Mexico: Fr Solalinde returns defiantly to migrant shelter

Father Alejandro Solalinde

A priest who was forced to leave Mexico because of death threats in May, has returned to his country. Father Alejandro Solalinde, manager of the Hermanos del Camino (Brothers on the Path) migrant shelter, is back and resumed his work after a period of exile. He warned organised crime, public servants and police forces: "Time and again we have refused to give up, and we will never do so. So, let it be clear: we are going to continue."

The Hermanos del Camino shelter in Ixtepec, Oaxaca, Mexico provides practical assistance to undocumented migrants - mostly from Central America - as they pass through Mexico to the United States. As well as a physically perilous journey, huge numbers of migrants face human rights abuses - including murder, rape, human trafficking, kidnapping, extortion and forced labour - from organised crime gangs, sometimes with the complicity of state agents such as the police and corrupt politicians. For seven years Fr Solalinde's shelter has offered migrants a solace on their journey: a place where they can eat, sleep, access healthcare and report human rights abuses. It was the first shelter of what is now a network of about 50 migrant shelters in Mexico which are supported by the Catholic Church.

Fr Solalinde's work advocating for migrants' human rights has led to threats on his life and he was forced to leave Mexico in May after receiving six death threats in two months. Since 2010, he has been under Precautionary Measures issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which oblige the state of Mexico to put in place safeguards to protect his life. On his return last week, Fr Solalinde met with officials in Mexico City and Oaxaca to agree additional security measures, such as guards for himself and the shelter.

In a joint press conference with Amnesty International on 10 July, Fr Solalinde reported that investigations into the death threats have not produced any results, and said there was an obligation on Mexico to expedite the investigations to arrest and prosecute those responsible. The executive director of Amnesty International Mexico, Alberto Alberto Herrera, urged Mexico not to delay the implementation of the Precautionary Measures any longer, and said that the Attorney General's Office must speed up the pace of investigations.

"The message being sent to the perpetrators of the attacks against Fr Solalinde is devastating: it is one of permissibility," he said, adding that serious attention must be paid to the threats, and that investigations could avert a possible attack on Fr Solalinde and the Hermanos en el Camino shelter. Amnesty International said it will continue to have regular meetings with staff of the Office to ensure that the investigations conclude shortly and identify those responsible for the threats.