MEXICO CITY (AP) — A human rights lawyer and activist missing for nearly a week in southern Mexico regularly received threats related to her work, a colleague said Thursday.
Sandra Estefana Domínguez Martínez and her husband were last seen on October 4 in the town of María Lombardo de Caso, in eastern Oaxaca, on the border with Veracruz.
The prominent feminist activist and defender of Mixe indigenous peoples, from the eastern highlands of Oaxaca, is herself of Mixe descent.
“Sandra has always handled delicate cases. If they weren’t cases of femicide, they were cases of rape and so on,” said Joaquín Galvan, a Oaxacan activist and close friend of Domínguez. “She was always exposed to threats.”
He said these cases often involved government officials or members of organized crime.
In 2020, Domínguez denounced several state government officials for allegedly participating in misogynistic group chats. Domínguez said the virtual chats shared images of indigenous women and included derogatory comments. Since then, Domínguez has faced continued threats, Galvan said.
The Oaxaca Public Prosecutor’s Office said they were conducting an investigation and looking for Domínguez and her husband Alexander Hernández Hernández. Their relatives reported them missing to Oaxaca authorities on October 8.
Interior Secretary Jesús Romero López said at a press conference on Wednesday that the couple’s car was found abandoned in Veracruz.
“Usually there are several criminal groups in this area,” he said. “We examine the entire context.”
Domínguez’s disappearance has mobilized several human rights and feminist groups in Oaxaca as they continue to pressure authorities. Galvan believes Domínguez’s work and ongoing complaints against state officials are linked to her disappearance. In Mexico, an average of ten women or girls are murdered every day.
“I think it’s important to consider all of these situations that she was exposed to,” Galvan said. “To understand what happened, what is happening, and to be able to find her.”
Galvan encouraged Domínguez to apply for protection under a federal protection program for human rights defenders and journalists known as “the Mechanism.” He is registered, but he said Domínguez was not there at the time of her disappearance.
“It wasn’t until we were dealing with an important case that certain protective orders were issued locally, but they were temporary,” he said. “She never had a permanent protective mechanism.”
Aracely Cruz, a congresswoman from Oaxaca, also expressed solidarity during a congressional session in the country’s capital on Wednesday. “We ask the governor of Oaxaca, Salomón Jara Cruz, to pay attention to the activist’s family,” she said.
Mexico has been plagued by enforced disappearances for decades and more than 115,000 missing persons have been registered. Activists are also particularly vulnerable, with Mexico one of the most dangerous countries for environmental and land defenders.
As for Galvan, he continues to share information about Domínguez’s disappearance on social media.
“We want to find her alive,” he said.
