09/11/2023 (written by tfaris) – The International Day of Forced Disappearances, was observed August 30th, 2023 in Mexico and around the world. This day was started in 2011 by the United Nations out of concern for the rising number of forced or involuntary disappearances around the world.
Mexico’s National Search Commission has been keeping a record of disappeared persons since 1964. Unfortunately, their count is nearing 100,000 disappeared persons in Mexico. During this past day of International Forced Disappearances on August 30th, protests and demonstrations were seen all over Mexico in 15 different states. The demonstrations were a product of the frustrations of the loved ones of those who disappeared. More specific demands ranged from demanding justice and attention for the victims from Mexican authorities, consistency in numbers of those who disappeared, compensation for those affected by the disappearances, identification of found bodies, and more. Protesters showed their support by wearing white and bringing photos of disappeared loved ones to marches and demonstrations.
New Developments in Ayotzinapa Case
This day of visibility for forced disappearances brings up the case of the 43 students from Ayotzinapa who disappeared in 2014, which is still an ongoing investigation in Mexico. September 26th will mark the ninth anniversary of the disappearance of these students, who disappeared in Iguala, Guerrero. The group of students, initially 100, were retrieving buses from a station in Iguala that would take the rest of their college from Ayotzinapa to Mexico City for a march commemorating a student massacre. The students were met by police just a few miles outside the bus station where they retrieved the buses. Police opened fire on the buses, killing multiple students on the spot. The rest were taken from there, and what happened to them following the incident on the night of September 26th, 2014 remains unclear.
Initially, then-president Enrique Peña Nieto’s government failed to provide any conclusions as to what happened to the students from Ayotzinapa. Instead, false evidence was lifted up that the disappearances were committed by drug traffickers and cartels, despite a panel from the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) finding evidence that there was involvement in multiple levels of the Mexican government in the disappearances.
One of President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador’s first acts in his presidency was to create a truth commission dedicated to investigating the Ayotzinapa case. For several years, the commission did not yield many results. According to the New York Times, top Mexican officials who are suspected in having a hand in the disappearances deterred the investigation by not offering information, or further covering up information. Mr. Encinas, the appointed leader of this truth commission, encountered difficulties interviewing ex-Mexican officials, who were not willing to discuss how the case was handled in Peña Nieto’s administration.
However, new discoveries in the past year have led to some progress, fueled by AMLO’s rush to solve the case before the end of his term in 2024. Starting in September 2022, the truth commission carried out a specified investigation in eight municipalities in the state of Guerrero, where the students disappeared. This investigation led to the discovery of two of the students’ bodies. In June, more than 400 WhatsApp messages were leaked to the truth commission, detailing all the gruesome details of how and where the bodies of the students were disposed of. However, many of these text messages have been thrown out of the collection of evidence as they have not been verified. There are many doubts as to the authenticity of the source.
The truth commission confirmed in August that the students were captured by drug traffickers who were working in collaboration with Mexican police and parts of the military. This makes the Ayotzinapa case a helpful one to study when considering acts of state-led forced kidnappings in Mexico’s recent history.
Sources
Bergman, Ronen; et. Al. “Evidence ‘Invalidated’ in Explosive Report on Mexico’s 43 Missing Students.” The New York Times. June 20, 2023.
Cherquis, Gustavo. “El mundo toma conciencia de las Víctimas de Desapariciones Forzadas en la jornada internacional dedicada a ellos.” Voz de América. August 31, 2023.
Dina, Eduardo. “Caso Ayotzinapa: destaca Quinto Informe 28 detenciones, incluidos generales y a Murillo Karam.” El Universal. September 1, 2023.
Elefavour. “Ayotzinapa Disappeared 43 Students Case Remains Unsolved.” Justice in Mexico. May 2, 2016.
Lopez, Oscar. “Mexico says Disappearance of 43 Students Was a ‘Crime of the State’.” The New York Times. August 20, 2022.
Lopez, Oscar. “GONE: Nearly 100,000 people have disappeared in Mexico. Their families now search for clues among the dead.” The New York Times.
Morales, Alberto; et. Al. “Concluye reunión de AMLO y autoridades sobre caso Ayotzinapa en Palacio Nacional.” El Universal. September 9, 2023.
“Mucho más que una violación de los Derechos Humanos.” Naciones Unidas. Agosto 30, 2023.
Trujillo, Javier; et. Al. “¡Vivos los queremos!: Marchan en México por el Día Internacional de los Desaparecidos.” Milenio. August 30, 2023.
