There are heroes who walk among us every day and they sometimes don’t get the recognition they deserve. One of those heroes is a mother from San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico who took on the Los Zetas cartel.

Miriam Elizabeth Rodríguez Martínez was able to do something that most mothers could only dream of doing, but it was under the most difficult circumstances. It all started in 2012 when her daughter, Karen Alejandra Salinas Rodriguez was kidnapped and brutally murdered.

Since that time, she has dedicated her life to getting revenge and seeing justice served on all of the kidnappers. She has been relentless and over the years, she has had a significant amount of success.

When Karen was 20 years old, armed men from the cartel abducted her. The year was 2012 and even though the family complied with the ransom demands, they brutally murdered her daughter. In 2014, her remains were discovered.

After this occurred, Miriam started to do what she could to track down the killers of her daughter. She used every means she possibly could, even brandishing a fake handgun and risking her own life.

The level of success she has seen is amazing. A number of members of the cartel were located and interrogated, which is incredible, considering they are one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in Mexico.

One of the cartel members was previously a florist. She learned about his whereabouts and met him at the border between Mexico and the United States. She was able to detain him at gunpoint until authorities arrived and he was arrested.

Thanks to that one act, at least 10 criminals have been apprehended since that time.

She also met up with one cartel member who had offered to help her find her daughter at a price. She found out that his nickname was Sama and found him two hours away at an ice cream shop.

After he was apprehended, he revealed some information about her murder which led to the identification and capture of others involved in the murder.

Unfortunately, Miriam paid a heavy price for what she had done. In 2017 on Mother’s Day, she stepped outside of her home and was shot 12 times. She lost her life as a result.

There is no limit to the love of a mother and the love of Miriam will continue to live on as a legacy. May she rest in peace.