The Mom Who Fought a Cartel

The Mom Who Fought a Cartel

From True Crime Reports by Al Jazeera

July 27, 2025 · 41 min · Season 1 · Episode 15

About this episode

The episode tells the story of Miriam Rodríguez's relentless quest for justice after her daughter Karen was kidnapped and murdered by a cartel in Mexico.

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…

People in this episode

Host: Halla Mohieddeen

Guests: Ricardo Ravelo, María Jaramillo Alanís

Topics covered

  • cartel violence
  • justice
  • kidnapping
  • mother's determination
  • true crime
  • Mexico

Keywords

  • Miriam Rodríguez
  • Karen Rodríguez
  • cartel
  • justice
  • kidnapping
  • Mexico
  • true crime
  • violence
  • determination

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Al Jazeera

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