Politics

Obama, Mexico’s President Meet Under Shadow of Abductions

Published

10 years ago

January 7, 2015

President Barack Obama hosts a bilateral meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama pledged to stand with Mexico against “the scourge of violence and the drug cartels” as he met Tuesday with President Enrique Pena Nieto amid concern over the unsolved abduction of 43 Mexican college students last September.

Protesters in front of the White House questioned what happened to the students who are presumed dead, allegedly at the hands of local officials and police in league with a drug cartel. The dozens gathered in the city’s first winter snowfall were a smaller version of the massive street protests that have occurred in Mexico calling for Pena Nieto’s resignation.

The case has come to signify an engrained abuse of authority and corruption in Mexico, and sparked indignation that federal authorities took 10 days to intervene. Pena Nieto has drawn criticism for saying it was time to “move beyond” the case just weeks after their abduction and taking a month to meet with their families.

Obama was under pressure from groups including Human Rights Watch and the AFL-CIO to press Pena Nieto to take the case more seriously. Mexican officials initially said they did not expect Obama to raise it, but he did by pledging U.S. support.

Obama told reporters in the Oval Office that Americans have been following the “tragic events surrounding the students whose lives were lost.” He said Pena Nieto described reforms he’s initiated around the issues that were raised.

“Our commitment is to be a friend and supporter of Mexico in its efforts to eliminate the scourge of violence and the drug cartels that are responsible for so much tragedy inside of Mexico,” Obama said. But, he added, “Ultimately it will be up to Mexico and its law enforcement to carry out the decisions that need to be made.”

Pena Nieto responded by thanking Obama for working with Mexico to improve security, “especially this clear challenge Mexico has to continue fighting organized crime.”

Pressed later on whether the Obama administration believes that the investigation in Mexico has been credible, White House press secretary Josh Earnest pointed out that arrests have been made and the probe continues. He said Obama stands with Pena Nieto as he tries to put reforms in place.

The protesters across the street in Lafayette Park were so boisterous they could be heard by people in the Oval Office during the presidents’ meeting. The Oval Office is on the other side of the White House from the protesters in Lafayette Park.

“We are very upset,” said Ivan Almonte, a 36-year-old Mexican who has been living in the United States for 16 years. “We want Pena Nieto to quit and to tell us where are the 43 students. Why so much silence?”

The students from a rural teachers college were taken by Iguala police Sept. 26 and allegedly turned over to members of the Guerreros Unidos drug gang that rules parts of the southern Mexican state of Guerrero. Iguala is a city that is southwest of Mexico City.

The Mexican government says the students were likely killed and their bodies incinerated beyond identification. Only one body has been found and identified.

Before the meeting a Pena Nieto aide, undersecretary for North America affairs Sergio Alcocer, raised the shooting of unarmed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, when asked about whether the students’ abduction would be part of the talks. He said Mexican officials didn’t expect it.

“We have cases of violence in different parts of the world,” Alcocer said. “Within the United States, we know there has been this kind of violence in the area of Missouri, to mention just one case.”

Pena Nieto praised Obama’s executive action to shield from deportation some 4 million immigrants — most of them from his country — and his “very audacious decision” to re-establish diplomatic ties with Cuba after a half century of estrangement.

Obama said he hopes to approach Cuba with “a more constructive policy but one that continues to emphasize human rights and democracy and political freedom.” He said he’ll participate in the Summit of the Americas, a regional meeting, in April in Panama along with Cuba, but will insist that those topics are on the agenda.

Years of estrangement between the U.S. and the communist island nation off the Florida coast had long been a point of friction with Mexico and other Latin American countries that do business with Cuba.

“Mexico will be a tireless supporter of the good relationship between two neighbors,” Pena Nieto said.

___

Associated Press writer Luis Alonso Lugo contributed to this report.

___

Follow Nedra Pickler on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nedrapickler

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Racially Motivated Violence Against Black Teen Prompts $10 Million Claim Against LAUSD 

In December, a second altercation, on a video shared with news media, showed 4 to 6 boys attacking a Black student and using racial slurs. The video also shows a person in a safety vest trying to stop the fight and telling them to “handle it after school.” Then, the video ends. 

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(Left to right) Civil Rights Attorney Caree Harper comforts the victim’s mother as she becomes emotional when describing the attacks on her son while her attorney Bradley C. Gage listens. Verdugo Hills High School on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Tujunga, CA. (Solomon O. Smith /for California Black Media)

By Solomon O. Smith, California Black Media

A distraught mother and her legal team announced a $10 million lawsuit against the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) on Dec. 16, alleging that her son was the target of bullying because of his race.

“CS DOE is a 14-year-old African American student at Verdugo High School. He is a Ninth Grader,” reads a statement the plaintiff’s attorneys shared with California Black Media (CBM).

“Almost from the first day of class (in August 2024), CS DOE was targeted by Latino students who called him racial slurs, physically attacked him and threatened to stab him.”

The family’s identity has not yet been released to the public due to safety concerns, according to their attorneys Bradley C. Gage and Caree Harper. The student’s mother is identified only as A.O. in the complaint.

The first video, filmed in August, showed several non-Black students punching and kicking a Black student in a bathroom on campus while yelling racial slurs. The mother claims that the students who attacked her son were not punished, and the administration asked her to move her son to another school for his safety.

“They wanted him to leave the school without giving any disciplinary action towards those students,” said the student’s mother. “He’s not going anywhere. He’s going to finish. I wanted him to at least stay until the December winter break, and then I was going to transfer schools for him.”

Before she could enroll her son in a different school the attacks escalated.

CS DOE, a 14-year-old freshman, left the school but was followed by a car, according to Gage. Several individuals exited the vehicle, one with a “large butcher knife.” A fight ensued and two people were stabbed. The Black student was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon but was later released into his mother’s custody.

The high school freshmen is scheduled to appear in juvenile court on Feb. 1, but Harper says she will reach out to the District Attorney and make the case against charging the young man.

“His mama had to go find him because he was hiding and fleeing for his very life,” said Harper.

According to the boy’s mother, the young student is still traumatized and has not been able to return to the area because it remains unsafe. Racial slurs have also been spray painted on their home.

“I’m sad. I’m devastated, you know,” said the mother. “I still feel like they’re after him. I still feel like they can kill him, possibly.”

The LAUSD and principal of Verdugo High School did not respond to CBM’s requests for comment.

If you are – or someone you know is – has experienced a hate crime or hate incident, please visit CAvsHate.org for more information and to find out what you can do about it.

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CABSE President Satra Zurita and Conference Chair Micah Ali.

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Looking back at 2024, what stands out to you as your most important achievement and why?

Ali: I would have to say that two highlights have been the ongoing support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Engie, and other sponsors that have enabled us to bring together like-minded education leaders twice a year to collectively advance innovative and meaningful strategies to achieve change on behalf of Black students across our state.

How did your leadership and investments contribute to improving the lives of Black Californians? 

Zurita: CABSE’s leadership and investment in improving the education system for Black students in our great state has resulted in a long-standing focus on transforming public education and its response to Black students. By pulling from the very wisdom of those educators and leaders who care deeply about Black students and who are showing great promise through their efforts.

What frustrated you the most over the last year? 

Zurita: Continuing to see the deep impact of COVID-19 Pandemic school site closures on students academically and emotionally — especially Black students. This makes our work and our advocacy more vital than ever.

CBM: What inspired you the most over the last year?

Zurita: Seeing our CABSE convenings grow in depth and breadth — our strategies, powerful content and reach.

What is one lesson you learned in 2024 that will inform your decision-making next year?

Ali: Our Blueprint for Education Equity is a crowd-sourced framework of strategies that have shown great promise for improving the education experiences and opportunities for Black students. In 2024, we developed an equity self-assessment tool for districts to use in evaluating their own efforts on behalf of Black students. Strategies are helping Black students.

In one word, what is the biggest challenge Black Californians face?

Zurita: Many Black students across our state are dealing with a host of challenges: homelessness, food insecurity, exposure to violence, not to mention bias remains a pervasive problem. To add to the challenge, educators are worn out, tired, and frustrated. We now need to think about how we can simultaneously inspire and empower students and educators alike. The system needs an overhaul.

What is the goal you want to achieve most in 2025?

Zurita: In 2025, we hope to stand CABSE up as a fully functioning non-profit organization engaged in research and policy design.

Ali: We also aim to deepen the content of our convenings, including adding a Math Track and what we are calling Social Determinants of Education Track to our annual conference and institute, which will address those social contexts that prevent Black students from realizing their potential as students.

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File photo: Kaci Patterson, founder of Los Angeles-based Black Equity Collective, represented grassroot organizations from across the state that demanded the state invest into a coalition that aims to build a healthy relationship between philanthropy groups and the public sector. May 10, 2023, Sacramento, California. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey.

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Kaci Peterson, the founder and Chief Architect of Social Good Solutions and the Black Equity Collective, has over 18 years of experience in the non-profit and philanthropy sectors.

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Looking back at 2024, what stands out to you as your most important achievement and why? 

This year, we celebrated our 10-year anniversary as a firm. Since the firm’ s inception we are proud to announce that cumulatively we’ve been able to raise and leverage over $55.5 million for Black-led organizations in California.

One of the things that we have accomplished is our expanded membership. We had an initial goal of 30 to 40 organizations. We have a current membership of 54 organizations and a waiting list of over 120.

How did your leadership and investments contribute to improving the lives of Black Californians? 

We launched a survey involving 200 Black-led organizations to study the economic impact of Black-led organizations on California’ s GDP. The results of that survey will be released in early 2025.

What frustrated you the most over the last year?

The decline in philanthropic investment after the height of commitments following the murder of George Floyd, following COVID.

What inspired you the most over the last year?

I am always inspired by the leaders on the ground who just continue to do monumental work. The fact that here in Los Angeles, we’ve been able to stand up a doula hub in response to the policy advocacy work that so many of our leaders, our Black women in particular, really pushed and got state legislation passed a couple of years ago so that doulas can be an approved and reimbursable expense through Medi-Cal.

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Erasure.

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