One of the most questionable points of the security policy of Claudia Sheinbaum In Mexico is the increase in the number of missing people, a situation which prompted a mention last October by the Committee against Enforced Disappearances of the United Nations. … United Nations (UN). Specifically, the entity indicated that in Mexico it has become “systematic” the disappearance of people. According to official data, around 134,000 people are missing in the country.
Cecilia Flores, founder of the collective Looking for Sonoran mothersstresses to ABC that official figures only show a fraction of the real problem. “I think the figure the government says is not even the smallest part of what we actually have, because with the 100 people missing, only about 40 or 50 people are reported.”
Flores questioned the official discourses that ensure a decrease in the incidence of crime: “At what time does it decrease, in what reality do they live? “It hasn’t slowed down at all, neither the disappearances nor the executions.”
On the other hand, the father Jorge Atilano Gonzalezexecutive of the National Dialogue for Peace, last week urged the authorities to resolve the current problem in the forensic institutes of the different states, where there would not be enough resources to move forward in the identification of the bodies: “We must tackle the forensic crisis; “There is no tool to identify the bodies and many families could find comfort in this.”
Members of the group of Others Disappeared from Iguala, in Guerrero (Mexico)
72,000 unidentified bodies
There are currently more than 72,000 unidentified bodiesaccording to an investigation by the civil organization Quinto Elemento Lab.
“The lack of human and financial resources for expert services, non-compliance with protocols and disconnection from the files of prosecutors and search commissions contribute to missing people ending up in mass graves,” the report says.
Mexican law establishes that bodies of unidentified persons not claimed within 72 hours of death will be buried, unless there is authorization for preservation from the Ministry of Health, at the request of a public prosecutor or in accordance with regulations on enforced disappearances.
The states that recorded the highest number of disappearances between October 1, 2024 and September 30, 2025 are the State of Mexico, Mexico and
Sinaloa
“Due to the lack of investment in expert services, but also coordination between prosecutors and research commissions,” he commented. Grace Fernándezmember of the Movement for Our Disappeared in Mexico.
Refusal of proof
For its part, the Sheinbaum government denies the existence of a missing persons crisis and says the UN report “lacks reliable sources.” This was stated by the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Furthermore, on September 18, as part of the procedure, the government sent a report on how it is addressing the problem. Although this information is generally public, the state has requested that it be treated confidentially.
Human rights lawyer Juan Carlos Gutiérrez criticized the Sheinbaum administration’s lack of openness in addressing the issue. “There was no serious and participatory opening to analyze the phenomenon of disappearances and no organization or group was convened. The only relatives he received (Sheinbaum) remained those of Ayotzinapa; “Besides, they have not received any other mother to talk about this problem,” he said.
The states that recorded the highest number of disappearances between October 1, 2024 and September 30, 2025 are the State of Mexico, Mexico and Sinaloa. But the percentage increase in the number of victims compared to the previous year was greater in Jaliscowith 198%; Baja California Surwith 140%, and Sinaloawith 132%.
The latter state was the scene of the clash between two criminal groups, the “Chapitos” and the ‘Mayo’factions of the Sinaloa Cartel that sparked a wave of violence following the transfer and detention in the United States of Ismael “Mayo” Zambada in July 2024.
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