Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies The Penn in Latin America and the Caribbean (PLAC) Pulitzer Prize in Crisis Reporting Student Fellowship Selection Committee and the Pulitzer Center Staff have chosen Pamela de la Cruz (C’23) as this year’s winner of the Pulitzer International Reporting Student Fellowship in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Pamela de la Cruz (C’23) will investigate the mounting violence against Central Americans in Mexico along the Mexico-U.S. border as they await asylum hearings in the U.S. Alarmed by the widespread violence along the border, where 75-80% of Central Americans have been abducted in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico alone, Pamela proposes to examine the emotional, physical, and financial toll the kidnappings/disappearances have had on victims and their families. Yearning to share individual stories, Pamela plans to reach out to sources affiliated with various regional and transnational civil society organizations, and to local journalists already making attempts to document the situation. Pamela will also critically examine the complex, interrelated sources of the current brutality including the proliferation of organized crime, the ongoing migrant crisis, a weak state presence, and inequality, among other factors.
Pamela de la Cruz is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences pursuing a dual major in Latin American and Latinx Studies and Political Science and a minor in Law and Society.
This Fellowship is possible thanks to funding from Penn Global, Latin American and Latinx Studies, Penn Nursing, and the Huntsman Program. The PLAC Pulitzer Subcommittee - Kelly Cleary, Teresa Giménez, Nancy Biller, and Cathy Bartch - reviewed, ranked, and discussed all applications before referring to the Pulitzer Center for the final decision process.