The phenomenon of forced disappearance has experienced an alarming increase in Chiapas in recent years. According to the report “Touching the Void” by the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center (Frayba), between 2019 and 2023, disappearances in the state increased by 358%.
This figure reflects the growing violence and the dispute over territorial control between criminal groups, which has left thousands of missing people and their families facing an agonizing lack of answers from the authorities.
Context: This is how people disappear in Chiapas
Heriberto Guzmán Cornejo and his boss traveled to Huehuetán, Chiapas, hoping to work in a mango packing plant and ship tons of the fruit to Guadalajara, Jalisco, his hometown. However, on May 1, 2022, they disappeared, along with two young men who were helping them.
At that time, the situation in Chiapas was marked by an escalating confrontation between two drug cartels: the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel. Furthermore, the Los Huistas criminal organization operated in the border area with Guatemala, whose leader was recently arrested in the neighboring country.
María Olga Cornejo, Heriberto’s mother, explains that her son was in charge of purchasing mango orchards and supervising a packing plant, which later shipped the merchandise to the supply centers in Guadalajara.
Heriberto and his boss Rigoberto Gutiérrez Díaz, María Olga recalls, were about to return to Guadalajara, but first decided to enjoy a two-day trip to the Colón Lakes in Comitán de Domínguez, which entailed a trip of more than 200 kilometers.
“The last message I saw on his status (cell phone), around 1 a.m. that day, just said, ‘Let’s go!’ And we didn’t hear anything from there,” she said, adding that her husband, desperate, traveled to Chiapas for four months to look for his son, who was eager to return to Guadalajara to celebrate the 15th birthday of one of his three children.
The most painful thing for her, as she recounted in an interview with La Silla Rota, is that the authorities in Chiapas have not given clear answers and, instead, have only given them the runaround.
In her desperation, María feared the worst and received reports about the last time Heriberto, Rigoberto, Luis Ávaro Arciniega Ancheyta, and Leonardo Javier García Ancheyta were seen in San Gregorio Chamic, Frontera Comalapa, a municipality marked by violence caused by organized crime.
Disappearances Skyrocket in Chiapas
In its report “Touching the Void,” presented in November 2023, the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center (Frayba) warned about the rise in forced disappearances in Chiapas, which increased by approximately 358% from 2019 to 2023.
Frayba explained that this increase is due to territorial disputes between criminal groups and also noted that, during that same period, Chiapas became one of the places with the highest number of disappearances of women and girls, reaching an alarming 60%, well above the national average of 25%.
According to the National Registry of Missing and Unlocated Persons (RNPDNO), from December 2000 to July 2024, approximately 7,163 people disappeared in Chiapas. Of these, 632 cases occurred between January and July of last year, 217 of which involved children and adolescents, as reported in the report titled “Chiapas, in the Spiral of Armed and Criminal Violence.”
The report also compared the disappearance figures between the administrations of Manuel Velasco and Rutilio Escandón, noting that during the former, 1,681 cases were recorded, while during the latter, the number more than doubled: 4,493 disappearances.
The organization “Melel Xojobal,” based in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, documented approximately 1,821 disappearances of minors under 18 years of age between 2018 and 2022. It noted that the number of cases increased significantly, rising from two cases per week in 2018 to ten per week in 2022. This increase placed Chiapas in fourth place nationwide in the number of disappearances of minors.
According to the Network for the Rights of Children and Adolescents in Chiapas (Redias), between 2020 and 2024, 2,223 cases of disappearances of children and adolescents were recorded, which translates to 1.5 disappearances per day.
“Frayba” also noted that violence in Chiapas has increased due to disputes over routes for human, arms, and drug trafficking, as well as the violent control of territory by criminal networks. These clashes have led to serious human rights violations, including sexual violence, limitations on basic services and freedom of movement, murders, and forced displacement.
Relatives of the Disappeared Have Not Lost Faith
For María Olga Cornejo, who lives almost an hour from Teuchitlán, Jalisco, where belongings of more than 200 people apparently recruited by a cartel were found, the most painful thing is that, over time, she has no information about the whereabouts of her son Heriberto—“nothing, there is nothing.”
Her life has changed completely, and her physical and mental health has also been affected. “I have another older son; he supports us, he encourages us, but one of them is dead in life,” she confessed.
During the search for their son, María and her husband distributed thousands of flyers with information about Heriberto, and with the support of other relatives of the disappeared, they blocked the highway near Huehuetán on several occasions, but received no answers.
“My son is very honest, a hard worker, that’s why his boss took him to Chiapas. He liked to have his drinks, it’s logical, but he didn’t bother anyone.” If it were up to her, she added, she would have already traveled to Teuchitlán or other places where Heriberto might be, including Chiapas, where he was last seen.
It deeply pains her that her daughter-in-law and grandchildren had to leave for the United States for their safety and economic situation.
Authorities’ Slowness Criticized
Jorge Luis López López, a member of the Group of Litigants for the Protection and Defense of Human Rights (Prodedh), pointed out that there is a serious institutional deficiency in the handling of disappearances in Mexico. He noted that his group has raised its voice three times regarding the case of Teuchitlán, Jalisco, and highlighted the continued use of waiting protocols for activating searches for missing persons.
“Someone who doesn’t appear within two or three hours is already considered a forced disappearance,” he emphasized. Despite technological advances, he lamented that the authorities’ responses remain the same: “We find the phone, but not the person.”
López López insisted that the investigation and registration of disappearances must be prioritized, warning that although the National Registry of Missing Persons has a figure, that figure is obscured by data from other organizations, such as the UN, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and civil society.
Another problem, he mentioned, is the criminalization and stigmatization of mothers and groups searching for their missing loved ones, as occurred in Jalisco, when a mother searching for her son was accused of being linked to organized crime.
Daniel, almost 3 years after his disappearance
On April 5, 2022, Osvaldo Daniel Alfonso Martínez, who would have been 26 years old today, was kidnapped on a street in Comitán de Domínguez by armed men. The young man, a recent graduate of the Autonomous University of Chiapas (UNACH) with a degree in Veterinary Medicine, had many dreams, one of which was to support his mother.
Since then, his mother, Maribey Martínez López, has received no clear news about his whereabouts. Despite monthly searches and meetings with the Prosecutor’s Office, she has yet to receive answers.
“From the videos available, you can see the people taking my son, but their faces are not clearly visible, they are blurry, not even with special equipment; it’s impossible,” Maribey commented.
Although her strength has weakened, Maribey assured that she will not rest until she hugs her son again. Despite the challenges and lack of support in her region, she remains steadfast in her search.
Despite nearly three years without answers, both María Olga Cornejo and Maribey Martínez remain hopeful that one day they will be able to see their children safe and sound.
“Narco-graves”: the fate of the disappeared?
During the administration of Rutilio Escandón Cadenas, 15 clandestine graves were officially discovered. During the current administration of Eduardo Ramírez Aguilar, some 27 graves have been found, containing the remains of at least 25 people. These discoveries were made by the Pakal Immediate Reaction Force (FRIP), which has more than 700 elite members.
Recently, the Mothers in Resistance of Chiapas found another grave on a ranch in the municipality of Emiliano Zapata, containing the remains of three people.
Óscar Aparicio Avendaño, head of the Chiapas Security Secretariat, explained that the discovery of “narco-graves” was possible thanks to the arrests made and the reports received, but noted that no further information has been received since then. Although no more graves have been found, he assured that they will continue the search, working together with Governor Eduardo Ramírez.
Recently, there was talk of the discovery of a clandestine grave in the Lacandon Jungle, near Lacanjá Chansayab, but the Security Secretariat has not yet confirmed this.
Source: lasillarota
