Lydia Cacho Ribeiro a leading Mexican defender of children’s and women’s human rights narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by means of sabotage of an official vehicle she was traveling in from the city of Juarez in Mexico City on 7 May 2007.

At the time of the assassination attempt three officers were escorting Lydia Cacho Ribeiro from the airport. Lydia Cacho Ribeiro’s work has resulted in repeated threats against her life and judicial harassment to silence her efforts. The driver was forced to make an emergency stop. When the officers got out of the car, they realised that both the tyre and the wheel itself were on the verge of coming apart from the vehicle. They appeared to have been deliberately filed with the intention of causing an accident. On 8 May 2007 Lydia Cacho Ribeiro went with her lawyer, Xavier Olea, to request that the investigation into the alleged attempted murder include an exhaustive inspection of the vehicle and inquiries into which individuals may have had access to the car.

Lydia Cacho Ribeiro founded and directs the Centro Integral de Atención a las Mujeres (CIAM) in Cancún, a crisis center and shelter for victims of sex crimes, gender-based violence, and trafficking. CIAM provides free services to anyone seeking assistance and protection. Many of these women and girls who seek shelter are often fleeing from violent criminals.

Lydia Cacho Ribeiro is also an investigative journalist and a specialist on gender-based violence. She is the author of the book Los demonios de Eden: El poder detrás de la pornografía infantil (The Demons of Eden: The power behind child pornography), which implicated prominent businessmen in a child pornography ring. When the book was published in 2004, Lydia Cacho Ribeiro was charged with criminal defamation. She was arrested and detained on 16 December 2005 and denied access to her lawyer and medicine and spent the night in prison before being released on bail.Credible evidence suggests that the prosecution was initiated solely to harass and silence her activism on behalf of women and children.

Front Line believes Lydia Cacho Ribeiro has been targeted due to her unwavering defense of human rights and journalistic freedoms. Front Line urges the Irish government to put pressure on the Mexican authorities to carry out an immediate investigation into the alleged assassination attempt against Lydia Cacho Ribeiro with a view to identifying the those parties responsible.