Chicago Joins Over 43 U.S. Cities December 3 to Demand End to Deadly Plan Mexico

#USTIRED2: In the wake of the 43 disappeared students in Mexico

Wednesday, December 3 – National Day of Action For Peace in Mexico

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – On Wednesday, December 3, over 43 U.S. cities will participate in an unprecedented national mobilization to demand an end to the deadly “Plan Mexico,” a billion-dollar program to aid Mexico’s corrupt and notoriously violent security forces, ostensibly in their fight against the so-called War on Drugs.

Chicago community members with #USTired2: faith community, students, scholars and the concerned Mexican community and their allies are calling together for the US to stop funding Plan Mexico.

Event 1: Press Conference and Rally at 216 S Dearborn, Dirksen Federal Building at 4 p.m.

Event 2: Evening Action and Rally 6 p.m. Tribune Tower

Events Nationwide: http://ustired2.com/cities/

View the petition here: http://ustired2.com/take-action/

BACKGROUND

In the wake of the massive human rights crisis in Mexico that was exposed by the recent disappearance of the 43 students in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero, thousands of people from across the United States will march in front of federal buildings in their respective cities and other locations to call on the Obama Administration and Congress to stop US funneling billions of tax dollars of military aid, training and coordination to Mexico’s military and police forces, which are widely known to be perpetrating massive human rights violations, including the September kidnapping of the 43 studentsfrom the Ayotzinapa teachers’ college in the state of Guerrero, Mexico. In order to put a human face on the tragedy of U.S. policy in Mexico, each of the 43 cities will raise up images and tell the story of one of the 43 disappeared students of Ayotzinapa.

This day of action is being organized by the all-volunteer campaign #USTired2, a broad and diverse network of communities connected to Mexico. #USTired2 emerged as the English-language counterpart to the #YaMeCansé campaign that has swept the country as Mexicans declare that they are tired of the state violence, human rights abuses and widespread impunity — all aided by U.S. tax dollars.

It’s Illegal

Continuing Plan Merida is illegal under US law. The Leahy Law prohibits the State Department or Defense Department from providing military assistance to “any unit of the security forces of a foreign country if the Secretary of State has credible information that such unit has committed a gross violation of human rights.”Under Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, the government’s human rights abuses are the worst the region has seen in decades, according to human rights organizations. “I don’t know of a single case of this magnitude in real time in all of Latin America in the last 30 years,” said Jose Miguel Vivanco, the Americas Director of Human Rights Watch. “Impunity is the only explanation,” he added.

“The fact that our country is funding police and other human rights-abusing security forces through “Plan Mexico” makes the disappearance of the 43 students and the rest of the state violence in Mexico our issue here in the United States,” said Roberto Lovato, one of the founders of #USTired2. “The time has come to end ‘Plan Mexico’ because for more than 35 million people of Mexican descent living in the U.S., Mexico is not a “foreign policy” issue. Mexico is family—and for the sake of our families, we have decided to hold vigils for the dead and disappeared, vigils that will mark the beginning of the end of the failed Mexico “drug war” policies of our government.”

Facts about the US-funded Mexican Drug War

• More than 100,000 people have been murdered and more than 25,000 have been disappeared since 2006.
• Our US tax dollars pay for the same security forces that have killed thousands of people.
• Mexican security forces are widely known to collaborate with narco-traffickers; hence Mexico has been dubbed a narco-government by its own people.
• The cornerstone of “Plan Mexico” is the multi-billion dollar Plan Merida, a security aid program implemented in 2007, which President Obama has promised to continue to fund “indefinitely.”
• Plan Mexico, was first funded by our Congress since 2008 and it has already cost taxpayers $2.4 billion dollars

As many of us did when we proved the President wrong on his denials of executive authority on immigration, so will the powerful peace movement behind #Ustired2.For a full list of participating cities, go tohttp://ustired2.com/cities/

Website: http://ustired2.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/USTired2/767562843324746?fref=photo

Twitter: https://twitter.com/UStired2

http://ustired2.com/take-action/

For more information, contact: Lau Ramirez 312-409-4917  lorjaya@gmail.com

Sara Oceguera 708-941-5222 saraoceguera@ymail.com