Government accused of removing loved ones from record after report says tens of thousands lack information to be found
M
others search in the scrublands, poking the earth for signs of a corpse. Desperate pleas fill social media, crying out for clues that may bring relief. Tattered posters flutter in the wind, asking for help in the search. Often, all that is left of the missing are scattered bones bleached by the sun.
It is arguably Mexico’s greatest human rights crisis. More than 130,000 people have vanished since the state went to war against drug cartels a decade ago. Now, activists and human rights experts say the authorities are trying to erase their loved ones from the record.
The government recently presented a new report which said a third of the country’s missing had actually showed signs of life, while another third lacked sufficient data to be found – causing fury and condemnation from relatives who have spent years searching for their missing.
