CIVICUS discusses enforced disappearances in Mexico with Anna Karolina Chimiak, co-director of the Justice Centre for Peace and Development (CEPAD). CEPAD is a civil society organisation (CSO) in Jalisco state that provides comprehensive support to victims of torture and enforced disappearance.

The Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco collective recently discovered a training and extermination camp allegedly operated by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. The discovery reignited the debate on the crisis of disappearances in Mexico, where more than 124,000 people remain unaccounted for, although the number could be much higher as many families don’t report disappearances for fear of reprisals. While President Claudia Sheinbaum promises a thorough investigation, civil society questions the state’s will and ability to confront the territorial dominance of organised crime.

What have the Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco discovered?

The Guerreros Buscadores collective discovered a centre of torture, disappearance and murder at Rancho Izaguirre in Teuchitlán municipality. They found fragments of skeletal remains, hundreds of pieces of clothing, bullet casings and cremation ovens in the shape of pits dug in the ground where bodies were burned to erase the evidence.

The discovery exposed the brutality of organised crime and the omissions, negligence and cover-ups that have allowed it to operate with total impunity for so long. It is not credible that a place like this could have operated for so long without the authorities knowing about it. This has revealed the existence of collusive systems in which organised crime operates with the authorisation, support or acquiescence of the state. The line between public institutions and organised crime is becoming increasingly blurred.

Only six months before the discovery, in September 2024, the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Missing Persons of Jalisco and the National Guard carried out an operation at the site. However, the search, the securing of the property and the expert investigations were irregular, reflecting the institutional breakdown and the inability of the state to guarantee fundamental rights.

Are there other similar cases in Mexico?

Unfortunately, this was not an isolated case. Since 2019, Jalisco has been the Mexican state with the highest number of missing persons. Similar sites have been found in Jalisco under at least four administrations. Many are close to Rancho Izaguirre, leading to talk of a ‘disappearing circuit’. Forced labour camps where people have been reported missing have also been identified. These sites are usually located in rural areas that are difficult to access and operate with the complicity of local authorities.

Cartels use violence, deception and coercion to recruit young people from marginalised communities who have few work or education opportunities. They usually make false job offers through social media and take them to camps where they receive tactical training. People who try to resist or escape are killed. In July 2024, groups of relatives of missing people denounced this practice near the Nueva Camionera bus station in Guadalajara, where they documented more than 70 cases. But the governor of Jalisco at the time dismissed the complaints, describing the disappearances as ‘voluntary absences’.

How have people reacted to the latest discovery?

The discovery provoked a range of reactions. In the days that followed, thousands of people across the country took part in protests as a form of national mourning. The purpose of these events was to draw attention to the crisis of disappearances in Mexico, express collective indignation and grief, support the families of the disappeared and demand justice, remembrance and urgent measures to prevent the recurrence of these crimes. Shoes and candles were placed outside strategic institutional buildings as symbolic elements of protest.

Solidarity with the families of the disappeared was expressed through social media campaigns with calls to guarantee their safety and allocate funds for the searches, petitions to international organisations and offers of psychosocial and legal support. An online platform was also created to help identify the victims from the items found on the ranch.

However, there have also been attempts to discredit the discovery. Groups with political interests have promoted disinformation and defamation campaigns against the families, using official speeches, sympathetic media, social media, threats and AI to downplay the seriousness of what happened, delegitimising their struggle and curbing demands for truth and justice.

What was the official response of the authorities?

Following the discovery, for the first time in history a Mexican president publicly acknowledged the disappearance crisis and declared it a national priority. President Sheinbaum announced that ‘immediate’ measures and reforms would be implemented, many of which are in fact legal obligations that the state has ignored for years. She also promised a thorough investigation.

Three weeks later, the Attorney General’s Office took over the case and exposed the omissions and irregularities in the actions of the Jalisco Prosecutor’s Office. However, it avoided acknowledging the existence of cremation ovens or the extermination centre.

Days later, it organised a public visit to the ranch, supposedly to guarantee transparency and participation. But it was an act of re-victimisation that the families described as a ‘media circus’, a ‘gallery of horror’ and an ‘exhibition of our pain’. The families denounced disorganisation, lack of information and institutional neglect. They also found signs of soil disturbance and possible tampering that led them to believe the visit was meant to legitimise the official narrative that minimises the seriousness of the discovery.

We are concerned about the lack of coordination between the authorities and the lack of conditions for the investigation and search to be carried out with independence, thoroughness, seriousness and due diligence. The politicisation of the case has diverted attention and diluted its seriousness. The families’ right to information and participation in the process is not guaranteed. Since the Attorney General’s Office took over the case, it has not allowed them to participate in or observe the searches, nor has it informed them of the progress of the investigation. This is a direct violation of their rights.

What measures are needed to address the crisis of disappearances in Mexico?

Enforced disappearances have been taking place on a massive scale for decades, using increasingly sophisticated criminal tactics. The authorities have been reluctant to acknowledge the scale of the problem and have not provided an effective response.

Fighting impunity and strengthening the judiciary is a priority in tackling the problem. It is essential to ensure the autonomy of prosecutors’ offices so they can investigate without pressure or interference. Comprehensive prevention strategies are needed to address the structural causes of criminal dynamics.

The legal framework established thanks to the struggle of the relatives of the disappeared must be properly implemented. Mexico has been exemplary in creating laws that guarantee rights, but it has failed to implement them. A serious, coordinated and comprehensive response is needed, combining political will, state commitment, victim participation and special mechanisms to allow access to truth, justice and reparation.