort now reunited with her baby girl. I know her lost daughter was there to tell her Happy Mother’s Day once again. May the rest of her family and friends find their peace, grieve, and heal in their own ways. My heart goes out to this family and all the others who have been affected in similar ways, especially the children involved.
41:05 this is slightly wrong, they would not just pay for their meal because they were nice or trying to build rapport. They would close down the doors to the restaurant, take away patrons mobile devices and sequester them until the cartel party was done with their meal and THEN they would pay for everyones bill and leave. It was because they wanted to feel safe while they ate, not for the people.
This woman should be venerated as a hero. There is so much bravery in this story.