Activists and relatives protest against the disappearance of 7 people in Acapulco

Acapulco, Mexico, Sept 8 (EFE).- One hundred people, carrying banners and photographs, protested Friday in the coastal city of Acapulco, in the southern state of Guerrero, to demand the safe return of seven people, including a minor and an activist for sexual diversity, who were allegedly taken by a vehicle of the State Attorney’s Office a week ago.

“We want them to be returned to us the same way they took them, because they have a habit of taking people and disappearing them and then not saying anything,” Margarita Chávez, a relative of Moisés Tomás Juárez, an activist and sexual diversity secretary for the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) in Guerrero, told EFE.

According to the state Attorney General’s Office, a formal report of the disappearance of five missing persons was received on September 4, and a search alert was issued for Jesús Arroyo, 38; Brian Josué Vargas, 25; Erick Calixto Chávez, 23; Moisés Tomás Juárez, 38; and Julio Pérez, 15.

There are no search records for María Perla Guzmán or Andrés Gabriel Delgado.

The disappearances occurred at the “Spiritual Renewal” rehabilitation center, where, according to the victims’ relatives, the victims were forcibly abducted by a group of people who arrived in a vehicle bearing the logo of the State Attorney General’s Office.

The police coordinator, Rafael Lara, told the media that “the searches have not stopped, from the first moment, which was Friday, September 1, until now, the searches continue.”

The relatives of the victims have asked the authorities for a report on the progress of the investigation.

“It’s been a week and we don’t see any solutions, we protest and we blockade roads, but what we need is to paralyze Acapulco. The authorities argue that they can’t tell us anything because we’d mess up their investigation, but with all due respect, I don’t see any investigation,” Margarita argued.

Nevertheless, the relatives say they will continue indefinitely with blockades and demonstrations in the main streets of Acapulco until they find out the whereabouts of the disappeared.

In Mexico there are more than 111,000 people missing or unaccounted for, and according to studies by civil organizations, and 52,000 human remains remain unidentified in public offices, reflecting an ongoing crisis linked to the violence of organized crime. EFE sk/ics (photo)