Cancún Activist Group Reports Over 4,000 Missing Persons, Claims Search Operations Suspended Since December

Cancún, Quintana Roo — An activist group in Cancún claims more than 4,000 people are missing in the city and that official search operations have been suspended since December, leaving families to conduct searches on their own.

Perla Xóchitl López Caporal, a member of the collective Mothers in Resistance Against a Failed State, stated during a public intervention that the number of missing persons has risen from approximately 3,100 cases when the group began organizing in August to over 4,000 currently. She clarified that these figures come from the collective’s own records and tracking, and have not been officially confirmed by state authorities.

“I’m not here for just one person. There are more than 4,000 missing here in Cancún,” López Caporal said.

According to her statement, the biweekly search operations were suspended by Governor Mara Lezama’s administration in December. The last official search took place that month and has not been resumed since.

“The governor suspended the searches in December. The last one was that month and they haven’t done another since. The Prosecutor’s Office wasn’t providing sufficient support,” she stated.

López Caporal indicated that the searching mothers have had to take action independently, facing logistical limitations and a lack of institutional support. She requested a direct meeting with Governor Lezama to ask for the reactivation of the biweekly searches.

The activist also claimed the group has not received psychological, legal, or social support from the state government.

“We don’t have legal advisors, we don’t have psychological care, we don’t have backing. We are alone,” she affirmed.

According to her testimony, when they request periodic search operations, they encounter administrative obstacles and a lack of coordination with the agencies responsible for missing persons.

López Caporal also noted an increase in cases of missing young women in the municipality, particularly teenagers. She said recent reports suggest hundreds of women have disappeared in less than half a year, though these numbers have also not been officially confirmed by authorities.

Nationally, Mexico’s National Registry of Missing and Unlocated Persons reports over 110,000 missing people. Quintana Roo maintains active records, primarily in the Benito Juárez municipality where Cancún is located.

“The young people have to return home. We don’t know in what condition, but they have to return,” López Caporal expressed.