Sunday, December 14, 2008

Silvia Vargas

One of the biggest stories of the past week was the discovery of Silvia Vargas' remains. Vargas, the 18-year-old daughter of sports big shot Nelson Vargas, had been kidnapped last year. After abiding by the kidnappers' requests and keeping silent about the affair for a year and having heard nothing, her family came public with the abduction this summer, pleading for some news. The ensuing investigation eventually revealed the work of a group called Los Rojos, which had connections to a family chauffeur. Her body was found outside a Mexico City home last weekend, and was identified this week. Evidently, the effort to locate Silvia did not enjoy much support from the government. A memorial service, which was attended by Martí's father Alejandro as well as Felipe Calderón, took place yesterday. Much like the case of Fernando Martí (Alejandro's son), this case has become a microcosm for government incompetence. 

I've had nothing to say about this story because there's not much to say beyond to the obvious; what a tragedy for her and her family, and what a shame that the government can't do more to combat such crimes. You can check out a story about the event from the Washington Post here. The family's memorial web page for Silvia is here. For Spanish-speakers, the El Universal editorial is here

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