Sinaloa, and Mazatlán in particular, has become a hotspot for families from Durango. This is the warning from mothers, collectives, and search groups who, for at least two years, have documented an increase in the disappearances of young people from Durango in this tourist port city, which—they assert—”has become an uncertain territory for those who once considered it a safe destination.”
While groups like Madres Buscadoras de Durango (Searching Mothers of Durango) have recorded more than 18 active missing persons cases between 2024 and 2025, the Durango State Attorney General’s Office (FGED) officially acknowledges slightly less than half of those cases.
There is no unified registry, but there is a shared feeling: time passes, the anguish grows, and families continue to wonder what is happening to the people from Durango who disappear in Mazatlán, a destination historically linked socially and economically to Durango.
At least 18 disappearances of people originally from Durango have been documented in Sinaloa, most of them in Mazatlán. The group maintains an internal registry that includes names, case numbers, dates, and notes about the obstacles families face in their search for justice.
The list includes cases such as that of Helena Vela Leyva, who disappeared in Mazatlán, as well as those of Óscar Uriel García Valenzuela, César José García Pulido, and María de Jesús Carrillo Mena, among others with open investigations.
However, more serious situations are also documented: cases that were never completed, complaints that were rejected, and visits to the Mazatlán Deputy Attorney General’s Office where no case number or proof of service was provided.
Among the most heartbreaking cases is that of the family group comprised of Erika Gabriela Cardoza Guevara, Fátima Jazmín González Cardoza, Alondra Jaqueline González Cardoza, Erik Gabriel González Cardoza, Rodolfo Miguel González Cardoza, and Joaquín Alexander Cardoza Guevara, who disappeared together after being taken from their home in Culiacán.
According to the collective, the Mazatlán Prosecutor’s Office has repeatedly refused to file reports, even when the events occurred within its jurisdiction. One of the emblematic cases is that of Rodolfo Miguel González Cardoza, where the argument was that “no report exists” because “they no longer wanted to file the complaint.”
Despite this, the searchers assert that they will continue documenting each case “until the authorities do their job.”
“This should already be a warning,” searchers warn.
A spokesperson for the group, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, stated in an interview with MILENIO that “at least 18 cases between 2024 and 2025 should already be a warning about what is happening in Mazatlán.”
She added that they continue to receive reports from families in Durango whose relatives were last known to be in the Sinaloa port city.
Source: milenio
