After her daughter, Karen Alejandra Salinas Rodriguez, was abducted and killed in 2012, San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico mother Miriam Elizabeth Rodríguez Martínez, faced down the vicious Los Zetas Cartel in a compelling story of bravery and tenacity. Similar to the storyline of the film “Taken,” her unwavering pursuit of justice finally cost her life.

In 2012, armed men affiliated with the Los Zetas Cartel kidnapped Karen, who was only 20 years old at the time. 2014 saw the discovery of Karen’s remains, having been brutally murdered despite the family’s compliance with the captors’ requests for cash.

Following her daughter’s kidnapping and untimely demise, Miriam set out on a remarkable quest, devoting herself to finding her daughter’s killers. One of Mexico’s most violent criminal groups, the Los Zetas cartel, was one of the groups Miriam was able to track down and question numerous members of by using disguises, fictitious identity, and even a phony firearm.

A former florist who joined a cartel was one of her targets. Following a tip on his movements, Miriam went up to face him close to the US-Mexico border. Her courageous deed of holding him at gunpoint until the police could come to capture him resulted in the arrest of at least ten offenders, including Cristian Jose Zapata Gonzalez, who was only eighteen at the time.

A terrifying meeting with a cartel member who offered to help find her daughter in exchange for money resulted from Miriam’s unwavering pursuit of the truth. After learning the member went by Sama, she followed him to an ice cream parlor two hours distant in Ciudad Victoria. She used fictitious polling, disguises, and a police officer’s assistance in her complex monitoring scheme.

Sama remained undiscovered until September 2014, when Miriam’s son discovered him at his Ciudad Victoria store. Eventually, Sama provided vital details regarding Karen’s murder, which helped identify and apprehend the other accomplices.

Tragically, Miriam’s unrelenting resolve cost her. She was shot twelve times outside her home on Mother’s Day in 2017, and she did not survive. In spite of this, she is now hailed as a hero in her city, where organized crime is frequently tolerated.

Her experience is proof of the strength of a mother’s love and willpower. Like Liam Neeson’s character in the movie “Taken,” Miriam’s unwavering pursuit of justice impressed people who knew her in an area where authorities frequently turn a blind eye to organized crime.

Her surviving son Luis leads a non-governmental organization of 600 families that carry on her legacy by looking for missing family members. Miriam is an inspiration to all people because of her bravery in the face of peril and her pursuit of justice.

Miriam’s experience serves as a reminder that, despite the hazards involved, pursuing justice is a job worth doing in a place where it frequently appears unattainable.