319 Villages Threaten to March on Mexico’s National Palace as 7 Men Kidnapped From El Balcón, Guerrero, Stay Missing — Judge Orders Search ‘Under Presumption of Life’
Residents of 319 villages in Guerrero’s sierra are threatening to march on Mexico’s National Palace in Mexico City over 7 men kidnapped from the El Balcón ejido, in Ajuchitlán del Progreso, Guerrero, on Sept. 24, Quadratín Guerrero reported on Oct. 7, 2026. Residents blame suspected members of La Familia Michoacana. In a statement released Wednesday, the ejido said an Oct. 6 meeting with municipal, state and federal officials produced no progress.
‘We want them alive’
“We are still without clear, precise answers or results,” the ejido said in its statement, according to Infobae. “Los queremos vivos y los queremos de regreso” (“We want them alive and we want them back”), it added. The ejido said it holds the state and federal governments responsible for “any situation that may be unleashed.”
The villages want Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch to step in personally and strengthen the search, both outlets reported. Neither gave a date for the march. Infobae also cited a smaller figure of about 150 communities and town centers preparing to mobilize. The ejido says it is also taking the case to the United Nations and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH).
A judge orders a search ‘under presumption of life’
A federal judge has ordered all three levels of government to search for the men immediately “bajo presunción de vida” (“under the presumption of life”), Quadratín reported. The state security agency says state police, the army and the National Guard are running patrols by vehicle and on foot.
The captors freed a 12-year-old boy from the group on Oct. 1. Residents say he came home with a demand that the ejido and nearby villages accept the group’s control and give up their forest land in exchange for the 7 men still held. The ejido says it will not accept that, according to Infobae, citing El Sur de Acapulco.
Milenio’s report on the search, now 2 weeks old with no results:
Sources
- Quadratín Guerrero (Gabriela Fernández), “Amagan 319 pueblos con ir a Palacio Nacional por los 7 desaparecidos,” Oct. 7, 2026
- Infobae México (Ale Huitron), “Alistan marcha a Palacio Nacional más de 300 comunidades de Guerrero para exigir a Harfuch la búsqueda de pobladores desaparecidos en Ajuchitlán,” Oct. 7, 2026
- Milenio, “Búsqueda de 7 desaparecidos en Guerrero cumple 14 días sin resultados” (video), Oct. 7, 2026
- Photos: Gobierno de Guerrero, via Infobae
Reported Oct. 7, 2026, from the outlets above. The link to La Familia Michoacana comes from residents and ejido members; authorities have not publicly named a suspect group, and no arrests have been reported.