She Wasn’t a Politician. She Was a Mom Who Refused to Stay Quiet.

In April 2025, María del Carmen Morales one of Mexico’s fearless madres buscadoras was gunned down along with her son in Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, Jalisco.

She wasn’t a politician or celebrity, just a brave mother searching for her missing son, Ernesto Julián, who vanished the year before. Like so many others, she turned her pain into purpose helping lead the Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco in their mission to find Mexico’s disappeared.

According to reports, armed men on motorcycles opened fire while she and her son were simply carrying water near the “Las Villas” neighborhood.

The search collective demanded justice, shouting what everyone’s been saying for years: no more violence and no more impunity in Jalisco.

But, of course, the official story (brought to you by our ever-reliable authorities) says the attack wasn’t related to her activism. Nope, they claim her son was the target, and María del Carmen was just tragically caught in the crossfire. Because, sure, coincidences like that happen all the time in cartel country…

What they didn’t mention? She’d already received threats. And her group believes those threats and her courage are exactly why she was silenced.