Nationwide Protests in Mexico Demand Justice for 130,000 Missing Persons

Mon Oct 20 2025 06:29:29 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Thousands rally across Mexico calling for government action to address the country's enforced disappearances as families seek justice for their loved ones.

On the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, thousands took to the streets in cities across Mexico, including Mexico City and Guadalajara, to protest against the alarming number of enforced disappearances. Families of the missing individuals, along with human rights activists, urged President Claudia Sheinbaum's government to take decisive actions to address this ongoing crisis. Over 130,000 people have reportedly disappeared since 2007, with many believed to have been forcibly recruited by drug cartels. The protests highlight a significant national issue affecting communities from the north to the south of the country.

Thousands of people have held protests across Mexico to highlight the country's many enforced disappearances and demand more action by officials to tackle them.

Relatives and friends of missing people, as well as human rights activists, marched through the streets of Mexico City, Guadalajara, Córdoba, and other cities calling for justice and urged the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum to help find their missing loved ones.

More than 130,000 people have been reported as missing in Mexico. Almost all the disappearances have occurred since 2007, when then-President Felipe Calderón launched his war on drugs.

In many cases, those disappeared have been forcibly recruited into the drug cartels – or murdered for resisting.

While drug cartels and organized crime groups are the main perpetrators, security forces are also blamed for deaths and disappearances.

The widespread protests across cities and states illustrated how forced disappearances impact communities throughout Mexico.

In Mexico City, the march brought traffic in the capital to a standstill as demonstrators streamed down the main thoroughfare. Many affected families have formed search teams, known as buscadores, who risk their lives scouring the countryside for potential mass graves, following leads often provided by the very cartels involved in the disappearances.

The United Nations has termed this situation a human tragedy of enormous proportions, as Mexico faces one of the highest rates of disappearances in Latin America, exceeding tolls from historical instances like Guatemala's civil war and Argentina's military regime.