The Red Note

Since 1993, thousands of women have been murdered or disappeared along the border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Follow investigative journalist Lydia Cacho on a journey to uncover the powerful forces behind these shocking crimes – and the investigators and activists fighting to stop them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 megaphone.fm/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 megaphone.fm/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 megaphone.fm/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 megaphone.fm/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 megaphone.fm/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 megaphone.fm/adchoices

Forensic examiner Oscar Maynez resigns after Juarez officials order him to plant evidence that would help implicate the two cotton field suspects. The FBI and Mexico's federal government try to launch their own investigations of the serial murders along the border, but are rebuffed by Juarez officials. After the accused cotton field killers are convicted, doubts persist about their role in the murders, and the identity of the victims. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Outrage over cotton field murders prompts an international outcry, focusing worldwide attention on the story of the Juarez serial murders. Jane Fonda, Eve Ensler, and other celebrities travel to Juarez to protest the killings alongside local activists and the families of the victims. Writers, artists, and musicians create artworks inspired by their outrage over the crimes. The codification of the term “femicide” into Mexican law helps Norma Andrade and other victims' mothers file international lawsuits against the Mexican government over their responsibility for the gender violence in Juarez. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Chapo” Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel tries to seize control of drug trafficking in Juarez, plunging the city into years of crime and bloodshed. Mexican President Felipe Calderon sends federal troops in the hopes of ending the conflict; but by 2010, Juarez has become the most dangerous city in the world. The war leaves a permanent scar on the city, and in the hearts of local residents caught up in the violence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25 years after the first serial murder in Juarez, local authorities have failed to bring their perpetrators of these crimes to justice. As the city emerges from years of unprecedented violence, the story of the femicides begins to recede from national and international headlines. But in Juarez, activists and the victims' families continue undaunted in their quest for justice, even as they struggle with the grief of losing their daughters, wives, and mothers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices