Families of the Missing Say They Are Stonewalled by Mexico State Authorities Deborah Bonello - The Los Angeles Times
go to original August 23, 2015

In Mexico, people aren't searching just for the kidnapped Ayotzinapa students. Mario Vergara shows AJ+ how the Committee of Families of Victims of Enforced Disappearances of Iguala is scouring the region for family and friends – like his brother Tomas, who was last seen in 2012. From video journalists Alba Tobella, Sara Pedrola and Pepe Jiménez (AJ+)

About 25,000 people have gone missing in Mexico since 2006, according to estimates by the government and human rights groups. Not clear is how many of them may have been victims of foul play, but some fear that many are dead because of the high levels of violence since federal crackdowns against drug cartels that began that year.

One of the most high-profile cases happened in September last year, when 43 students from a rural school in the southern state of Guerrero were hauled off by Iguala police believed to be working with a drug gang, causing national and international outrage.

In the state of Mexico, more than 1,200 women were reported missing in 2011 and '12, and the state has one of the nation's highest rates of hate crimes against women. For families, the anguish of not knowing where their loved ones are or what might have happened to them is only exacerbated by the authorities.

Read the rest at The Los Angeles Times

Related: Desperate Relatives Denounce Disappearances in Mexico (The Times)

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!