Mexico is reportedly set to launch a new digital tool later this month that will help track and record information on the tens of thousands of people who have gone missing in the country. The registry is expected to gather information from various databases that cover mass graves, criminal records, fingerprints, torture crimes, and even genetics, per Reuters.
It has been nearly a year since the Washington Office on Latin America reported that there were officially over 100,000 people missing in the country, and that number has since climbed to 112,000. The number reportedly climbed in the aftermath of former President Felipe Calderon’s war on the country’s drug cartels.
Non-governmental organizations are now getting involved in the effort to find these missing persons, as many have claimed that the public offices whose job it is to find missing people are ineffective, unresponsive, and do not receive the necessary amount of funds.
However, it is not unrealistic to suggest that the Mexican government may have contributed to some of these disappearances, as a 2022 report noted that the Mexican government had blamed its own police and military for the disappearance of 43 student protesters. The 1968 Tlatelolco Square massacre saw the country’s forces end the lives of 300 pro-democracy student protesters.
The country’s federal prosecutor’s office (FGR) announcement on the recent findings comes just a day after Mexican Mothers’ Day, a day that usually features mothers of those who have gone missing, demanding “truth and justice” for their missing loved ones.
The National Forensic Data Bank (BNDF) and the National Register of Unidentified and Unclaimed Deceased Persons, is prepared to launch the operations for the database on May 29, per the report.
According to Vision of Humanity, Mexico has struggled to clamp down on the prevalence of homicides, which still remain at historical highs. In 2021, there was an average of 26.6 deaths per 100,000 people, meaning that there were 34,000 victims. The report suggested that this amounted to about 94 homicides per day. However, this figure cannot account for missing persons, which could significantly increase the number.
