Mexico’s Missing Persons Crisis: A 200% Surge

Mexico City — Relatives of missing persons arrived at the National Palace carrying a copy of a Guinness World Record obtained days prior. This record, however, was not for an achievement but for the more than 130,000 missing persons in Mexico. They used the symbolic act to request a meeting with President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Among those present was Gustavo Hernández, a father searching for his son. A year ago, he had asked the government for help to locate "even a single bone" of his son, who disappeared in 2024 in Nuevo León. Hernández was one of those who brought an imitation of the world record certificate to the presidential residence.

"Madam President: this is not an award, it is a global disgrace. I bring it to you so that you can look it in the eye and understand that behind each number there is a name, a mother who no longer sleeps, a father who is no longer alive. My Abraham Zeidy Hernández del Razo left on May 14, 2024, and from that day on, I ceased to exist," he stated.

"I asked the Secretary of the Interior, Rosa Icela, for 'even a little something,' and today I ask you: receive us. Because if you don't open the door for us with the world record of our suffering, then what will?" he added in a statement, after being unable to deliver the document.

Hernández was accompanied by Patricia de la Cruz, who is searching for her son Fernando Hernández, missing since June 22, 2022. They stated that they could not get anyone to receive them at the palace.

"I brought this award to give to the President as a representative of Mexico. I just want to know if this will finally get me and the thousands of other mothers and fathers searching for their missing children, who share the same pain, a place in their lives," said De la Cruz.

Official figures report more than 130,000 missing persons in Mexico, representing an increase of more than 200 percent over the last decade. President Sheinbaum has previously questioned these figures, promising to publish a new updated report. That report has not materialized to date.