Topline
While looking for seven young people who went missing in May, authorities in Jalisco, Mexico, discovered 45 bags of human remains—and are still searching for more—amid an ongoing crisis that has resulted in 80,000 missing people since 2006.
There are more than 100,000 people missing in Mexico.
Key Facts
The remains of both men and women were found in a ravine outside of the city of Guadalajara in western Mexico, according to a Wednesday announcement from the Jalisco state attorney’s office.
Authorities found the first bag on Tuesday and are continuing to search the area, which is difficult to navigate because the gorge is more than 131 feet deep, per the announcement.
The officials are still unsure whether any of the remains belong to the seven young people for whom they were originally searching, so the hunt for those individuals continues, as well.
Key Background
On May 20, reports began coming in of seven call center workers who had gone missing in Jalisco. Authorities believe the call center worked as a cover for an organized crime network carrying out telephone fraud, according to El Pais. Officials have been searching for the individuals for nearly two weeks now, which led them to find the 45 bags. Jalisco neighbors Guanajuato, a central Mexican state where 53 bags of remains were found in November 2022 after a dog carried a severed human hand into town. Jalisco is home to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which, in 2019 was said to be the “most well-armed” cartel in the country, eclipsing the infamous Sinaloa Cartel formerly run by El Chapo, the Wall Street Journal reported in 2020.
Big Number
100,000. That’s roughly how many people are missing in Mexico, according to the Washington Office on Latin America, a nongovernmental organization focused on human rights in Latin America. The longest running case dates back to 1964, but more than 80% of cases have occurred since 2006, when former President Felipe Calderone declared a war on drugs and organized crime. Corruption—primarily collusion between organized crime and the state—is largely to blame for the uptick in disappearances, as it leads to impunity and makes it difficult to investigate crimes or seek justice, WOLA reported. There is also a “forensic crisis,” according to WOLA, that has led to more than 52,000 unidentified people in cemeteries and morgues, who could make up some of the disappeared individuals.
Tangent
Six Mexican states are on the U.S. State Department’s list of places it advises Americans not to travel to due to crime and kidnapping. Jalisco is on a “reconsider travel” list with six other states, and U.S. employees are restricted from traveling in certain parts of Jalisco. “Violent crime and gang activity are common in parts of Jalisco state,” and U.S. citizens have been victims of kidnapping there, the State Department warns.
Further Reading
Mexico: 100,000 Disappeared and Missing People (WOLA)
Marijuana, blood and phone scams: New clues in the case of seven workers who disappeared from a Mexican call center (El Pais)
Brutal Gang Rises as Mexico’s Top Security Threat (Wall Street Journal)
Dog carrying severed hand leads to discovery of 53 bags of human remains in Mexico’s most violent state (New York Post)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/katherinehamilton/2023/06/01/officials-find-45-bags-of-human-remains-in-mexico/