
The Oaxaca Prosecutor's Office has arrested a woman accused of being involved in the disappearance of activist Sandra Estefana Domínguez Martínez and her husband, Alexander Hernández Hernández. The couple was last seen on October 4 of last year in the community of María Lombardo de Caso, in the municipality of San Juan Cotzocón. The arrested individual, identified as Cruz Esmeralda, was captured in an operation carried out by the Deputy Prosecutor's Office for Attention to Victims and Society, along with the Missing Persons Group of the State Investigations Agency.
Investigations conducted in collaboration with the Secretary of Security and Civil Protection of the Republic and the Secretary of National Defense allowed for an arrest warrant to be obtained for the crime of Disappearance Committed by Individuals. The detention of Cruz Esmeralda took place on the streets of the Municipal Agency Francisco Villa, in Santiago Yaveo, belonging to the Choápam district, in the Papaloapan Basin region. She was subsequently made available to the Public Prosecutor's Office and her provisional imprisonment was decreed at the Tanivet detention center.
So far, it has not been possible to locate Sandra Estefana Domínguez or Alexander Hernández. However, in Veracruz, a man was captured who was carrying the cellphone of the missing activist; his capture took place in the locality of Nigromante, in the municipality of Playa Vicente. Domínguez Martínez's mobile device was handed over to the Oaxaca Prosecutor's Office for forensic analysis, in order to obtain relevant information that could contribute to locating the victims.
On January 29, three men allegedly linked to the couple's disappearance were killed in a confrontation with authorities, during which unfortunately, an SSPC agent also lost his life. This tragic event took place near Federal Highway 147, in the Palomares-Tuxtepec stretch, Veracruz. In the place of the confrontation, long guns, a short firearm, and various magazines were seized. One of the SSPC elements was injured and, despite being transported to a nearby hospital, died due to the injuries sustained.