Since the ‘war on drugs’ was declared in 2007, disappearances related to drug cartel violence has been one of the most critical issues in Mexico. There are currently 114,000 individuals reported missing and the impact on their families is enormous. Lucía de los Angeles Díaz comes from one of these families. She has founded a mothers’ collective – Solecito de Veracruz – to search for their loved ones. So far, they have been able to return the remains of over 300 disappeared to their families.

In collaboration with universities and a local government in Mexico, researchers from the Global Security Programme at the Blavatnik School of Government saw an opportunity to help these families through the FOUND project. This project uses technology to locate and analyse search areas using satellite imagery, drones, sensors and multispectral cameras.

Lucía de los Angeles Díaz will be joined by Miguel Moctezuma, Global Security Programme and Víctor Ávila, Jalisco Search Commissioner, as they discuss the work of the mothers’ collective and the collaboration with the FOUND project, and offer an update on the status of the search protocol.