Hundreds of people searching for missing relatives marched in Mexico City Friday, August 31, hanging photos of their loved ones to mark International Day of the Disappeared.
According to official figures, at least 115,000 people have disappeared in Mexico since 1952, though the real number is believed to be higher.
According to official figures, at least 115,000 people have disappeared in Mexico since 1952, though the real number is believed to be higher.
During the country’s “dirty war,” a conflict that lasted throughout the 1970s, disappearances were attributed to government repression.
In the past two decades, as officials have fought drug cartels and organized crime has tightened its grip in several states, it’s been more difficult to trace the perpetrators and causes of disappearances.
Human trafficking, kidnapping, acts of retaliation and forced recruitment by cartel members are among the reasons listed by human rights organizations. Disappearances impact local communities as well as migrants who travel through Mexico hoping to reach the U.S.
Among the thousands of relatives affected are mothers whose children have vanished.
Here are some takeaways from the AP’s report on how some of these women have taken the search in their own hands, supported by a few faith leaders who offer spiritual guidance.
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