On 15 March 2011, Mr Juan Ernesto Maciel, along with his father, Mr Manuel Dámaso Maciel García, and his aunt, Ms María Maciel Garcia, were killed at their home in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. Juan Ernesto Maciel was a key witness in the murder in August 2008 of Ms Rubi Marisol Fraye Escobedo, daughter of human rights defender Ms Marisela Escobedo Ortiz, who was also killed on 16 December 2010.

Further Information

It is reported that Juan Ernesto Maciel, who was aged 17, had been scheduled to appear in court as a witness in the days following his killing.

On the night of 15-16 March 2011, a group of at least six armed men reportedly broke into the home of Manuel Dámaso Maciel García, María Maciel García and Juan Ernesto Maciel on Isla Tiburón street in the Plutarco Elias Calles district of Ciudad Juárez and shot all three individuals dead with automatic weapons before fleeing the scene. Two younger children, aged one and three years, were spared.

Those responsible reportedly travelled to and from the scene in two aging automobiles. Their faces were not covered, and they are described as being young men below the age of 20.

Marisela Escobedo Ortiz, a member of Justicia para Nuestras Hijas (Justice for Our Daughters) was killed outside the Chihuahua State Governor's Office on 16 December 2010 while attending a peaceful vigil against the absolution of her daughter's killer, together with other families of victims of femicide.

Front Line believes that the killing of Juan Ernesto Maciel and his family members was directly related to his legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights, particularly with regard to bringing to justice those responsible for the killing of human rights defender Rubi Marisol Fraye Escobedo. This new killing reflects the extreme risks faced by witnesses, human rights defenders and their families in Chihuahua State – particularly those involved in fighting impunity for cases of femicide in the State – in which the right to life is systematically violated with complete impunity.