Families of 43 missing Mexicans promise protests over holidays

SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico – Family members of 43 missing Mexican students said Sunday, December 21, they would continue pressing for answers over the fate of their sons throughout the holidays.

“There is no vacation, no Christmas or New Years, these days are for struggling,” said Meliton Ortega, father of one of the students.

The families plan a protest in Mexico City on December 26, three months after the students disappeared in September, a group organizer told Agence France-Presse.

The government said last month the young men were killed and their bodies burned by a drug cartel in the southern state of Guerrero.

The apparent massacre by a police-backed gang sparked nationwide protests and caused a crisis for President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Students vandalized the car carrying the mayor of the city of Acapulco in protest on Friday, December 19.

Only one person has been identified from badly charred remains found in a landfill and family members of the students have demanded further investigations.

The government “has claimed that the issue has cooled down but we reject that idea,” Ortega said.

“On the contrary, our spirits are up and we will insist that justice is done.” – Rappler.com