[JURIST] Amnesty International (AI) [official website] on Monday said [AI report] the discovery of 129 bodies in the southern state of Guerrero “confirms what we had already found: the sheer magnitude of the crisis of enforced disappearances in Guerrero and elsewhere in Mexico is truly shocking.” The 129 bodies were discovered [Guardian report] during the search for 43 missing students from the Ayotzinapa rural teachers college, who disappeared [JURIST report] after clashing with the police last September. Prosecutors say the students were seized by police and handed over to drug lords, but the families continue to press investigators on the theory that the students were abducted and disappeared by the government. Americas Director at Amnesty International Erika Guevara-Rosas [AI profile] said of the discoveries:

If it weren’t for the persistent determination of the families of the Ayotzinapa students, as well as human rights defenders… we might never even have known about these mass graves and the dimensions of the crisis. Much more needs to be done to find out, and publicize, the truth about the fate and whereabouts of the 43 students who were subjected to enforced disappearance last September, and all of Mexico’s unresolved disappearances.

Since last October, 60 mass graves have been uncovered in Guerrero, containing the remains of 109 men and 20 women. None of the remains belonged to the missing students.

According to government figures, more than 25,000 people have gone missing in Mexico since 2007. While the problem of disappearances is widespread in Mexico, no particular case has drawn more attention than that of the Ayotzinapa students. One of the first major breakthroughs in the case occurred in mid-November when Jose Luis Abarca, a former Mayor of Iguala, was charged [JURIST report] with homicide of the disappeared students. In late January Mexican authorities arrested [JURIST report] a hit man for the Guerreros Unidos gang, which is believed to be behind the murder of the disappeared students, along with 100 other people believed to be connected to the crime. Two days later Mexican officials issued final findings [JURIST report] on the case and declared that all the students were believed to be dead, even though DNA testing has only affirmatively confirmed the death of one. Mexico has faced much criticism from international actors on their efforts to resolve the problem of disappearances. In February AI issued a statement urging [JURIST report] the Mexican government to adhere to UN recommendations on how to investigate the disappearances of its citizens. Earlier this month Human Rights Watch urged President Barack Obama to press Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on human rights concerns during an upcoming meeting. Also in February, AI released another criticism [JURIST report] of Mexico’s failed investigation of the Ayotzinapa student’s disappearance, calling it incomplete and insufficient.