The disappearance of up to 20 teenagers in Cancún in a week, reported by a search collective, coincided with the official registration of 16 teenagers reported as missing, subsequently found, between March 7 and 14, 2026, according to the Benito Juárez Municipal Secretariat of Citizen Security and Transit. The official data confirms that in a seven-day period, at least 16 teenagers were missing, meaning their whereabouts were unknown for hours or days before being located by authorities or their families. It was activist Perla Xóchitl López Caporal, from the collective Mothers in Resistance against a Failed State, who first warned of a higher number of cases. “This week we have already lost 20, ranging from 14 to 16 years old, and of those 20 we have not found any,” she declared a week ago to the media in Quintana Roo. The missing person searcher warned of possible associated risks such as human trafficking. “Human trafficking is hitting us hard, especially more so with women right now.” In response to the situation, on March 17, the Benito Juárez Municipal Secretariat of Citizen Security and Transit confirmed that the Specialized Group for the Search for Missing Persons attended to 16 reports in that period. As a result of the actions taken, all reported persons were located (...) in several of the cases, the absences were related to family situations, with no indications of the commission of crimes. He said that each case was channeled to instances such as the State Attorney General's Office and the DIF system for follow-up, but did not offer verifiable information. However, the fact that the minors were found does not eliminate the period in which they were missing, a condition that search collectives consider relevant, especially when it comes to teenagers. “We try to organize ourselves because we can no longer wait for anything from them,” expressed López Caporal, regarding the institutional response and the need for search from families. The difference in figures does not eliminate the problem The difference in the figures, up to 20 teenagers pointed out by the collective and 16 reports attended by the authority in a specific period, is not necessarily a direct difference, and this may indicate different moments, records, or mechanisms for documenting the cases, but it is important to warn that these events occurred. The collectives integrate their reports based on direct complaints from relatives, which in some cases are not formalized as complaints, and the authorities count cases that enter formal channels and within determined periods. In that sense, both data sets coincide in the existence of multiple cases of missing teenagers in a brief period. Human trafficking lurking in Cancún According to figures from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP), the state of Quintana Roo concentrated around 26% of the investigation files for this crime at the national level by the end of 2025, ranking first with 200 files initiated. The trend continues in 2026, when the entity also started the year in the first position for this crime with 35 cases. Although the authorities did not confirm a direct relationship between the cases reported that week and human trafficking, and defended family issues, the collectives' statements occur in a context where teenagers represent a vulnerable group. The coordinator of the collective Mothers in Resistance against a Failed State, Perla Xóchitl López Caporal, identified specific points in Cancún where, she said, the latest cases were concentrated. According to Perla Xóchitl López Caporal, among the areas mentioned are Region 234, the area known as “El Torito,” and the intersection of Bonampak and Tules avenues. The activist warned that in some cases, the clues found in these points have not been formally integrated into the investigations, which, she said, could affect the location of the young women. Finally, she highlighted that state authorities should inform about the real situation of human trafficking and disappearances. “And that is bad, because they should tell us and inform us about the situation we are living in the State.”
