Relatives Accuse Jalisco State Officials of Failing to Act on Disappearances Duncan Tucker - Al Jazeera
go to original August 25, 2015

Relatives of the disappeared gathered in the Mexican state of Jalisco to demand government action (Duncan Tucker/Al Jazeera)

According to the Mexican government, federal and local registers, 26,029 people were missing across the country as of April 30. Jalisco officially accounted for 2,160 of these disappearances, but analysts say the actual figure is likely much higher.

Darwin Franco, a local journalist who has spent four years investigating the disappearances in Jalisco, told Al Jazeera the state attorney general's office keeps a separate register of disappearances, but it does not make the data available to the public.

Having kept track of that register by making monthly freedom-of-information requests, Franco said there were in fact 3,153 people registered missing in Jalisco as of May 31, making it the second-worst state in Mexico for disappearances. The actual number of missing persons may be even higher still, he noted, as many cases go unreported for fear of reprisal.

Franco said the disappearances are the result of years of corruption and impunity, plus the recent emergence of the Jalisco New Generation cartel as one of Mexico's most powerful criminal enterprises.

Facing mounting criticism over the disappearances and worsening violence - including the downing of a military helicopter by New Generation gunmen in May - Jalisco's attorney general, Carlos Najera, resigned in July.

Days after taking office, his replacement Eduardo Almaguer promised "complete openness and attentiveness" towards relatives of the disappeared.

Read the rest at Al Jazeera

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