Search groups for the disappeared claimed justice in AMLO’s march.

November 27th, 2022 /INFOBAE

Today’s march convoked by the President of Mexico departed from the Angel of Independence monument towards the Zócalo of Mexico City, where the president will issue his fourth government inform. Search groups for disappeared persons in Mexico took advantage of the mobilization of this November 27 – organized in favor of the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) – to claim justice and denounce the lack of support from the Executive Branch. Gathered at the Glorieta de la Palma, on Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City (renamed by civil organizations as the Glorieta de Las y Los Desaparecidos), relatives demonstrated to show the president the faces of those people they have not been able to locate.

The purpose of demonstrators was frustrated since they could not approach the place where the president arrived. In addition, the group had a “clash” with the president’s supporters, who chanted, “AMLO!, AMLO!, AMLO!”. Also, a family gathered in front of the Angel of Independence monument during the march to demand that authorities address their case. They argue that no one takes their case seriously.

“No one is here to attack López Obrador. We need him to help us (…) We need him to support us”

To read complete article in Spanish:https://www.infobae.com/america/mexico/2022/11/27/colectivos-de-busqueda-de-desaparecidos-exigieron-justicia-en-marcha-de-amlo/

Families of disappeared people call on López Obrador to address the crisis that Mexico is going through. (Photo: Glorieta de las y los Desaparecidos/ @GlorietaMx)

“This space is ours”: relatives of the disappeared demonstrated at the Glorieta del Ahuehuete against the Mexico City government.

By Fabiola Sánchez Morales / INFOBAE

November 13th, 2022

The demonstrators reported that it was the third time the administration headed by Claudia Sheinbaum deleted the names and photographs of their loved ones. “This is our space; here we had all the photos, the names, everything of our disappeared.”

This is the third time that they repainted it, that they covered it again with fences, so in one way or another, we want to let everyone know that this space is ours, explained a mother who has been looking for her son since March 3, 2019.

It is worth mentioning that the demonstration called for November 13 in front of the Glorieta del Ahuehuete took place after last November; groups of relatives of disappeared persons reported on social networks that the government of Mexico City removed the names and photographs of their loved ones on the fences of the old Glorieta de La Palma. Their statement and publication affirmed that these deletion actions only demonstrated the “policy of oblivion.” In addition, they pointed out that the government intends to hide the cases so as not to “taint” the Sheinbaum administration.

To read original version in Spanish:

https://www.infobae.com/america/mexico/2022/11/13/este-espacio-es-nuestro-familiares-de-personas-desaparecidas-se-manifestaron-contra-el-gobierno-de-la-cdmx/

Groups and relatives returned to claim the space as theirs; on top of the Christmas paintings ordered by the administration of Claudia Sheinbaum, the demonstrators wrote the legend “Glorieta de Las y Los Desaparecidos.” Photo: Fabiola Sánchez Morales

UN calls on Mexico to implement “an arsenal” of recommendations on missing persons.

Jessica Xantomila / La Jornada / November 13th, 2022

Mexico has “an arsenal” of recommendations from the United Nations (UN) and the inter-American Human Rights system to address the crisis of disappeared persons. Still, it needs to put them into practice to address this situation, said the vice president of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, Gabriella Citroni.

The country “has advanced in what we could call institutional scaffolding, new mechanisms have been instituted, and there is a National Search Commission (NSC); But it is not enough; we must follow up and see on a day-to-day basis how it is implemented, where it is blocked and encounters obstacles,” she said in an interview with this media, after meeting with relatives of missing persons.

In a short unofficial visit to the country that lasted two days and a half, she also held meetings with authorities, such as the undersecretary of Human Rights of the Ministry of the Interior, Alejandro Encinas, and the head of the NSC, Karla Quintana. Citroni explained that in the “complex” panorama of disappearances in the country, which total more than 107,000, the Working Group is particularly concerned about the absence of effective preventive measures and the insecurity experienced by those who seek, especially the mothers of victims, as well as impunity and law enforcement.

She also expressed concerns about the legislative reforms “that goes in a direction quite contrary to what the inter-American system for the protection of human rights and the United Nations have been unanimously recommending Mexico regarding public security” after the Army’s powers were extended.

With her visit, she said, “we want to reaffirm with the families that we are monitoring the situation (of disappearances) very closely and that they know that they continue to count on us.” She said we could “provide technical assistance.”

To read full article in Spanish:

https://www.jornada.com.mx/notas/2022/11/13/politica/onu-llama-a-mexico-a-aplicar-arsenal-de-recomendaciones-sobre-desaparecidos/

The number of disappeared in Mexico rises to 107,201

Nestor Jiménez / LA JORNADA / November 7th, 2022.

According to the public version of the National Registry of Missing and unlocated Persons, since 1964 to date, 158,000 people reported as missing have been found.

At the same time, the number of people currently reported missing in Mexico already amounts to 107,201; that is, 7,000 more than last May, when the threshold of 100,000 was exceeded. Meanwhile, for those who were without life, official figures show that between 2018 and 2022, the location of the bodies of 4,551 people was reported; that is, it represents 41 percent of all people located dead, and at the time their disappearance was reported.

Reports of missing and unlocated people suggest that one in four are women. On the other hand, among those found dead, 14 percent are women, and 84 percent are men. In the case of men without life, the most significant number of reports are from those between 20 and 29 years of age, while in the case of women, the highest incidence is between 15 and 29 years. Most were located in the state of Mexico (one thousand 777), Jalisco (one thousand 306), and Sinaloa (one thousand 254), followed by Chihuahua (829), Puebla (622), Nuevo León (600) and Tamaulipas (526). 94 percent of the bodies are Mexican nationals; the nationality of 563 was not identified; 29 were Americans, 25 were Guatemalans, and about 30 were from various nationalities.

According to the reports registered in the last 12 months, December of last year was the month with the highest incidence, with the discovery of 88 people without life (83 men and five women). From November 2021 to last October, 640 people were found dead. The reports show that, in the case of those who are reported missing, the highest incidence is concentrated in Jalisco, with just over 15 thousand; followed by Tamaulipas, with 12,400, and the state of Mexico, with more than 11,700 reports of disappearance.

To read the article in Spanish:

https://www.jornada.com.mx/notas/2022/11/07/politica/asciende-a-107-mil-201-la-cifra-de-desaparecidos-en-mexico/

The number of missing people exceeds 106 thousand; Alejandro Encinas, the Undersecretary of Human Rights, considered that “it was urgent to recognize that the crisis of the disappeared is part of the most painful legacy that this government received.”

By Redacción Animal Político / October 27, 2022

With 106,837 missing people, Mexico’s government announced a new “life” geenral search program. Alejandro Encinas, Undersecretary of Human Rights, considered that “it was urgent to recognize that the crsis of disappeared people is part of the most painful legacy that this government received.” The State failed to search for people and protect human rights,” he said. In addition, the Undersecretary mentioned that “although the number of missin people continues to grow, the number of people located is already higher.

However, Encinas stressed that from February 8, 2019, to October 24, 2022, 3,356 search activities were carried out in 28 entities and 404 municipalities. In Mexico, the states with the highest number of disappeared are Jalisco (12,719), Tamaulipas (9,561), and the State of Mexico (6,536).

To read full report in Spanish

Cifra de desaparecidos rebasa las 106 mil personas; gobierno anuncia plan general de búsqueda en vida

To the Hague Tribunal, mothers of disappeared in Mexico: “As long as impunity continues, the tragedy will have no end.”

20/10/2022 Encarni Pindado / PÚBLICO

El Solecito collective has submitted a report, with evidence, to the International Criminal Court to demand that the crimes of forced and systematic disappearance be considered crimes against humanity. There are more than 105,000 missing people in Mexico.  88,000 cases were from 2006, when the then president of the country, Felipe Calderón, initiated the so-called war on drugs that increased during the mandate of Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018) and continues during the current Government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The Solecito collective is integrated by mothers of disappeared persons in Mexico. These, in particular, belong to the state of Veracruz. Due to impunity, incapacity, and the lack of will of the institutions, authorities, and government, they have carried out a crusade: they have become seekers, researchers, experts, anthropologists, and activists … This is the endless list of activities that mothers have carried out (even though professionals should have executed them) to find the remains of their loved ones, tasks tinged with pain, time, illness and economic losses.

Lucía Díaz Genao, from El Solecito collective, whose son has been missing since 2013, is one of the mothers who has traveled to The Hague, where they have delivered relevant information. “We are trying to have Javier Duarte (former governor of Veracruz), and his secretary of public security (Arturo Bermúdez) criminally charged (internationally) due to the disappearances. “The International Criminal Court (ICC) must get involved; as long as impunity continues, the tragedy will have no end”, Lucia said.

To read the entire report in Spanish

https://www.publico.es/internacional/madres-desaparecidos-mexico-al-tribunal-haya-continue-impunidad-tragedia-no-tendra.html

Netherlands-based human rights activists are demonstrating to ask the International Criminal Court to start an investigation complaint for alleged crimes against humanity related to enforced disappearance in Veracruz, Mexico. — Felix Marquez

The Citizen Council of the National Search System asks the US to help address disappearances in Mexico.

Editorial Aristegui Noticias / SBH

October 16th, 2022

By Karina Cancino

Members of the Citizen Council of the National Search System, and the National Movement for Our Disappeared in Mexico, met with US authorities to request support with resources, training, experts, and political relations to intervene with Mexican authorities to address disappearances and forensic identification of people.

The coordinator of the National Citizen Council, Virginia Garay Cázares, met with US members of Congress, including Jesús ‘Chuy’ García, of Mexican origin representing Illinois. They explained that there are more than 106,000 missing people in Mexico and that in addition to the disappearance, the forensic crisis, impunity persists in the country without the capacity of local authorities to address these issues.

The search group requested the Mexican prosecutor Alejandro Gertz Manero to discuss these issues within the framework of binational activities, the Mexico-United States High-Level Security Dialogue.

The National Movement for Our Disappeared in Mexico is also In Washington to receive the Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award for human rights defenders. Members of the Movement took the opportunity to dialogue with political representatives who attended the High-Level Security Dialogue and presented these circumstances. They also called for an end to firearms sales in the United States because it affects Mexico’s security. Virginia Garay called on Mexican authorities, so that next year’s budget for the National Search Commission and all the organic instruments to address the problem of disappearances in Mexico become more significant and more evident in terms of their work.

To read full report in Spanish:

https://aristeguinoticias.com/1610/mexico/consejo-ciudadano-del-sistema-nacional-de-busqueda-pide-ayuda-a-eu-para-atender-desapariciones-en-mexico/

Relatives of the disappeared massively search for human remains in El Ajusco area in Mexico City

Raúl Axel Mendoza Gutiérrez / Noticieros Televisa / October 7th, 2022

El Ajusco, a wooded area, located south of Mexico City, is used to get rid of victims of feminicide and homicide. In the last two years, the bodies of at least 11 women have been found dead in El Ajusco. The middle part of El Ajusco is considered a clandestine grave. Therefore relatives of the disappeared went into this coniferous forest, where the vegetation and loneliness of the places cover up abandoned bodies. Among ravines, mud and fallen trees, the relatives of missing persons carried out a massive search for human remains.

Mayte Valadez, the founder of the collective “Guerreras Buscadoras de Sonora”, reported: “We already worked here yesterday, and there was a positive finding of skeletal remains; El Ajusco is such a beautiful place, so beautiful, that one would never imagine that it is a clandestine grave. We found a skull and a jaw.”

At 78 years old, Don José does not stop looking for his niece Josefina Díaz, who disappeared eight years ago in Iztapalapa, Mexico City. José Díaz, a relative of the disappeared, commented: “I believe she might be here. We brought iron sticks to dig into the land; yes, one gets tired, but it turns out that the need to find your relative makes you go on.”

To read full report in Spanish:

https://noticieros.televisa.com/

Thousands marched to demand justice for the 43 normalistas of Ayotzinapa

Relatives, students, collectives, and members of civil society joined the demonstration to commemorate the eighth year of that unfortunate night in Iguala

Baruc Mayen / Infobae / September 27, 2022

Eight years after that tragic night in Iguala, the 43 disappeared Ayotzinapa students’ relatives continue searching for the truth and justice in the case.

Despite the uncertainty, the families of the students and their fellow students maintain their conviction to fight to have the answers they need. Around seven thousand people marched – according to official figures from the Secretariat of Government of Mexico City – from the Angel of Independence to the Zócalo downtown. The mobilization began minutes after 4:00 p.m. Among some classic slogans of these demonstrations, the attendees chanted, “September 26 is not forgotten”, “Quiet student will never be heard,” and “They were taken alive, alive we want them!”.

One of the elements to highlight today’s march was the low police presence during the first hours, which contrasted with the usual deployment of police officers on the sides of avenues such as Paseo de la Reforma, Juárez, and 5 de Mayo. On this occasion, those who accompanied the demonstrators from the beginning were members of the Rescue and Medical Emergencies Squad (ERUM) and personnel from the Ministry of Interior, headed by Martí Batres.

To read full report in Spanish:

https://www.infobae.com/america/mexico/2022/09/27/miles-marcharon-para-exigir-justicia-por-los-43-normalistas-de-ayotzinapa-que-todos-caigan/

Las y los familiares de los estudiantes desaparecidos continúan en la búsqueda de la verdad y la justicia. (Photo: Baruc Mayen/Infobae México)

A march will be held in honor of the disappeared in Ayotzinapa.

The Global Action for Chihuahua movement organizes the march.

Alejandra Sánchez/El Diario

September 26, 2022

Chihuahua, Chih.- To remember and commemorate the 43 who disappeared in Ayotzinapa; today, at 4:30 in the afternoon, there will be a march, which will depart from the Glorieta de Pancho Villa to the Plaza del Ángel. This event, organized by Global Action for Ayotzinapa, aims not to forget the victims and join the demand for justice that today commemorates eight years.

Upon arriving at the square, there will be a socio-political rally. Meanwhile, in the Rural Normal “Ricardo Flores Magón” of Saucillo, a floral offering will be made on the esplanade of the school and in the Plaza del Santuario de Delicias, where white flowers and candles will be placed for the disappeared companions.

Every September 26, a demonstration is held in Mexico City demanding the clarification of the case of the 43 disappeared students of the Ayotzinapa Rural Normal School that is located in the Municipality of Tixtla, State of Guerrero. The parents of the disappeared students lead the marches, and thousands of people participate in it along with the relatives of the disappeared students and social and political organizations that unify their claim to the cry of “Alive they took them! We want them alive!”

https://www.eldiariodechihuahua.mx/local/realizaran-marcha-en-honor-a-los-desaparecidos-en-ayotzinapa-20220926-1975709.html

EL DIARIO DE CHIHUAHUA