In memory of Mexico's mothers

The double tragedy of the search for the disappeared

It used to be mothers searching for their children or spouses, resolutely, desperately amid Mexico’s scarred landscapes of the ‘disappeared’. Groups of ‘tracker’ mothers banded together to scour the terrain for any sign of their loved ones. They had gone missing – kidnapped and most probably murdered – at the hands of criminal groups that grew stronger during Mexico’s war on drugs.

More recently, the mothers themselves have become the targets in a pattern that has grown impossible to ignore. Abducted, kidnapped or shot dead at their homes or workplace, several mothers, caught up in the violence generated by criminal groups in Mexico, have been silenced for fighting to give visibility to a growing problem.

For that, they paid with their lives.

In Mexico, the high number of disappeared people has become critical, with over 110 000 people recorded as missing since 1964 – a number that skyrocketed after President Felipe Calderón declared the war on drugs and organized crime in 2006, and has continued to rise under subsequent administrations.

Criminal groups, acting alone or in collusion with state actors, are believed to be responsible for many of these cases. The opacity of investigations and the lack of an effective and transparent response mechanism that includes families, promotes accountability and increases investment in forensic training and technology to identify the disappeared contribute to an endless cycle of impunity.

But the adverse conditions do not end there.

Prominent cases such as that of Sandra Luz Hernández, who was murdered in Culiacán in 2014 after allegedly meeting with an informant who promised to provide information on the whereabouts of her disappeared son, or Marisela Escobedo, who became an activist after the murder of her daughter in Chihuahua and was killed in front of a government building in 2010, highlight how disappearances enable other forms of violence that threaten the lives and well-being of family members, and others close to the disappeared, who seek justice.

Frustrated by systemic obstacles and with very few resources, which they often have to provide themselves, they carry out search operations in remote and hard-to-reach places, often without the protection and support of the authorities. Their work leads them to ecosystems of organized crime, making them a direct threat to the criminal groups and corrupt networks involved, perpetuating the cycle of violence.

Between October 2020 and May 2023, at least eight women were murdered while searching for their relatives in Mexico. Their stories highlight the dangers of advocating for the disappeared and confronting organized crime, the criminal violence that continues after a disappearance and the failure of the authorities to facilitate reparation for this human rights violation. Today, we remember these women and join the calls for justice, demanding accountability and meaningful action to end this cycle of impunity.

14 October 2020 seemed like just another day for the residents of León. But for María del Rosario Zavala, it would be her last. Zavala was shot dead on her doorstep as she left her home to follow a lead on the possible whereabouts of her missing son. The alleged perpetrators left a message accusing her of ‘talking too much’ before fleeing the scene. Zavala had spoken out on several occasions about the bias and lack of commitment in the investigation of her son's case. Her murder remains unsolved and her family has decided to stop pressing for an investigation for fear of reprisals. Despite requesting state protection because of threats received, another of her sons was killed two years later.

Guaymas is a city with one of the highest numbers of disappearances and mass graves in Mexico. Aranza Ramos was intimately familiar with this situation. For seven months, since her husband disappeared in December 2020, she had been actively involved in search groups for the disappeared. But one morning in July 2021, armed men dashed her hopes. After a struggle, they took Ramos away, leaving her 2-year-old child behind. Her lifeless body was discovered minutes later. One of the alleged perpetrators of Ramos's murder was arrested in February 2022 and sentenced to 63 years in prison.

After the murder of her daughter, Ana Luisa Garduño Juárez became an activist for the victims of femicide and enforced disappearance, which led her to join search groups for the disappeared and establish an association to denounce the impunity that surrounds these crimes. One night in January 2022, while she was at her restaurant in the municipality of Temixco, everything changed. She was shot three times and died from her injuries. At the time of writing, no suspects have been arrested, despite assurances from the state governor that all avenues of investigation should be pursued, including her activism and involvement with groups seeking the disappeared.

In 2018, Brenda Jazmín Beltrán Jaime received the news that her brother had disappeared. It was then that she became involved in the search for the disappeared. But in July 2022, it was the search collectives in Sonora who received the devastating news: their colleague and friend had been found dead. Investigations initially did not link her death to the search efforts. However, the collectives in Sonora demanded a thorough investigation that included a gender and advocacy perspective. They claimed that attacks and killings of activists were all too common in Sonora, where Cajeme was listed as one of the country's most violent municipalities. The investigation rejected this request and convicted Beltrán’s partner of femicide, sentencing him to 50 years in prison.

For three years, Rosario Lilian Rodríguez Barraza had been searching for her son, who was kidnapped by armed men in October 2019 in Sinaloa, the state with the highest number of disappearances in Mexico. The day of her murder remains etched in the memory of all those searching for the disappeared. On 30 August 2022, the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance, she was kidnapped as she left a church where a service was being held in honour of her son. Her lifeless body was found a few hours later. Her case remains unsolved.

On 4 October 2022, at least 10 shots were fired inside a housing complex in Puebla, 7 of which hit their target – Blanca Esmeralda Gallardo, the mother of a disappeared woman. Shortly before she was killed, Gallardo may have uncovered evidence that could shed light on her daughter's case. According to her findings, a human trafficking and sexual exploitation network was probably involved in the disappearance. Two people have been arrested for her murder.

On the night of 6 November 2022, in Abasolo, two people sat on a motorcycle with the engine running, apparently waiting for something to happen. When the door of a house opened and a woman looked out onto the street, they fired shots. The motorcycle accelerated and disappeared. María del Carmen Vázquez was dead. The day before, she had been searching for her son, as she had been doing for several months, along with other people searching for their disappeared. After her murder, the message from her companions was clear: ‘We will search for her son as if he were our own and we will demand justice for her murder.’

On 2 May 2023, Teresa Magueyal was riding her bicycle as she did every morning. She was intercepted by two people on a motorcycle who shot her, ending her life a few blocks from her home. The 65-year-old had been searching for her missing son since 2020. Every day she left her home to follow the clues that would lead her to his whereabouts, often accompanied by other searchers. They all faced similar situations: threats, attacks and the lack of clarity in their case investigations. One person has been arrested in connection with Magueyal’s murder, but the motive remains unclear.