Magdaleno Pérez Santes, a member of the "María Herrera" collective from Poza Rica, Veracruz, was detained and allegedly beaten by local police officers, resulting in his death in the police station's holding cells. Pérez was searching for his daughter, Diana Paloma Pérez Vargas, who has been missing since November 2019.
The organization Article 19 Mexico and Central America has demanded a thorough investigation into Pérez's death and has highlighted that since 2010, numerous cases of attacks against searchers have been documented in Mexico. Recently, Héctor Aparicio, another member of the same collective from Veracruz, disappeared on January 26, adding to the concerning situation faced by search collectives in the country.
In light of the disappearance crisis in Mexico, thousands of families have united to demand justice by forming collectives like that of María Herrera, often being silenced, attacked, threatened, or intimidated in their search for their missing loved ones. The lack of action by the State has forced these individuals to search for their loved ones by their own means, facing great risks.
Article 19 has lamented the systematic violence against searchers, denouncing physical assaults and murders in cases like that of Magdaleno Pérez. The NGO has urged the State to ensure the protection of all individuals searching for their missing loved ones and demanded justice in this particular case. Despite Magdaleno Pérez being arrested by municipal police on March 10, the reasons for his detention have not yet been clarified.
