JLo Stars in Bordertown: The Tragedy of Ciudad Juárez

Later this month, Gregory Nava’s movie on the mass murder and torture of women in Ciudad Juárez will be released. According to the official movie website, “BORDERTOWN is the story of one woman’s passionate struggle for justice in a town gripped by fear. American journalist Lauren [(JLo)] arrives in Mexico determined to find out the truth about hundreds of local murders. Nothing is what it seems as she uncovers some shocking truths and puts her own life in danger.”

Bordertown is directed by Oscar-nominated Gregory Nava. The movie stars Jennifer Lopez (also credited as producer), Antonio Banderas, Martin Sheen, and others. The film tells the story of the numerous women murdered in Ciudad Juárez and the inquisitive American reporter sent in by her American newspaper. For more about the film, click here.

According to the Organization of American States’s Inter-American Commission on Human Rights:

The victims of these crimes have preponderantly been young women, between 17 and 22 years of age. Many were students, and most were maquiladora [workers in foreign owned factories]. A number were relative newcomers to Ciudad Juarez who had migrated from other areas of Mexico. The victims were generally reported missing by their families, with their bodies found days or months later abandoned in vacant lots or outlying areas. In most of these cases there were signs of sexual violence, abuse, torture or in some cases mutilation.

According to Amnesty International, as of February 2005 more than 370 bodies had been found, and over 400 women were still missing. In November 2005, BBC News reported Mexico’s human rights ombudsman Jose Luis Soberanes as saying that 28 women had been murdered so far in 2005. Despite past and current unsolved murders, in August 2006 the Mexican federal government dropped its investigation.   Amnesty International has lauded the film’s effort to bring the Juarez killings to public attention.

KJ