Americans Getting Tortured in the Borderlands

by Caroline Zamora

On December 18, 2009, Shohn Huckabee and Carlos Quijas, both United States citizens, were arrested near the Bridge of the Americas in Juarez, Mexico for acting nervous. Later Huckabee and Quijas were convicted in Mexico for having two suitcases of marijuana in Huckabee’s truck.

Three eye witnesses testified that Mexican Soldiers placed the suitcases in the truck. Huckabee and Quijas were both sentenced to five years in prison. While in prison, Huckabee and Quijas both claimed they were tortured by Mexican soldiers.

Kevin Huckabee, father of Shohn Huckabee, enlisted the help of Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), to bring his son back from Mexico but received little help from the congressman. Kevin Huckabee received more help from the Mexican consulate in El Paso, Texas than he did from Rep. Reyes and the U.S. consulate in Ciudad Juarez.

The El Paso Times reports that Kevin Huckabee also reached out to Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), and El Paso City Rep. Susie Byrd. Finally, Hutchison contacted Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. In a letter sent to Clinton, Hutchison stated that torture allegations and the violation of due process rights of two U.S. Citizens were troubling. Hutchison also attached an El Paso City Council resolution headed by Rep. Byrd, which condemned any human rights violations in Mexico and asked the U.S. Government to halt the Merida Initiative.

Rep. Byrd believes little was done to help the Huckabee family because the U.S. government wants the Merida Initiative to thrive. The Merida Initiative was approved by Congress and provided $1.3 billion in training and equipment to the Mexican Government to fight the drug cartels.

The Huckabee and Quijas family finally received help from Gustavo De la Rosa Hickerson, a Chihuahua State human-rights investigator. During a news conference in April, Hickerson said that the trial of Huckabee and Quijas was flawed and unfair due to the witnesses who testified that Mexican Soldiers planted the suitcases. Also Shohn Huckabee believed tens of thousands of dollars may have been able to buy his freedom.

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