Witnesses have revealed not only murders but also unimaginable acts of torture against women and minors. Furthermore, searchers are reflecting information about another “extermination camp” in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, where clear indications of charred human remains were found. Two extermination camps in Mexico in one week.
The spokesperson for the Tamaulipas government, visibly upset, accused the collective “Love for Our Disappeared” of sensationalism, suggesting that the findings in Teuchitlán were exploited by families in Reynosa to “deceive the population with false and biased information,” falsely stating that nothing illegal was found on the property.
But how do you call the properties, ranches, and municipalities where hundreds of people are systematically massacred and bodies disappear?
The reaction of President Claudia Sheinbaum to the findings in Teuchitlán was peculiar, reflecting the stance of Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero, who stated: “It is not credible that a situation of that nature would not have been known by local authorities.” He assured that the events would be analyzed, but avoided committing to the Attorney General's Office taking over the investigation.
When 200 people are murdered in a municipality, one must assume extreme criminal negligence or co-optation of criminals by local authorities. Any governor from another country would have immediately demanded that the Attorney General take over the investigation, that it would be pursued to the fullest extent, and that not only the murderers would be pursued, but also the authorities who allowed these “extermination camps” to operate.
The hesitation of the president and her security cabinet is incomprehensible. The reality is that the territorial control of entire regions by organized crime has led local authorities to ignore, participate, or be negligent in the face of massacres and disappearances. Jalisco, State of Mexico, Veracruz, and Nuevo León also feature among the states, with approximately 50 percent of the disappeared in the last decade.
No ruler wants their territory to be associated with “extermination camps” due to the historical connotations of the Holocaust. Pressures from the United States to confront criminal organizations will likely result in more violence, more forced recruitment, and more disappearances. With over 54,000 disappeared in a six-year term, and the fact that criminal organizations are now classified as terrorists by the United States, ignorance or negligence are not valid defenses before the international community, the country's reputation, and the historical legacy of the Fourth Transformation.
Beyond debating figures or purging databases, why not launch a strategy to truly reduce the number of disappearances in Mexico? How many people must be massacred in a place for the Attorney General to act? Why not treat the searching families as what they are: victims of a national tragedy? The problem is that the authorities raided another property, not the space identified by the families of the disappeared.
Why such cynicism from the authorities? Is it exaggerated to say that this state is an “extermination camp”? In the face of massacres of 20, 50, 100, or more people, shouldn't the federal government automatically take over the investigation? The attitude towards the families' groups of the disappeared is equally incomprehensible.
Just ten days ago, the first results would have been about Nazi extermination camps, with dozens of portals and historical documents about the Holocaust, where approximately 6 million Jews and another 11 million people from various groups died. Today, that same search yields results related to Mexico, describing atrocious activities of training and extermination of young people recruited by organized crime in the municipality of Teuchitlán, Jalisco. Images from Rancho Izaguirre are devastating: 400 pairs of shoes, backpacks, identifications, and hundreds of charred human remains are reported.
President Sheinbaum has also avoided approaching these collectives and recognizing the victims of this tragedy.
The challenge for Sheinbaum and her security cabinet is immense. Type the phrase “extermination camp” in your preferred search engine. Tamaulipas has a long history of massacres and disappearances: La Bartolina, San Fernando... should we continue with the list? The attacks by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador against searching mothers were cruel. Why not prioritize the prosecution of these serial killers that terrorize the country?
