Last May 3, the searching mothers, María Isabel Cruz Bernal and Belinda Aguilar, both members of the collective searching for disappeared persons, Sabuesos Guerreras (Women Warrior Bloodhounds), detected the presence of two youngmotorcyclists outside their respective homes making calls and registering their entrances and exits.

The surveillance and trackingby these individualsheightened, and on Sunday May 7, during a celebration of the collective in downtown Culiacán, the young motorcyclists were observed as surveillingthe activity and following several of the participants on their way home.

The harassment and constant threats against the searching mothers in the state of Sinaloa, characterized by insecurity and violence, recently resulted in the death of searcher Rosario Lilian Rodríguez in August of 2022. Since January of 2022, at least 6 searching defenders have been assassinated in Mexico.

When faced with these alarming security incidents that place the integrity of the searchers of the Women Warrior Bloodhounds Collective at risk, members have turned to the National Mechanism for the Protection of Rights Defenders and Journalists, as well as state and local authorities, to request immediate and efficient intervention to guarantee the lives and security of their families. Although these authorities have expressed their concern and made many protective measures available to the Collective, such security measures must be fortified.

We of the National Network of Women Human Rights Defenders and IM-Defensoras urgently call on the National Mechanism for the Protection of Rights Defenders and Journalists to take all necessary measures to guarantee the lives and integrity of the members of the Women Warrior Bloodhounds Collective, working in coordination with efforts of the governments of the state of Sinaloa and the local authorities of Culiacán, who must also respond to the demands for truth, justice, and reparations, and an investigation of the attacks committed.

Likewise, we demand the implementation of a national political protection policy that establishes immediate, efficient measures for guaranteeing the security and protection of women defenders and achieving the rights of truth, justice and reparations in Mexico as they face a highly serious situation of attacks and violence.