Documenting Enforced Disappearances
Documenting a clandestine program of enforced disappearances carried out by the Mexican military during the so-called “Dirty War” of the 1970s and 80s.
Collaborator: Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Human Rights Center
Role: Director
From the late 1960s to the early 1980s, the Mexican government escalated an already brutal campaign against political dissidents during la Guerra Sucia, the “Dirty War.” This fourteen-minute video presents one of the first assemblages of visual evidence showing the systematic and highly organized program of disappearances carried out by key military officials in Guerrero, Mexico during this period.
Documentary excerpt.
Weaving together open and closed-source research, a digital site model of the Pie de la Cuesta Air Force base — the primary scene of State abuse — was reconstructed from archival materials, declassified spy satellite imagery, and records from a 2002 military investigation. The analysis includes written testimonies from military personnel who described their active involvement in the disappearances, information from journalistic reports, and unexpected Hollywood film footage.
Declassified satellite imagery.
Widely circulated in Mexico, the film’s call to action demands the release of the full scope of the military’s archives to uncover additional aspects of the truth about this dark period of Mexican history.