They came from Cuba, Ecuador, Honduras, and Colombia to search for their children who one day left their homes in pursuit of the so-called American Dream. Their journey took them through Mexican territory, and that’s where their trail went cold. Supported by the Regional Network of Families of Missing Migrants, the families divided into two groups: one that traveled to the border between Chiapas and Guatemala, and another that stayed in Mexico City to scour streets, neighborhoods, markets, and other places in search of any hopeful information.
This is the fifth international search brigade organized by the Network. The largest group came from Cuba, Ecuador, and Honduras. Their relatives disappeared in late 2024 in southeastern Mexico. They traveled through Tonalá, one of the main migrant corridors on the Pacific route to the north of the country. Later, they went to Tapachula, where they visited the Belén shelter, always accompanied by members of the Mexican Army and the National Guard. For them, there is no Mother’s Day. They are spending these days in shelters and prisons, and in Puerto Madero and Barra de San José El Hueyate, beaches and piers where they lost contact with their children.
In Mexico, they have found support networks and embraces from other mothers and communities experiencing the same tragedy in this country with more than 130,000 missing persons. The Colectivo Hasta Encontrarles (Until We Find Them Collective) is walking with the Colombian family through neighborhoods in Mexico City such as Tepito, the area around the Garibaldi and Lagunilla Metro stations, and the vicinity of the Villa de Cortés and Portales Metro stations. Santiago García Loaiza is the name on the poster placed in each location.
It is only when disappearance knocks on one’s own door that one becomes aware of the importance of these posters displayed on streets and lampposts. It is a face, a name, a story, and the pain of a family searching. The poster bursts forth, breaks the silence, and makes visible the hope that someone will see it and recognize something.
This Mother’s Day, while restaurants fill up with families, in the other Mexico thousands of women will take to the streets in search of their children, until they find them.
Original article by Gloria Muñoz Ramírez, La Jornada, May 9th, 2026.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.