On January 12th and 13th the first APPO (Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca) Youth Encuentro was held in Zaachila, Oaxaca, Mexico. Among the many plans of action agreed upon by the diverse group of young folks, was a march on January 15th for the liberation of political prisoners in Oaxaca, in particular David Venegas Reyes, an APPO council member and member of VOCAL (Oaxacan Voices Constructing Autonomy and Freedom). Read More and Watch Video

On December 27, 2007, David Venegas was granted his third protective writ by a federal court with regards to the supposed events in which he was implicated on the basis that there were sufficient “reasons” to deprive him of his freedom. With this new order, David’s total, absolute innocence of any crime whatsoever is recognized for the third time, thereby unmasking once again the true, shameful motives for keeping him isolated from his family, his milieu, and his daily life.

The legal proceedings against David V., from the time he was first arrested on April 13, 2007, with concocted evidence on fictitious charges of drug dealing, have proved to be a first-rate political issue for the government of Oaxaca. An unabashedly transformed image of David has consistently been propagated to sell him as a dangerous criminal.

see also: The Struggle Continues || David Venegas Reyes Wins Third Federal Protective Order || Immediate Freedom for David Venegas Reyes || Mexican police crushing miner's strike, 5 possibly killed || Low intensity war in Chiapas ; Lakota Indians declare autonomy