The Red Note Imperative

In 1993, residents of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico begin noticing a string of serial murders that appear to be linked by a common signature. But for more than two year, these brutal crimes are ignored by local investigators. As host Lydia Cacho explores the powerful forces along the border that gave rise to these femicides, our production team comes face-to-face with danger on the streets of Juarez.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Forensic examiner Oscar Maynez starts to suspect that a serial killer is on the loose in Juarez, but his theory is ignored by local officials. Facing a public outcry over their failure to solve the femicides, investigators in Chihuahua finally launch an investigation. An Egyptian chemist, Abdul Latif Sharif Sharif, is arrested and charged with the serial murders. But as more and more women’s bodies are found in the desert, local residents begin asking whether police may have arrested the wrong man.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After Sharif is charged with dozens of serial murders in Juarez, a local politician, Irene Blanco, agrees to take over the Egyptian’s defense. The members of a local gang are arrested in the city’s red light district and accused of conspiring with “the Juarez Ripper” to commit the serial murders; but doubts still linger about Sharif’s involvement in the crimes. Chihuahua’s state attorney general announces the creation of a special task force to end the murder of women in Juarez.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Facing widespread protests over his handling of the femicides investigation, Chihuahua’s governor invites FBI profiler Robert Ressler to Juarez in the hopes of solving the serial murders. Host Lydia Cacho examines how sex trafficking grew into a lucrative revenue stream for Mexico’s drug cartels, fueling the disappearance of hundreds of women each year along the border. Local residents are hopeful that the appointment of Suly Ponce to lead Chihuahua’s femicide task force will be a turning point in the investigation.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A 13-year-old maquiladora worker survives a brutal assault outside Juarez and identifies several bus drivers as her assailants. After local officials allege that the gang of drivers conspired with Sharif to commit the serial murders, Juarez residents begin to question Suly Ponce’s commitment to ending the femicides. Irene Blano tries to speak out after Sharif is convicted of murder, but the powerful forces that control Juarez move quickly to silence her.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The discovery of eight womens’ bodies at a cotton field in central Juarez sends shockwaves through the city. Forensic examiner Oscar Maynez contends that the cotton field murders prove that an organized criminal network is behind the serial murders. Just days after the eight bodies are discovered, authorities arrest two bus drivers and charge them with the killings. When questions emerge about the drivers’ guilt, residents and activists allege that the government is trying to protect the real killers.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices