Revealed on a ranch in Teuchitlán, Jalisco, an alleged extermination camp and graves of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) has caused outrage and protests across Mexico this Saturday. In Mexico City, a banner read "Mexico is not a country, it is a grave." In the Zócalo, a count of 400 was held in memory of the shoes found and a symbolic map of the ranch was drawn with lit candles.
Human rights organizations, search collectives, and citizens joined in vigils and protests in several cities to demand justice in light of the magnitude of the disappearance crisis in Mexico. The protests spread to Guadalajara and Cancun, where searching mothers reported the presence of clandestine cemeteries related to organized crime.
María Dolores Patrón Pat, president of the Collective of Searching Mothers of Quintana Roo, reported the existence of at least seven clandestine cemeteries in the state. In cities like Monterrey, relatives of the disappeared and citizens gathered to express their outrage.
Search collectives expressed their anger at the authorities' response and demanded concrete actions. The TDT Network denounced the authorities' omission in investigating the crimes and demanded the identification of the remains found in Teuchitlán and other extermination camps in the country.
Amnesty International, which urged an investigation into the case, warned that approximately 30 people go missing daily in Mexico. President Claudia Sheinbaum criticized the opposition for magnifying the issue and promised that the Attorney General's Office would provide information next week about the extermination camp in Jalisco. According to the National Registry of Missing and Unlocated Persons, Mexico has over 120,000 missing persons.
