The state of Veracruz, an epicenter of violence, corruption and organised crime, contains the two largest clandestine graves in Latin America, with over 600 bodies. State authorities systematically carried out, between 2012 and 2016, enforced disappearances, which may amount to crimes against humanity under international law. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), civil society organisations in Mexico and abroad ask the International Criminal Court to investigate.
The report was elaborated by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), one of its Mexican member organizations, Litigio Estratégico en Derechos Humanos AC (IDHEAS), and Solecito. It gives an account of the context of violence, criminality and corruption that prevailed in the State of Veracruz during the mandate of former governor Javier Duarte de Ochoa (December 2010 – October 2016). During this period, municipal, state and federal authorities were complicit or directly collaborated in the commission of enforced disappearances.
The 56-pages document mainly presents the results of investigations carried out by the signatory organisations on 41 cases of disappearance of persons that occurred in the state of Veracruz. In at least 22 cases, common elements and patterns involving the participation of state actors were found. Likewise, the report documents the discovery of the largest clandestine graves in Latin America, today known as “Colinas de Santa Fe” and “El Arbolillo”, both near the Port of Veracruz, where 615 bodies were located between 2016 and September 2022. Of the cases documented in the report, the bodies of seven victims were found in the clandestine grave Colinas de Santa Fe. Despite the uncovering of this significant evidence, the report describes the profound omission and negligence on the part of state authorities in the investigation and prosecution of cases of enforced disappearance.
