Parents Of 43 Missing Mexican Students March For Justice In LA
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — Parents of 43 missing Mexican students marched on Sunday in an effort to seek answers and justice for their children.
Caravana 43 participants began their march shortly after 1:30 p.m., which spanned from Olvera Street to the Mexican Consulate, located in front of MacArthur Park.
According to officials, the Ayotzinapa students have not been seen since Sept. 26, 2014, when they were stopped by the police in Iguala, Mexico.
Mexican authorities investigating their disappearance said the students were turned over to a drug gang, which killed them and incinerated their remains.
In November 2014, federal police detained former Mayor of Iguala Jose Luis Abarca and his wife, Maria de Los Angeles de Pineda, for allegedly ordering the disappearance of the students.
Parents explained they have not had any support from the Mexican government in the search for their children, but they remain hopeful their children are still alive.
Blanca Luz Velez Nava, mom of missing student Jorge Alvarez Nava, told CBS2's Greg Mills that she did not believe her son was dead.
Mexican officials told the parents of the 43 students that they were killed.
"That's a lie," she said through a translator. "They told us our kids are dead but they don't have a single piece of proof that they are."
Mills estimated the crowd of marchers at around 400.
Student's families arrived in Los Angeles on Friday, and held press conferences at CSU Northridge and CSU Los Angeles throughout the weekend.
Los Angeles was among one of the many stops planned throughout the Pacific, Central and Atlantic regions during their tour of the U.S.
Mills also spoke to student Angel De La Cruz, a student who escaped the kidnapping and likely murder of his classmates.
Through an interpreter he told Mills, "I simply had good luck."
Mills asked who picked up the tab to being parents/surviving students and others to the U.S. for this rally and others and was told by an organizer it was American donors, non-profits, individuals and other humanitarian aid groups.
(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
