Disappearances in Mexico involving state at alarming' rate, says report

"State actors are involved in disappearances in Mexico at an alarming rate, according to a report from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). The sweeping investigation, to which the Guardian was given exclusive access, presents a dire picture of the crisis of disappearances in Mexico, where more than 130,000 people have gone missing, mostly in the last 20 years since the government declared its war on drug cartels."

"While criminal gangs are responsible for the vast majority of disappearances, the IACHR report found that many of the disappearances committed by organised crime occur in deep collusion and coordination with state agents. Meanwhile, disappearances committed [directly] by state agents have not yet been eradicated, the report reads, noting that, in some parts of the country, at times there were almost as many disappearances carried out by government officials as there were by criminals."

"The report also described an alarming number of cases involving torture, forced disappearances and disappearances which include state security actors. Forced disappearance where a person is detained, extrajudicially killed by the state and their body then destroyed or hidden has a long history in Mexico, going back to the country's so-called dirty war of the 1960s and 70s where dissidents were even thrown out of planes and into the Pacific ocean."

"In the last 10 years, disappearances have increased by more than 200%. However, as the IACHR report makes clear, state actors are often involved, either directly by snatching people from their homes or cars without warrants and handing them off to criminal groups, or indirectly by looking the other way as these crimes take place."

More than 130,000 people have gone missing in Mexico, with a sharp rise over the last 20 years. Criminal gangs account for most disappearances, but many cases involve deep collusion and coordination with state agents. Disappearances carried out by state agents have not been eliminated, and in some areas the number of disappearances by government officials can be comparable to those by criminals. The report also describes high numbers of cases involving torture, forced disappearances, and disappearances involving state security actors. Forced disappearance has historical roots in Mexico’s “dirty war,” and in recent years organized crime has also used similar tactics to terrorize communities, intimidate rivals, and erase evidence through burning, mass graves, or acid disposal.

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