Mexico: 90,000 People Have Disappeared Without a Trace Amid Drug War

By Mary Webber First Posted: Aug 31, 2021 06:16 AM EDT

Mexico commemorates the International Day of the Disappeared on August 30, with thousands of people vanishing every year.

Relatives and human rights activists accused the state of failing to act on the case of people who have disappeared, DW reported. Some of the disappeared victims were allegedly abducted to work for the Mexican drug cartels or smuggle drugs, while security forces arrested others with their trail not being found.

Relatives of Missing People in Mexico Demand Answers

Ten Yaqui indigenous ethnic group members had disappeared in Sonora state while driving cattle to an auction in July. Family members suspected that the disappearance of their loved ones was related to Yaqui's resistance to mining projects.

A forensic team from the regional prosecutor's office is now looking for their bodies after receiving a tip revealing that some of the victims were buried in the desert outside Monterrey.

In an event in Mexico City marking International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, a banner brought by families read "90,000+. Where are they?"

Maria Teresa Valadez, one of the relatives who attend the protest, said this day cannot go unnoticed. Valadez's brother, Fernando, went missing in 2015 in the state of Sonora, AFP News reported.

She asked why the government worry about other things and not forced disappearances. Finding the 90,000 people who disappeared in the last 15 years have not yet been solved. Relatives are the ones who often find the crime scenes.

During President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's term, 4,960 disappearances were added to the list in 2020 alone. The Mexican president promised to help victims of the drug war and stop the bloodshed in 2018. However, he has yet to make good on his promise.

Prosecutors registered only one out of three as crime victims of the 23,000 people who disappeared in Mexico since 2018.

Washington Office on Latin America's Stephanie Brewer said that families have the right to be involved in the investigation and search.

Brewer, however, noted that it does not mean the state should be putting the burden of the investigation on the families since it will put them at high risk.

Mexico Government's Response on Forced Disappearances

The Mexican government on Monday revealed a coordinating group for the launching of the Extraordinary Forensic Identification Mechanism.

It also announced that the United Nations' Committee on Enforced Disappearances would visit Mexico for the first time when the pandemic allows.

Head of the National Search Commission, Karla Quintana, said one of the biggest problems comes from the practices of the prosecutors' office themselves.

Quintana noted that if there's no coordinated effort to search for people, it will be very difficult to fight this crisis. Quintana said there is more than 94 percent impunity for the crime of disappearing someone.

She added that no sentences exist for human rights violations, together with the fact that there's a serious forensic crisis with thousands of bodies that have yet to be identified.

Some of the incidents that attracted huge media traction include the disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa students, who remain missing since 2014. The Lopez Obrador administration reopened its investigation.

The National Search Commission has a limited budget and functions, with the attorney general's offices must allow it to conduct geolocation operations and site inspections.

The International Committee of the Red Cross's Director General, Robert Mardini, released a statement to commemorate the International Day of the Disappeared.

Mardini addressed the loved ones of the victims of forced disappearances, saying they want them to know that they are not alone and their loved ones are not forgotten.

Mardini said they would continue to do everything in their power to provide answers to the families of missing persons in Mexico.

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: World: International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances - From TeleSUR English