The crisis of missing persons in Mexico persists in all states of the country. According to the Mexican Institute of Human Rights and Democracy (IMDHD), Veracruz ranks fourth nationally with 6,864 missing persons and is the sixth entity with the highest number of cases of missing girls and women.
How many people have disappeared in Veracruz in the last year?
Figures from the Lupa Network – a digital space of the IMDHD that monitors and oversees the General Law on forced disappearance of persons and disappearance committed by individuals – indicate that in Veracruz there was a slight decrease of 7.9 percent in the number of missing persons, going from 7,407 cases to 6,864 records in one year (from May 16, 2023 to May 16, 2024).
The IMDHD national report states that the five states with the highest number of cases are Jalisco, Tamaulipas, State of Mexico, Veracruz and Nuevo Leon | Photo: René Corrales / Diario de Xalapa
The IMDHD national report reports that the five states with the highest number of cases are Jalisco, Tamaulipas, State of Mexico, Veracruz and Nuevo Leon.
According to the global rating map by states, Veracruz is at a lower-middle level of severity and growth of cases of missing persons, which is related to the progress in the creation of local institutions and laws.
Although states such as Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Chiapas, Querétaro and Michoacán are at a lower-middle level of growth in cases of missing persons, the IMDHD has made an urgent call to the governors to strengthen the institutions and laws necessary to face this crisis.
Which municipalities have the most cases of missing persons in Veracruz?
The special report on Veracruz reports that the municipality of Veracruz historically concentrates the largest number of cases of missing persons. In May 2024, it continued to be the municipality with the highest number of cases in the state, despite having decreased from 834 cases in 2023 to 449 cases in May 2024, which represents a reduction of 385 cases.
The municipalities with the most records of missing persons are Veracruz (834), Xalapa (561), Córdoba (335), Coatzacoalcos (239) and Poza Rica (224).
The Lupa Network also highlights that Veracruz is the sixth entity with the highest number of cases of missing girls and women, with 1,399 records as of May 16, 2024. Only surpassed by the State of Mexico, Tamaulipas, Jalisco, Mexico City, and Nuevo León.
As of May 16, 2024, 685 missing persons were under 18 years old, the majority being girls, exactly 54.31 percent. Between January and May 2024, eight girls were reported missing in Veracruz.
Regarding the territorial analysis, the active members of the Network in Veracruz shared their perspectives. According to their experience, there are certain aspects in the state that deserve attention: only some families are registered with the State Executive Commission for Comprehensive Attention to Victims (CEEAIV).
Likewise, it is noted that in Veracruz “there is no equal treatment between families, as some receive nothing and others receive too much, although this has also been a strategy of the state to divide the groups and fragment the struggle,” according to the report.
The state registry of victims of disappearance
On June 29, 2012, the State Executive Commission for Comprehensive Care for Victims of Crime (CEEAIV) was created in the state of Veracruz by decree of the Executive Branch.
Later, in March 2017, the Victims Law for the State of Veracruz was approved, which included the creation of the State Executive Commission for Comprehensive Care for Victims (CEEAIV), in charge of the Aid Fund, the Legal Advisory Service and the State Registry of Victims.
From 2016 to June 2024, 6,911 people have been registered in the State Registry of Victims in Veracruz for the crimes of disappearance of persons, forced disappearance, disappearance committed by individuals, illegal deprivation of liberty and kidnapping.
According to the CEEAIV report, issued on June 19, 2024, between 2016 and June 2024, 4,015 victims of the crime of disappearance of persons were registered in the State Registry, to which are added 1,166 victims of forced disappearance, 9 victims of disappearance committed by individuals, 1,160 victims of the crime of illegal deprivation of liberty and 561 for kidnapping.
It is important to note that the single registration of nine victims of crimes of forced disappearance was carried out in 2023; in the previous years from 2016 to 2022, there are no people registered in the State Registry of Victims for the aforementioned crime.
The year with the most registrations of victims of the crime of disappearance of persons in the State Registry has been 2021, with 809 registrations. In the case of forced disappearance, the year 2023 has the highest number of records since 2016 to date, with 364 registered victims.
During the period of the state administration of Governor Cuitláhuac García Jiménez (2019-2024), a total of 5,916 victims of disappearance of persons, forced disappearance and disappearance committed by individuals, as well as victims of kidnapping and illegal deprivation of liberty, have been registered in the State Registry of Victims.
Source: diariodexalapa
