The Pacific coast of the southern state of Oaxaca is known as an idyllic part of Mexico, a region where domestic and foreign tourists alike frolic on the beautiful beaches and enjoy the laidback lifestyle with nary a care in the world.

But that image has been damaged, if not shattered, in early 2025, due to the occurrence of crimes that are sadly all too common in Mexico: mass kidnappings and murder.

In January, seven young men disappeared near the popular tourist town of Puerto Escondido and haven’t been seen since. Authorities linked the abduction and probable murders to drug trafficking, but almost two months later the details of the case remain murky.

More recently, 10 young people from the central Mexican state of Tlaxcala were abducted in separate incidents in Zipolite, where Mexico’s only official nudist beach is located, and in the resort region of Huatulco, also situated on Oaxaca’s Pacific coast. They were on vacation in Oaxaca when they disappeared, according to various media reports.

The dismembered bodies of nine of those people — four women and five men aged 19 to 29 — were found on March 2 in and near an abandoned vehicle located hundreds of kilometers away in a municipality in Puebla on that state’s border with Oaxaca.

A motive for the abduction and murder of the young people — reportedly students — has not been disclosed by government officials, but authorities are investigating the possible involvement of municipal police. Authorities have also said that the abduction of some of the victims could be related to a dispute between rival criminal groups. There is speculation that the victims were involved in criminal activities.

One person has been arrested in connection with the abduction and murder of the young people from Tlaxcala.

The lone survivor of the most recent kidnappings in coastal Oaxaca, Brenda Salas, was located in the state of Puebla early last week. She reportedly told authorities that she and her friend Angie Pérez were abducted by municipal police.

What is the timeline of the disappearances in Oaxaca?  

On the final day of February, 21-year-old Lesly Noya and 23-year-old Jacqueline Meza disappeared in Zipolite. On the same day, Raul González and his girlfriend Noemí Yamileth López, both 29, also vanished in the small, bohemian beach town.

Meza was dining at a restaurant near the beach when she was abducted, according to the young woman’s mother.

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