Indigenous activist's disappearance and killing cause outcry in Mexico's Oaxaca state

MEXICO CITY — She was a fearless advocator for her Mixe Indigenous community, a lawyer and parent who denounced unit against women — portion besides exposing misogynist chat groups among politicians successful Mexico’s confederate Oaxaca state.

Her high-profile activism led to decease threats, colleagues say, but Sandra Estéfana Domínguez Martínez wasn’t 1 to backmost down. Now her galore admirers accidental that defiance outgo Domínguez her life.

Domínguez and her hubby were past seen Oct. 4 successful her location portion successful eastbound Oaxaca’s Mixe heartland.

On Monday, prosecutors confirmed the find of the couple’s remains successful shallow graves successful neighboring Veracruz state. Both had execution-style gunshot wounds to their heads.

Their slayings, amid swirling charges of an authoritative cover-up, person sparked outrage successful Oaxaca, which has a ample Indigenous colonisation and is among Mexico’s poorest states — portion besides a fast-growing tourer destination.

The government’s actions constituent to “an organization operation” to conceal authoritative involvement, said Joaquín Galván, different Oaxaca lawyer and activistic who worked intimately with Domínguez.

“It was a precise orchestrated job,” Galván said.

Despite planetary renown for its culture, cuisine, Pacific beaches and mezcal-drenched enactment scene, Oaxaca is besides the tract of often-bloody clashes — sometimes involving organized transgression — centering connected contentious disputes astir onshore rights, improvement schemes and the trafficking of drugs and migrants, among different issues. The kidnap-murder of the mates stands arsenic the latest successful a disturbing slew of killings.

In November, assassins connected a motorcycle successful the colonial-era authorities superior of Oaxaca City gunned down 2 sisters who were well-known advocates for their Indigenous Triqui community.

And successful February, abstracted shooting attacks successful agrarian areas killed 4 assemblage leaders who had opposed improvement projects some on the seashore and successful the state’s interior.

Meantime, successful March, Oaxaca’s spate of unit made planetary headlines: Police reported the grisly find of the dismembered, bullet-riddled remains of 9 young Mexican men and women wrong and adjacent to an abandoned Volkswagen sedan on a road successful adjoining Puebla state. The bloodied victims, mostly successful their 20s, had been visiting Oaxaca’s beaches. Prosecutors blamed organized crime, but provided fewer details.

The unit has exposed a acheronian broadside to the tourer mecca, a disturbing look that Mexican officials aren’t particularly keen to speech about.

President Claudia Sheinbaum, who assumed bureau past October vowing to stamp retired a nationalist epidemic of feminicides — the execution of women due to the fact that of their sex — has mostly ignored the slaying of Domínguez and her hubby successful her regular quality briefings.

Advocates blasted a sinister concern of organized transgression and crooked politicians for the sidesplitting of Domínguez, 38. They impeach the Oaxaca authorities authorities — dominated by Sheinbaum’s ruling Morena bloc — of brushing disconnected immoderate transportation betwixt the lawyer’s execution and her agelong past of advocacy.

Authorities “have tried to smear Sandra and said her enactment has thing to bash with what happened to her,” said Yésica Sánchez Maya, a chap quality rights activistic successful Oaxaca. “But, successful fact, determination are a batch of reasons wherefore immoderate radical would not privation Sandra alive.”

Domínguez had amassed a agelong ledger of enemies, notably almighty antheral politicos whom she publically shamed arsenic sexist abusers successful a authorities that has been dilatory to shed a bequest of crude machismo and fiat regularisation successful the countryside by caciques, or dictatorial determination bosses.

State prosecutors person explicitly dismissed immoderate nexus betwixt Domínguez’s activism and her fate. The lawyer was a “collateral” unfortunate successful an organized-crime turf conflict that really targeted her husband, Alexander Hernández, according to the Oaxaca lawyer general, José Bernardo Rodríguez.

Hernández, 46, was progressive successful “illicit activities, arms trafficking, radical trafficking [and] extortions,” Rodríguez told Mexico’s Milenio quality outlet.

Relatives and allies of Domínguez accidental the accusations near them stunned: Hernández, they say, was ne'er publically linked to organized transgression — until helium and his woman were executed.

“The easiest happening for authorities authorities is to accidental this had thing to bash with Sandra’s enactment — that this was each astir her husband,” said Sánchez, who was Domínguez’s longtime workfellow and a chap lawyer.

The government’s actions constituent to “an organization operation” to conceal authoritative involvement, said Joaquín Galván, different Oaxaca lawyer and activistic who worked intimately with Domínguez.

“It was a precise orchestrated job,” Galván said. “There was collaboration betwixt organized transgression and officials of the Oaxaca authorities to vanish and assassinate Sandra.”

Domínguez was a fable successful Oaxaca’s extended activistic circles. Her passionateness was assisting susceptible women, peculiarly those from the mostly impoverished Mixe taste group, besides known arsenic the Ayuuk. She was tireless, accidental household and friends, successful pursuing the information successful instances of disappeared and abused women whose victimization was ignored by corrupt section authorities.

“As an Ayuuk woman, she embraced the defence of her radical and of each the Indigenous women who suffered unit and discrimination,” her sister, Kisha Domínguez, said successful a Facebook homage. “When a pistillate came to her seeking help, Sandra ever responded. She ne'er hesitated to travel someone, to assistance them, to rise her dependable erstwhile others were silent.”

In 1 well-known case, Domínguez successfully pushed authorities to analyse feminicide successful the decease of Fanny Guadalupe López, a Mixe teen whose decease successful 2021 was initially ruled a suicide. Activists and relatives argued that Fanny, 16, was murdered aft years of maltreatment by her overmuch older fellow and a section official.

Domínguez’s astir provocative enactment was her bombshell nationalist disclosure, starting successful 2021, of online chat groups sharing images of Indigenous women, accompanied by sexist banter. The chats — dubbed “Sierra XXX” and “Mega Peda” — circulated among scores of salient Oaxacan lawmakers and powerfulness brokers. A Morena governmental campaigner had to driblet retired of the authorities legislature contention erstwhile linked to the sneering commentary.

Prominently implicated successful the misogynist online clique was Donato Vargas, who holds the rubric of Oaxaca’s authorities “peace” coordinator, a benignant of assemblage liaison. Feminists demanded the ouster of Vargas, who besides faced allegations of carnal maltreatment from a erstwhile pistillate companion. Oaxaca officials defended Vargas.

When Domínguez went missing much than six months ago, her supporters called connected Oaxaca Gov. Salamón Jara to analyse Vargas, a politically almighty fig who they accidental perchance had a grudge against Domínguez.

The governor, speaking to reporters successful precocious October, told reporters that helium would inquire his “friend” Vargas to instrumentality a “few days” permission and talk with prosecutors.

“We person nary crushed to support anyone,” Jara said.

Vargas did not respond to requests for remark from the Los Angeles Times.

From astir the infinitesimal that Domínguez was reported missing connected Oct. 8, supporters accused Oaxacan authorities of slow-walking the inquiry. International organizations, including the United Nations and Amnesty International, called connected Mexican authorities to measurement it up. Federal officers were directed to assistance successful the hunt.

The hunt focused connected an country of Veracruz state, conscionable crossed the enactment from Oaxaca and the couple’s location successful the distant and sweltering cultivation burg of María Lombardo de Caso, astir 200 miles from Oaxaca City.

Authorities soon recovered the couple’s abandoned conveyance and Dominguez’s cellphone. Leads brought constabulary to an isolated ranch called El Capricho — The Whim — wherever a weapon conflict connected Jan. 29 near 4 dormant — an serviceman and 3 confederates of a “criminal cell” tied to the kidnapping, authorities said.

Still, the hunt dragged on, an affectional travel for Domínguez’s loved ones, who held connected to fading hopes that she whitethorn inactive beryllium live — contempt steep likelihood successful a state wherever forced disappearances seldom output blessed endings.

All anticipation was dashed connected April 24. That’s erstwhile constabulary recovered the corpses buried successful 2 ditches on a ungraded road, immoderate 30 miles from the couple’s home. The find was announced publically 4 days later.

At slightest 2 different suspects, including a woman, were successful custody, according to the Oaxaca prosecutor, who didn’t supply further details.

“Justicia!” was the chant of distraught and outraged mourners past week astatine a memorial work successful Oaxaca City. Domínguez’s coffin was draped successful purple fabric, a testament to her feminist credo. Her mother, Aracely Martínez, peered into the flower-bedecked grave, the anguish of 206 days of torment waiting to larn of her daughter’s destiny etched successful her face.

“There are nary words for what they did to you,” the parent said, sobbing. “The authorities killed you, my daughter.”

McDonnell is simply a Times unit writer. Sánchez Vidal is simply a peculiar correspondent.