Missing Call Center Workers in Mexico Identified by Matched Remains

The News

Mexican authorities found 45 trash bags filled with human remains at the bottom of a ravine on the outskirts of Guadalajara, Jalisco. The remains were recovered during the investigation of seven missing employees from a call center. The state prosecutor’s office said that at least some of the remains matched the physical characteristics of the missing staff members who were last seen between May 20 and May 22. The families of the missing individuals have been informed while forensic scientists work to confirm the identity of the remains, both male and females.

The Background

Governor Enrique Alfaro of Jalisco said that the case had become “much more complex than it seemed”, and that the employees were “doing some kind of real estate fraud and some kind of, let’s say, telephone extortion”. A search of the house where the missing people worked led authorities to find marijuana, pieces of cloth, and a mop with possible traces of blood. They also found information related to time shares, memberships, and sales goals. U.S. Treasury Department had earlier sanctioned several Mexican companies linked to time share fraud working on behalf of the Jalisco New Generation cartel, which has become a significant revenue stream for the cartel.

Why It Matters

The discovery of the remains commands attention that underscores the broader epidemic of disappearances that has shaken Mexico. More than 110,000 people are missing in the country with no idea about their fate, and Jalisco has registered the country’s highest number of disappeared, approximately 15,000 people as of June 2. These numbers have become a political sore spot for President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who promised to eradicate violence when he was elected in 2018. His approach of using “hugs, not bullets” to deal with the cartels and address the root causes has failed to reduce disappearances. According to the national registry of missing people data, disappearances in Mexico increased more than 20% in the first three months of this year compared to the same period in 2022. López Obrador claimed that his government has done a better job of counting and investigating the missing individuals and that his government has assumed the responsibility of searching for them.

Some families and activists feel that the government’s efforts do not succeed. Delia Quiroa, a human rights advocate whose brother disappeared in the state of Tamaulipas in 2014, published a letter asking the leaders of Mexico’s cartels to reach a “social pact” to put a halt to the disappearances and allow families to investigate their fates. The Jalisco state prosecutor’s office said that the search for the missing staff would continue, and the authorities would explore the ravine until all the bags were located and extracted.