Thursday, May 23, 2013

Valor por Tamaulipas

Be without fear in the face of your enemies.
Be brave and upright that God may love thee.
Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death.
Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong.

There are a lot of courageous people in Mexico who push back on the drug dealers and corrupt government officials who keep them in business. Valor por Tamaulipas ("Courage for Tamaulipas") is a Facebook page that covers security updates in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It was founded by an anonymous user on 1 January 2012, shares information with other social-media users on the drug-related violence across Tamaulipas and through adjoining regions.

Valor por Tamaulipas routinely posts messages and photos of crime scenes on their page. In a country where many journalists have been assassinated for writing about drug trafficking and organized crime, the page survives under anonymity, but it has not been immune to threats.

In early 2013, a Mexican drug trafficking organization issued fliers offering a reward of $600,000 pesos ($46,000 USD) for anyone that could give out information to locate the admin of Valor por Tamaulipas, or any of his family members. The admin, however, openly defied the criminal organization's threat.

This is a tribute to that Facebook site and to courage.


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