Group Seeking 176 Missing People in Quintana Roo Holds Outreach Event in Cancún

Cancún, Quintana Roo — A volunteer collective searching for disappeared people held an outreach day in Cancún to offer guidance, collect DNA samples and receive reports from families of the missing.

During the event on the esplanade of Benito Juárez Municipal Palace, the State Prosecutor’s Office (FGE) and the state human rights, victim support and search commissions set up free assistance tables. The FGE deployed a specialized module to collect DNA samples from relatives, with the goal of creating genetic profiles that can be compared against unidentified bodies at the Forensic Medical Service (Semefo) to help identify victims.

Missing person figures in Quintana Roo

Romana Rivera Ramírez, president of the collective Verdad, Memoria y Justicia, said at a news conference that the problem has grown significantly in the state.

• The organization currently has 176 active search files.
• The collective started nearly five years ago with 12 families and continues to grow.
• During its work, members have found 12 people dead.
• Nine families have chosen to continue legal proceedings against those responsible, while three decided not to follow through out of fear.

“When we formed as a collective, we were 12 families. As we became visible to society, little by little more people joined, and unfortunately it is unstoppable. At yesterday’s session, a person joined, and every day someone wants to join or, more than anything, wants support and accompaniment,” Rivera Ramírez said.

What the collective is asking of authorities

In the framework of the International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearance, the activist presented a list of seven demands directed at public institutions. Among the requests are the activation of real and coordinated response capabilities for every alert, constant reporting to families on progress, and strengthening municipal capacities.

The collective also asked that families be integrated into search operations under safe and dignified conditions, that search notices be permanently publicized, and that a crime study be produced to identify patterns, zones and factors associated with disappearances in the region.