Under the relentless Mexican sun, Raúl Servín endures days of physical pain, fleeting hope, and often, profound frustration.
For eight long years, he has been searching for his missing son, a personal quest that has expanded to encompass “all the other missing people” across the nation.
Every Tuesday, Mr Servín meticulously loads a van with essential tools – picks, shovels, water, and food. After a moment of prayer, he collects his three teammates for the day.
Together, they venture into desolate areas where the earth itself may conceal the victims of foul play, a grim reality in a Mexican state plagued by drug cartel violence.
They are known as the Guerreros Buscadores, or “Searching Warriors”. Their mission is tragically vast; official records indicate that over 130,000 people have been reported missing since 2006, and dozens of similar groups operate nationwide.
Recently, these dedicated Guerreros allowed an Associated Press photojournalist to document their work, highlighting its critical importance.
Their search led them to various locations on the outskirts of Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco state and a designated World Cup host city.
Mr Servín and the three women undertake these perilous expeditions alone. Their sole connection to any form of official protection is a “panic button” carried by Mr Servín, linked to a federal network designed to safeguard human rights activists.
It is perilous work in a perilous environment. Mexico is neither at war nor under a military dictatorship, yet thousands of people disappear every year amid cartel violence. Clandestine graves are discovered on a semiregular basis; more than 70,000 unidentified remains have piled up in morgues and cemeteries.
The previous administration recognized the magnitude of the problem and launched official search commissions, but high levels of impunity and inaction persist. The current government has said missing information for one-third of those disappeared makes it impossible to look for them at all. Families remain the main driving force behind the searches and the findings.
Starting the search
The group heads to several locations based on anonymous tips received on the Guerreros Buscadores website. These often come from people who heard screams or gunshots or who saw something but fear going to the authorities.
On their previous outing, they dug down more than a yard (meter) at four locations. Nothing. Sometimes they find bloodstains or shell casings. They check every tip anyway. Says Servín: “There cannot be room for doubt.”
He receives a call. An informant says there is a body buried in a residential area. The information seems reliable, so they change their plans.
Arches mark the entrance to the residential complex identified by the informant. It sits next to a commuter train line on the outskirts of Guadalajara, a city plastered with fliers of missing people. Jalisco state, a stronghold of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, is an epicenter of disappearances.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum visited the area following the violence that erupted in February over the killing of the cartel’s leader. She insisted that security for the World Cup would be guaranteed.
The search collectives want to take advantage of the world’s focus on Mexico to draw attention to their reality. “I love soccer,” Servín says, “but that’s not going to stop me from going out to search.”
A lullaby for the dead
Caps and scarves shield the searchers from the sun. Each wears a personalized T-shirt with a photo of their loved one. Servín’s reads “Searcher Dad.”
They begin digging in a small dirt area at one residential corner. They dig and dig some more. Nothing.
Then, after hours of no progress, Servín steps outside the apartment complex and walks between the wall and the tracks. The ground is soft. “I saw a hole with small rocks; it was strange.”
Years ago, his heart would have raced. Now he says, “I don’t get nervous anymore.”
He kneels and grips his shovel. A train passes. First he sees part of a skull. He begins to dig out the soil with his shovel and hands.
“We’ve got a positive!” he shouts.
Servín shows his colleagues the head, holding it with the utmost delicacy. They decide to keep digging to look for the full body. A bag of bones appears. Then a shoe. Then a pelvis. They carefully place each outside the pit.
The women’s voices mingle like lullabies. “Hi baby, you’re going home soon.” “Your family is waiting for you.” One lights a candle at the edge of the pit.
To someone unfamiliar with violent environments, the scene might seem macabre. To those who witness it, it’s an act of tremendous tenderness and solidarity carried out by people who were re-victimized by the authorities for years. In 2021, a prosecutor handed a woman the remains of her relative in a trash bag. A photo of her with a vacant stare over the huge black bag at her feet went viral.
Criminals often hide their victims because if there’s no body, there’s no crime. Nearly 20,000 missing people have been found dead since 2010. So finding a body can be dangerous.
Servín activates his panic button that many searchers carry and talks to federal officials on the line. Since 2010, at least 36 searchers have been killed, according to civil society organizations. The latest was in mid-March. Then he phones the police.
Navigating the aftermath — logistically and emotionally
One of the women prepares to go live on Facebook. The phone zooms in to show the details of the shoe, of the jawbone missing a tooth. Any detail might help. One woman hopes that the “little person” will soon be with loved ones. They pray.
Servín begins answering questions online. He’s no expert, but his experience tells him the body might have been buried about 18 months ago. It cannot be his son, but hope is never entirely lost; two weeks ago, a mother found her son after seven years of searching. He thanks God that there are remains for DNA testing.
When the Guerreros find bodies “in pieces,” Servín feels like crying.
“What hits us hardest is to think that our children might be in those conditions.”
But he also feels good. Because he knows there are answers there.
