Police in the Mexican border city of Juarez conducted the largest raid in recent history in search of missing people and victims of human trafficking.
State police swarmed the streets of downtown Juarez for nine hours during the weekend of July 23 in an area that is rife with brothels and bars. Officers located a 15-year-old girl who was reported missing since May, as well as four unaccompanied underage girls.
Carlos Gonzalez, a spokesman for the Chihuahua state prosecutor's office, said the raids were an effort to gain better control of a dangerous area of the city.
He said police made a registry of some 400 people who work in adult businesses in downtown Juarez. Police also arrested two people wanted for murder.
Veronica Corchado, an activist who works with a group of well established women and social organizations in Juarez, said they were surprised by the news of the raids. She said government officials should work together with local organizations, adding that in Juarez there is little public trust of police.
In recent years, non-governmental organizations like those Corchado works with have conducted their own investigations into the disappearance of dozens of young girls in downtown Juarez.
