A new unit dedicated to investigating missing persons has opened under the umbrella of the Jalisco Attorney General’s Office (FGE) in Guadalajara.
Known as the Unidad Especializada para la Atención de Desaparecidos, the unit comprises two district attorneys (ministerios publicos) and 15 investigators.
A second unit with five staff is expected to open next week in Puerto Vallarta.
Attorney General Eduardo Alamguer said opening the unit did not mean his agency had been negligent in investigating missing persons in the past, but that state Governor Aristoteles Sandoval had requested a new approach. He did, however, take a dig at his predecessor, Luis Carlos Najera, noting that he “inherited” a situation in which many cases were “not given clear attention.”
Alamguer promised to take a revised look at the investigations of missing persons that have stagnated due to lack of evidence.
Relatives of missing persons have been highly critical of the FGE for its slow response to reports of missing persons, as well as their lack of communication with relatives and reluctance to share details of their investigations.
Alamguer said the new unit means that detectives can begin to investigate missing persons reports immediately, and not wait 72 hours to see if the individual turns up, as has been the practice in the past.
Yuri Marquez, a representative of FIND, a non-profit dedicated to searching for missing children, applauded the move, noting that the FGE is finally making an effort to get results.
Amnesty International this week slammed the Mexican government for what it described as the “complete lack of will by state and federal authorities” to properly investigate the disappearance of thousands of people. A recent report noted that the whereabouts of more than 27,000 individuals remain unknown across the country.
An estimated 2,500 people have been reported missing in Jalisco over the past decade.
GR staff