Lydia Cacho: Forced into exile
| Publisher | Article 19 |
| Publication Date | 14 March 2013 |
| Cite as | Article 19, Lydia Cacho: Forced into exile, 14 March 2013, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5149bc452.html [accessed 8 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Investigative journalist Lydia Cacho was kidnapped by a group of police officers in 2005. The men put her in the back of a van and drove for 20 hours from Cancun in the south of the country to Puebla, a city in the north. Cacho was tortured, threatened with rape and sexual assault. She had a gun placed in her mouth and was told that she was going to be executed.
A network of friends managed to secure her release but the serious attempts on her life continued. The continued violence is a direct result of her work to address issues of corruption and people trafficking within the Mexican state.
Despite a series of threats, she continued to work in the country. The final straw came in July 2012 after a particularly violent threat made to her satellite phone. Cacho consulted her support network, including ARTICLE 19 and fled the country.
