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Transcript/ScriptPLAYBOOK SLUG: Mexico Trackers - Missing Victims
HEAD: Search in Mexico’s Sonoran Desert for Victims of Cartel Violence
TEASER: Hunting for answers, the ‘Caborca Trackers’ go on grim quest
PUBLISHED: 09/XX/2023
BYLINE: Ruben Pereida
CONTRIBUTOR: Ruben Pereida
DATELINE: Sonora, Mexico
VIDEOGRAPHER: Ruben Pereida
TRANSLATOR/VIDEO EDITOR: Veronica Villafañe
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA original
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
SCRIPT EDITORS: KEnochs;
TRT: 2:35
VID APPROVED BY: tt
UPDATE:))
((INTRO))
[[In the Mexican State of Sonora, which borders the U.S., hundreds of people are reported missing and believed to be victims of violence between rival crime factions. Reporter Ruben Pereida joined a group called the “Caborca Trackers” who go on a grim quest to find missing victims. Veronica Villafañe narrates the story. First a caution - this report contains graphic images and viewer discretion is advised.]]
((NATS/No translation needed)) ((Male in Spanish)) (video of skull in the desert)
“Al parecer este es un orificio de bala que tiene el craneo que encontramos”
((NARRATION))
A skull with what appears to be a bullet hole lies in the desolate expanse of Mexico’s Sonoran Desert. The grim discovery suggests a violent end for this still unidentified person.
It’s a gruesome task for this search party, on a quest to find missing loved ones.
((NATS member of search party/Translation needed)) ((Male in Spanish))
"Someone just found these other remains … it’s very possible they are part of the remains of the skulls we found."
((NARRATION))
((search party video; Bryan flyer photo courtesy: Rastreadoras de Caborca))
((Mandatory courtesy: Rastreadoras de Caborca))
Near the skull, they located dozens of human bones.
These are devoted members of a collective called the “Rastreadoras de Caborca [pron: rahs-treh-ah-dóh-rahs de cah-bóhr-cah]” or Trackers of Caborca, a town in Sonora State.
Their agonizing job - to find and identify human remains found in the desert, some of whom are victims of drug cartel violence.
Police officers escort the group to ensure their safety.
Like others here, group leader Brince Canastillo is driven by personal tragedy. Her brother disappeared nearly five years ago.
((Brince Canastillo, Rastreadoras de Caborca Group Leader)) ((Female in Spanish))
"We come to do these searches with high hopes to find them, to know what happened to them. It’s very difficult.”
((NARRATION)) ((search party video; Martin flyer photo courtesy: Rastreadoras de Caborca))
((Mandatory courtesy: Rastreadoras de Caborca))
Canastillo says it’s hard to deal with conflicting emotions when they find human remains. While the search for that victim has ended, so, too, has the hope of finding them alive.
Relatives say they find strength in the collective, bound by a shared mission, like Brisa Martinez. She says her son, Martín, was kidnapped by a criminal group last year and is still missing.
((Brisa Martinez, Searching for Missing Son)) ((Female in Spanish))
"It’s so hard, because we don't know where he is, what they did to him, where they left him."
((NARRATION)) ((search party video; policeman photo courtesy: Elvia Noriega))
((Mandatory courtesy: Elvia Noriega))
Elvia Noriega is another volunteer. She says her policeman son was kidnapped last year. His body was found in the desert 100 days after he went missing.
((Elvia Noriega, Rastreadoras de Caborca)) ((Female in Spanish))
"I know what it’s like to have a missing son and not know what happened to him. It’s torture, the sadness, so many mixed feelings. That’s why I am helping my companions in this search."
((NARRATION))
Since the Caborca Trackers began searching in the Sonoran Desert four years ago, they have unearthed more than 100 skeletal remains. Once alerted of a discovery, authorities conduct DNA tests on the remains, a step the families hope will finally bring the closure they so desperately need.
((For Rubén Pereida in Sonora, Mexico, Veronica Villafañe, VOA News.))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Sonora, Mexico
BylineRuben Pereida
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
