The Búsqueda x La Paz Collective described as concerning the statements made by the head of the State Attorney General’s Office (PGJE), who reported that 39 homicides have been recorded in Baja California Sur during 2026, a figure that, he clarified, does not include bodies found in clandestine graves.
The statements came after National Action Party (PAN) Senator Ricardo Anaya accused authorities of “cooking” homicide figures in Baja California Sur, arguing that for every officially recorded homicide, six additional cases are counted under the category of crimes against life.
In response, PGJE chief Antonio López Rodríguez maintained that the claim is based on an incorrect interpretation of official statistics.
When questioned about how the discovery of clandestine graves is investigated and under what category they are registered with the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System, the official explained that, initially, an investigation file is opened for a missing person and the corresponding criminal event is recorded. If the person is subsequently found dead, the case is investigated as a possible homicide.
This explanation raised concern among the searching mothers, who said that this has precisely been one of the observations they have repeatedly raised with authorities: cases involving people reported as missing or not located and subsequently found dead are not necessarily reflected in homicide statistics.
“Where are these cases being counted? We are not talking about hypotheses. We are talking about our relatives. People reported as missing who, after months or years of searching, were found dead,” they said.
According to data from the PGJE itself, between 2017 and 2026, 233 clandestine graves and 321 people have been located at these burial sites.
By municipality, the reported figures are:
- La Paz: 116 positive search sites and 160 people located.
- Los Cabos: 56 positive search sites and 73 people located.
- Comondú: 44 positive search sites and 59 people located.
- Mulegé: 17 positive search sites and 20 people located.
“We searching mothers have done our part. Since 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026, we have participated directly in searches and discoveries. We are the ones who go into the territory, who walk, who search, and who find,” they stated. “Did our relatives really arrive alone at a search site? Did they leave voluntarily? And after they were reported as missing, does their case no longer count?”
They call for transparency and investigation of every case
The members of the collective clarified that their demand is not for the 321 people located to automatically be counted as homicide victims, but for each case to be investigated and classified according to the facts, evidence, and corresponding forensic examinations.
They stated that when a person is reported missing and is subsequently found dead, particularly when there are signs of violence, families have the right to know what happened with the investigation.
For this reason, they raised several questions with authorities: under what crime is the investigation file being handled? Which prosecutorial unit is responsible for the case? How many investigation files were referred to the competent unit? And how many already have a determination regarding the cause of death?
“Our demand is not to inflate statistics. It is that cases not be made invisible. Finding someone does not mean the process is over. When a person is found dead, the search ends, but the obligation to investigate remains. Mr. Attorney General: we search, we walk, and we find. Now it is the authority’s responsibility to investigate,” they emphasized.
They insisted that behind every number there is a family, and behind every person there is a story. They stressed that their relatives did not leave on their own and that they have been the ones who, in the absence of answers, went out to search for them and, in many cases, managed to find them.
Therefore, they said that the minimum they expect from authorities is respect, transparency, and a thorough investigation of every case.
Source: radioformula
