Patricia Negrete, Mexican search activist murdered in Guanajuato, Amnesty demands justice

Patricia Negrete Tafoya, a member of the "Una Promesa por Cumplir" search collective, was shot dead on the night of 23 June 2026 while riding a motorcycle a few metres from the Hospital Regional in Pénjamo, Guanajuato. The attack was carried out by armed men on motorcycles; she had just finished her shift as an intendente at the hospital. Negrete had been searching for her sister, Laura Angélica Negrete Tafoya, who disappeared in January 2021, and she assisted other families in locating missing relatives.

The killing is the fourth (or fifth, according to some reports) murder of a mother‑searcher in Guanajuato in 2026 and part of a larger pattern of violence against people who look for disappeared relatives. Amnesty International condemned the homicide, calling it "deeply alarming," and urged Mexican authorities to launch an immediate, exhaustive, independent and impartial investigation, and to strengthen protection for searchers. The state prosecutor’s office opened a homicide file, recovered ballistic evidence (three spent shell casings and three rifle cartridges) and sent it for forensic analysis.

Human‑rights groups and search collectives have demanded public reports on investigative progress, protection measures for activists, and justice for the victims. National data from Amnesty International show that at least 35 searchers have been assassinated in Mexico since 2011, with Guanajuato recording the highest number of such killings.