Caravan for Peace marches through Chicago

By Dannis Valera

The Caravan for Peace marched through Chicago’s Little Village earlier this week calling for changes in policy and strategy concerning the war on drugs.

The caravan first started Aug. 11, after crossing the Otay Border into San Diego. In total, the caravan will travel through 26 cities and will eventually end up in Washington, D.C., Sept. 12.

Mexican poet Javier Sicilia started the caravan because of the loss of his son, Juan, who died March 2011 in his apartment with six friends. Juan is one of the hundreds of thousands of victims of the war on drugs.

“We have to work together, people of the United States and Mexico,” said Sicilia in a press conference at Chicago City Hall.

Part of the caravan are a large number of activists, victims and those who have lost loved ones to the war on drugs.