Central America: Mothers of Disappeared Migrants Ask Pope for Help

Mothers of disappeared migrants from Central America wrote a letter to Pope Francis urging him to promote new migration policy during his Mexico visit.

A caravan of mothers ended their week-long search for their children in Chiapas at the southern Mexican border with the letter, signed by dozens of parents, to be delivered in February. Coming from the “northern triangle” representing the most dangerous zone without a declared war—Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador—the women seek safer conditions and the recognition of the refugee status of Central American migrants.

The women challenged “the criminalization of migrants in the world, the violation of their rights, the violence, the disappearances and deaths and the serious problem of trafficking,” Martha Sanchez, organizer of the caravan through the Mesoamerican Migrant Movement, told EFE. “They are the invisible of the invisible without any rights established.”

ANALYSIS: Four Modern Abuses Against Migrants

No number currently exists of the total number of disappeared, but Mexico recorded over 26,000 in the last 10 years. An estimated 400,000 migrants cross Mexico every year, and according to the Mesoamerican Migrant Movement that organized the caravan, about 80 percent do not reach their destination.

“Our demand to the Mexican justice system is the right to truth, so that they treat them in another way, because they have sent back the wrong corpses or ashes,” said Sanchez, “The mothers don’t trust the Mexican authority anymore, and because of them, they can’t end their mourning.”

WATCH: Mothers of Disappeared Central American Migrants Demand Answers