During our committee’s visit to Mexico to raise awareness of Nestora’s case, some of our delegates were able to spend some time with Nestora for an interview. Here’s what they had to say of their visit:

On Sunday, June 21, I visited Nestora Salgado in the medical tower at Tepepan Women’s Prison in Mexico City. She was healthy and full of life — happy in the wake of her struggle to be moved to a facility where treatment is better, given the tortuous regime she suffered at the high security prison in Nayarit. Nestora’s room is large with lots of natural light and a window with a view outside.

Nestora speaks freely and says that, just like Edith Piaf, she has no regrets. She is proud that she unified the townspeople of Olinalá against crime and injustice. She is glad she took on a network of child pornographers and liberated children and adolescents from human traffickers. She says it doesn’t bother her that she has had to face imprisonment as a result of fighting injustice. She says she remains convinced that she did nothing wrong and always has acted honorably in the interests of her people. She refers frequently to God in our conversation.

For me, it was like talking to someone I had known for a long time. Nestora is exceptional. She is a very smart woman with a strong character and a sweet personality. The serious Comandante Nestora is also a compassionate woman. She is proud and not diminished at all by the ugly pair of prison pajamas she is wearing.

Read the full story here.