Mexico government accused of repressing families of missing persons during World Cup protests

Human‑rights groups and families of the estimated 134,000 missing persons in Mexico say the federal government has criminalised and repressed their peaceful demonstrations during the opening week of the 2026 FIFA World Cup (June 4‑11). In a joint statement, organisations including DATACIVICA, Fundar, Luz de Esperanza, Red TDT and other search collectives denounced a “disproportionate presence of police elements”, encirclements, mobility restrictions and judicial summons aimed at silencing their protests.

Specific incidents cited include a police‑led blockade of a symbolic anti‑World‑Cup rally in Toluca, the deployment of roughly 300 riot police around the Voz de los Desaparecidos collective in Puebla, and the detention of 17 buses carrying families of the 43 Ayotzinapa victims at the Tlalpan toll booth under a “national‑security” pretext. Interior Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez alleged that some collectives had received funding from political opponents, a claim the groups reject, saying it is a tactic to delegitimize their cause. The statement quoted the families: “The families are not a public security problem or a political issue, but victims demanding the truth.” They demand an end to criminalisation, a guarantee of their right to protest and an effective institutional response to Mexico’s disappearance crisis.