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Martha Lidia Pérez Gumecindo Sworn In as Head of Mexico’s National Search Commission

She outlines immediate actions to activate the national search system under new legal mandates.

Overview

  • Interior Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez administered the oath on September 12, with Pérez Gumecindo pledging to implement the National Search Plan, convene the Sistema Nacional de Búsqueda, produce a diagnostic of the CNB, and coordinate with the FGR and state fiscalías.
  • Her appointment followed a public process that began August 8, drawing 1,155 proposals and 1,642 public inputs, after which 25 candidates were interviewed and a five-person shortlist was sent to President Claudia Sheinbaum for the final decision.
  • The new commissioner is a prosecutor with a master’s in criminal procedure and criminology, certified in forced disappearance, and formerly led the FGR’s specialized unit investigating disappearance-related crimes.
  • The transition comes as June reforms expand search and identification tools, including a unified identity platform linking forensic and registry databases and requiring specialized state prosecutors, alongside data‑protection concerns and the Senate’s new National Citizen Council seated this week.
  • Amnesty International urged steps to rebuild families’ trust and protect women searchers, and the UN human rights office offered technical support as the CNB moves from selection to implementation in a country with more than 133,000 people reported disappeared.