HomeNewsBriefMexico Disappearances, Kidnappings Down, But Distrust Remains High
BRIEF

Mexico Disappearances, Kidnappings Down, But Distrust Remains High

MEXICO / 20 JAN 2016 BY ELISE DITTA EN

Kidnapping and disappearance cases in Mexico were down in 2015, but as continued accounts of government ineptitude and collusion surface, this change may simply signify decreased trust in government authorities.

At a recent regional security meeting, Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong reported that reported kidnapping cases were down 27 percent in 2015. Disappearances also decreased from an average of 14 a day in 2014, to 10 a day in 2015, according to government sources.

Osorio Chong linked these improvements to "the collaboration between regional governments and federal authorities."

In response to increased pressure related to the disappearance of 43 students in Iguala, Guerrero, in September 2014, Peña Nieto’s government created a special office for disappearances and introduced a new law that details how all Mexican officials should respond to disappearances.

Insight Crime Analysis

Although at first glance, these numbers and government actions seem encouraging, there is a more troubling side to the story. In a recent report, Amnesty International (Al) chastised the Mexican government for its inaction in investigating disappearances.

“In most cases," AI wrote, "investigation appears to consist of merely going through the motions and appears to be destined from the outset to lead nowhere.”

AI noted that although the first 72 hours after a disappearance are key for gathering evidence, in none of the cases it analyzed did authorities take action in this time period. And, in many cases, when families finally accessed victims’ files, there was no information beyond what the family had provided.

     SEE ALSO: Mexico News and Profiles 

There are many reasons that authorities do not pursue disappearance and kidnapping cases. Sometimes prosecutors are simply overworked and under-resourced. In other cases, police are intimidated by organized crime. In one instance reported by AI, a family member of a victim reported that a prosecutor showed him his paycheck and said, “I’m not going to risk my life for that kind of money.”

In addition, state actors themselves are involved in some disappearances and kidnappings. For example, authorities detained seven police officers in relation to recent disappearance of five young people in the state of Veracruz.

On Tuesday, authorities found three bodies that may be related to this high-profile case, but for many of the families of the 27,600 disappeared people and countless kidnapping victims, they may never know where their loved ones are.

In 2014, 92.8 percent of crimes were not reported in Mexico. And a decrease in official statistics of kidnappings and murder may simply signify a loss of hope in authorities, rather than increased investigative success.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

JALISCO CARTEL / 7 DEC 2022

Violence between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco Cartel in Zacatecas has now seen judged and police chiefs being targeted.

BARRIO 18 / 14 SEP 2022

In the mountains of Michoacán, Mexico, Carlos was trained to become a ruthless soldier for the Cárteles Unidos.

ARMS TRAFFICKING / 7 APR 2023

President Guillermo Lasso has authorized Ecuador's citizens to possess weapons. But will it reduce insecurity in the country?…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

15 SEP 2023

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation

8 SEP 2023

Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…

THE ORGANIZATION

Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…

THE ORGANIZATION

Human Rights Watch Draws on InSight Crime's Haiti Coverage

18 AUG 2023

Non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch relied on InSight Crime's coverage this week, citing six articles and one of our criminal profiles in its latest report on the humanitarian…