In a new video message addressed to the country’s top officials, the children of 50-year-old farmer Domingo Atanacio Quirino have urgently appealed to President Claudia Sheinbaum, Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado, and Omar García Harfuch to help locate their father—who remains in captivity—alive. He has now been held against his will for a month in the municipality of Ajuchitlán del Progreso, Guerrero.
The incident dates back to September 24, when gunmen from the criminal group *La Familia Michoacana* abducted eight residents from the *ejido* (communal land) of El Balcón—a mountainous area where the group is seeking to consolidate territorial control over agricultural and forestry activities, effectively dispossessing the residents of their land.
In the video, the victim’s children appealed directly to President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado Pineda, and the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar García Harfuch, urging them to maintain search operations in the region.
“My father has been missing for a month now… my siblings, my mother, and I are deeply worried because he still hasn’t returned. The other seven have already come back, but not my father. Please, I beg you—let him go; he is just a farmer. And please tell us where he is so we can go and bring him home,” said Víctor Atanacio, the victim’s son, speaking through tears. He also noted that his father suffers from health complications.
Of the eight *ejidatarios* (communal landholders) seized by the armed group, seven have since been returned home alive. The first person to be located was a minor, Jordi Alberto, found on October 4. On October 16, federal and state authorities confirmed that six other residents had been found, following operations in the mountain region and a court order—issued by a federal judge—mandating a search for them.
Although most of the community members have returned, Domingo Atanacio Quirino remains missing; consequently, the Guerrero State Attorney General’s Office (FGE) and security forces are keeping the investigation file open and continuing search efforts within the state.
