The Mom Who Fought a Cartel

Karen Rodríguez was kidnapped and murdered by one of Mexico’s most feared cartels in 2014. Most families would have been forced into silence, but not hers.

Refusing to give up, her mum, Miriam Rodríguez, launched her own relentless quest for justice. In a country where cartels operate with impunity, kidnappings are commonplace, and speaking out can get you killed, Miriam’s fearless pursuit turned her into an unlikely hero—and a target.

This is an extraordinary story of a mother’s determination to bring her daughter’s killers to justice and the high price she paid for defying the power of the cartels.

In this episode: 

• Ricardo Ravelo (@RRavelo27), journalist 
• María Jaramillo Alanís, journalist

Episode credits: 

This episode was written and produced by Anna Staufenberg and hosted by Halla Mohieddeen.

Executive Producer: Ney Alvarez.

Production Managers: Bronte Baskin.

Senior Producers: Marthe van der Wolf and Bronte Baskin.

Post-Production Supervisor: Andrés Rivera

Assistant Producers: Leo Danczak, Sophie McNulty, and Catherine Nouhan.

Fact-checking by Catherine Nouhan

Audio editing by Alan Leer.

Music composition by Tom Biddle.

Translation by Diana Larrea Maccise and Ney Alvarez.

Lead of Engagement: Aya Elmileik.

Engagement Producers: Adam Abou-Gad, Munera AlDosari, and Vienna Maglio.

Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio: Ney Alvarez.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Instagram, X, Facebook, and YouTube