HomeNewsMothers Searching for Loved Ones in Mexico Abandoned by Authorities
NEWS

Mothers Searching for Loved Ones in Mexico Abandoned by Authorities

MEXICO / 19 OCT 2022 BY RAQUEL BALLESTÍN EN

Mothers searching for the bodies of their loved ones in Mexico continue to be killed, exposing President López Obrador for failing to honor a pledge to protect them.

At least one organization of women searching for their relatives has suspended its operations after the assassination of one of their members, according to a new investigation published on October 19 by La Lista, a Mexican news organization.

Others continue to be killed with impunity.

On October 4, Blanca Esmeralda Gallardo was shot dead by armed assailants near the Central Market in Mexico’s central city of Puebla. She was killed in the same neighborhood where her daughter, Betzabé, disappeared along with a friend in 2021.

Gallardo suspected her daughter had been victim to a human trafficking ring operating in Puebla and the nearby state of Tlaxcala. Local media reports, however, have attributed both crimes to a local drug trafficking gang.

SEE ALSO: Indigenous Latest to Suffer Plague of Disappearances in Sonora, Mexico

At least four such women, known as madres buscadoras (searching mothers), have been killed since the beginning of 2022. Seven madres buscadoras have been murdered since López Obrador took office and at least 15 since this type of crime began to be tracked in 2010.

In 2019, facing a crisis of forced disappearances and kidnappings in the country, López Obrador pledged an “unlimited budget” to help find thousands of missing bodies and identify those which were found.

But this has not materialized. Under López Obrador, the number of disappeared and missing people in Mexico climbed to over 105,000 and the mothers’ associations feel they have been abandoned by the authorities.

“It is easy for a government to promise things that they simply cannot deliver. Even if they could, they wouldn’t do it,” said Lucy Díaz Genao, director of the Solecitos Collective which searches for missing people in Veracruz, in an interview with InSight Crime.

InSight Crime Analysis

The murder of Blanca Esmeralda Gallardo serves as further evidence that López Obrador’s promises have not been met.

It has taken public attention to spur the president into action. In January, after madres buscadoras in the northern state of Sonora released a video on Twitter addressing local cartels and requesting that they be allowed to search without being attacked, López Obrador demanded that the state government help protect organizations searching for missing relatives.

Such help never came. In October, one mother in Sonora, Cecilia Flores, had to call off the search for her son after receiving multiple death threats.

SEE ALSO: Extermination Sites - The New Depths of Mexico's Disappearance Crisis

Furthermore, even when the mothers have turned up useful information, they reported a lack of progress from authorities. Before her death, Gallardo had repeatedly shared updates relating to the disappearance of her daughter. She was ignored.

“In matters of investigation, delivering justice, accountability, there has not been an iota of progress,” said Díaz about how the situation has progressed.

“At this time, this is not a priority for the government,” she concluded.

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 / 9 JUL 2021

A series of photos taken in a Mexican town, that has been the focal point of major criminal engagements this…

FENTANYL / 1 DEC 2022

Nuevo Laredo was set ablaze following the capture of a Northeast Cartel leader. But what does this mean for the…

MEXICO / 9 JUN 2021

Over 90 percent of active personnel in Mexico’s National Guard remain uncertified two years after the police body’s creation, marking…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.