A primary school teacher, Agustín Plata Quintero, was kidnapped in Huajicori, Nayarit, on Wednesday, confirmed the National Union of Education Workers (SNTE), which demanded his location alive. Section 49 of the SNTE issued a statement calling for an immediate investigation, in a context of persistent violence in the mountainous region in the north of the state. The 36-year-old teacher was last seen on December 17, according to a search flyer disseminated by the Nayarit State Attorney General's Office. The document details that he is 1.76 meters tall, of robust build, has short black hair, light brown eyes, and a scar on his abdomen from an appendectomy; at the time of his disappearance, he was wearing a white tank top and white shorts with side pockets. The FGE did not offer more details about the case. In response, the union section expressed its support to the teacher's family and school community. “We trust that the competent authorities will carry out the corresponding investigations promptly, thoroughly, and with full respect for human rights, in order to achieve his prompt location,” the union stated in a statement signed by its general secretary, Irma Alicia Peña Arcadia. The organization indicated that it maintains communication with various instances to cooperate and follow up on the case and called on society not to disseminate unconfirmed information. We call for unity, solidarity, and respect, avoiding the dissemination of unconfirmed information that could hinder the investigations or cause greater anguish to the family. The SNTE asked the authorities to redouble their efforts and society in general to provide any information that may contribute to his location. A source in Huajicori, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals, stated that armed men kidnapped the teacher at his home during the early morning. The witness described the situation in Huajicori as “a war zone” following recent attacks on homes with grenades, drones, and the burning of a vehicle at the entrance to the municipal seat. To get out of here to the mountains, the state police stop you, and when you cross the bridge, the armed ones stop you; the people here are increasingly alone. He said that the teacher's case adds to a chain of unsolved murders and disappearances, and although there are reports of seizures of weapons and equipment, no people have been detained. Of all the disappeared and murdered, how many files are there? How many have they caught in all these months? He added that the population lives not only in fear but also under political pressure. What never fails is the busing when there is a rally for the president, in Tepic or in Mexico City; it is an abandoned people, where you are also threatened with losing your job if you don't keep quiet and applaud the government. State authorities, since 2023, have announced actions and security reinforcements in the municipality and installed an Operations Base with a military presence, the National Guard, and other corporations; despite this, forced displacement, disappearances, homicides, extortions, and other crimes continue to occur. This same Wednesday, during a press conference by Governor Miguel Ángel Navarro Quintero, the state's Attorney General, Petronilio Díaz Ponce Medrano, stated that a significant part of the disappearances in Nayarit correspond to voluntary absences. Many of these disappearances of people are voluntary absences or people who absent themselves from their home, their family. According to official figures presented by the Attorney General's Office, only in the first quarter of 2025, 155 disappearances were counted in the entity, of which between 7 and 8 percent would be attributable to individuals, according to the Attorney General's statements. In that same participation, the Attorney General assured that for the crime of forced disappearance—committed by state agents or some authority—for the past five years, “we do not have that type of processing of disappearance of people.” However, search collectives, such as 'Guerreras en Busca de Nuestros Tesoros A.C.', have pointed out that there are cases that are not reported for fear of reprisals or distrust of the authorities, particularly in areas with the presence of armed groups. In contrast to the accusations, the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection of Nayarit, Manases Langarica Verdín, assured that in the northern zone of the state—where Huajicori is located—a reinforced security strategy is maintained with the participation of state and federal forces. During the same press conference, the official reported that only in 2025, in that region, 43,627 cartridges, 231 explosive devices, 68 weapons, two .50 caliber Barrett rifles have been seized, and 17 people have been detained. Langarica Verdín pointed out that 76 of the 160 intentional homicides recorded in Nayarit so far this year are concentrated in the northern zone, which includes Huajicori, El Nayar, Acaponeta, Tecuala, and Rosamorada. To date, the authorities have not reported any detained persons or public advances in the case of the missing teacher.
