In a Democracy Now! exclusive, we speak with the father and cousin of two of the 43 students missing from the Mexican state of Guerrero since late September. The Mexican authorities have declared the students dead, saying members of a local drug gang killed them and incinerated their bodies. But only one student’s remains have been identified, and journalists have pointed to the possible involvement of federal authorities.
As parents who have traveled from Mexico cross the United States in three protest caravans, we speak with two relatives of the missing students who live here in New York City: Antonio Tizapa is the father of Jorge Antonio Tizapa Legideño; and Amado Tlatempa is the cousin of Jesús Jovany Rodríguez Tlatempa. Tizapa, who believes his son is still alive, calls on the Obama administration to stop the Mérida Initiative, the multibillion-dollar U.S. aid program used to fund the war on drugs in Mexico.