By “El Huaso” for Borderland Beat
Yesterday afternoon, Teresa Magueyal, a “madre buscadora” or searching mother, was killed in Celaya, Guanajuato. She was one of Mexico’s many family members who have uprooted their lives to search for the remains of their missing relatives, facing threats from the government and criminals.
Teresa was gunned down while riding a bicycle in San Miguel Octopan, a community in the municipality of Celaya. According to El Universal, she was dead when paramedics arrived.
Teresa had been looking for her son who disappeared in 2020.
A statement informing of the attack was posted on the Twitter page of Una Promesa por Cumplir, a promise to keep (UPPC), a disappeared persons search group from Guanajuato. The statement called on local authorities to investigate and bring the killers to justice.
It is unclear who the killers are. María Luisa Núñez Barojas, the founder of a searching group told InSight Crime that those in search collectives often face threats from organzied crime as well as the state. According to journalist Analy Nuño, 18 have been killed since 2010 in Mexico.
Sources: Una Promesa por Cumplir Statement, El Universal, InSight Crime, Analy Nuño
You can follow me on Twitter @HuasoBB.
I tweet about organized crime in Latin America and security in Mexico.