Mexico does not know where the Peruvian Mary Lucero Mescco is

The young Peruvian Mary Lucero Mescco, in a photograph provided by her family Courtesy

Where is Mary Lucero Mescco?

That is the question that has alerted the authorities of Mexico and Peru after the disappearance of the Peruvian citizen, two of her nationals and another man of Mexican origin in the Mexican state of Jalisco, in the west of the country.

The case, which dates back to mid-August, has gained momentum in recent days after the family of the missing woman denounced that, despite having paid a ransom, they had not heard from her or had no support from the authorities of both countries.

The disappearance put the local prosecutor's office in the spotlight after it became known that one of the last known traces of the victims was that they had been in the custody of the Atotonilco police, a population of about 25,000 inhabitants.

Suspecting that it was a new case of forced disappearance, the prosecutor denied this Wednesday any participation of state authorities and revealed new details of an investigation marked by extortion, false information, diplomatic contacts and the anguish of a family in Cusco , 5,000 kilometers from Jalisco.

Mary Lucero Mescco, 25, lived between 2015 and 2018 with her Peruvian husband in Mexico City.

The couple had a baby and they both worked in his mold factory.

In mid-2018, the marriage separated.

"He took the girl from him and did not let him bring her to Peru," says his twin Mary Cielo Mescco by phone.

The sister says that Mary Lucero was studying cooking in Cusco, but dropped out of school to return to the Mexican capital in July 2019, where she had a grocery store and frequented a Mormon church, to fight for the custody of her daughter.

A few days before the disappearance, Mary Lucero told her twin that she was traveling in a car to go on a trip to Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco, and that on the way she would meet a Peruvian acquaintance.

On the trip everything began to go wrong.

"In the

was with his acquaintance, plus a Peruvian and a Mexican," explains the sister.

The disappearance file identifies Mescco with long black hair and a light brown complexion.

As particular signs, scars are described on one of her knees and on one of her arms, stretch marks on the abdomen due to pregnancy and a small mole between her mouth and nose.

The Prosecutor's Office has announced that the four missing persons were detained by the Atotonilco police on August 13, after being linked to an administrative offense, which has not been clearly detailed.

The four were in the municipal police station for two days and were released after the crime victim decided not to continue with the investigations, according to the mayor, in a version that has been supported by the Jalisco Prosecutor's Office.

"At the [Atotonilco] police station there is no complaint against them," replies Mescco's sister.

"The wife of one of the Peruvians said that the prosecution or the police station had requested bail, but that they would not release them at that time [at midnight], but at eight in the morning," he adds.

The partner of one of the Peruvians and a lawyer came at that time, he says, but they had already been released at six in the morning.

"That's strange," says the twin.

Gerardo Octavio Solís, the state prosecutor, has insisted that the disappeared today were never in a public ministry under his charge, in what is read as an attempt to clarify the distribution of responsibilities and to distance himself from any suspicion of forced disappearance.

Last June, the death in police custody of Giovanni López, a 20-year-old who was arrested for not wearing a mask, sparked outrage in Jalisco.

Following the protests against police brutality, there were new complaints of protesters who disappeared after being arrested and which sparked criticism for the actions of the State authorities, the second with the most disappearances in the country with 10,230 victims until last July, according to official data.

Solís has assured that the first complaint for the disappearance of the Peruvians was on August 18.

According to this version, the "concubines" of the other two Peruvians who were detained with Mescco informed the authorities that they could not find them, but said they were Mexican and gave false names of the disappeared.

It is not clear if it was an attempt to obstruct the investigation or if it was out of fear or mistrust in the Jalisco Prosecutor's Office.

"This led us to make mistakes because the information was not correct," justified Solís, who has omitted the names of the others involved because it was an open investigation.

In those days, a lawyer asked the complainants for 60,000 pesos (about $ 3,000, 10,000 soles) to take over the case and afterwards they did not hear from her, according to the prosecutor.

16 days after the disappearance, the Mexican who is Mescco's current partner called the sister of the missing woman, telling her that she had been kidnapped and that they were asking for money to pay a ransom.

The family assures that they asked for 235,000 pesos (11,000 dollars, 40,000 soles).

According to the prosecutor, the man offered to negotiate with the kidnappers, but after making the payments the family lost contact with him.

"There is no data that he has actually been a negotiator for the release of these people," said Solís.

"Subject to corroboration, it sounds more like the opportunism with which he made that easy money, deceiving the family," he added.

The sister says, instead, that Mary Lucero's boyfriend paid most of the ransom and that there are

and audios to prove it.

“We don't have money, we gave a part and he, 67,000 pesos.

That money was given to the kidnapper, ”he says.

The brides of the Peruvians, says the sister, were in charge of getting the money.

Neither the ex-husband nor the current couple wanted to report the disappearance of the young woman to the Police.

"The man said he had no time and the lover said that his nerves were bad," he adds.

On August 28, the family filed a complaint in Peru.

On August 31, the Peruvian consul in Guadalajara, Alejandro Malacara, clarified to the Jalisco Prosecutor's Office that the first information was false, filed new complaints, and facilitated contact between family members and the Mexican authorities.

"This Foreign Ministry and the aforementioned consular offices have been carefully monitoring the progress of the investigations, and maintain direct communication with the relatives of the disappeared national," reads a tweet from the Peruvian Foreign Ministry last Friday.

Prime Minister Walter Martos said on Thursday that after the resumption of flights, the Government will coordinate so that a relative can travel to Mexico and follow up on the case.

In Jalisco, the emphasis of prosecutors is on extortion of family members and practically nothing is known about the three men who accompanied the disappeared woman, who lost track of her days after being in police custody.

From Peru there is a desperate cry to find her, with vigils outside the Judicial Power in Cusco and a sit-in in the Tupac Amaru square, one of the largest in the city.

"I had to go to the press for them to give me an answer about what they are doing for Lucero, because I had no paper on his case," claims the victim's sister, who until this Wednesday received the complaint document from the Peruvian Foreign Ministry.

After more than 60 days of investigations, the question remains the same: Where is Mary Lucero Mescco?