Vladimir Hernández Hernández He holds a Ph.D. in Social Sciences with a specialization in Regional Studies from El Colegio de la Frontera Norte and is a member of the snii level ii, his area of research: urban-territorial analysis. vladimir.hernandez@uacj.mx

Realidades socioculturales

Testimony to Barbarism: Clandestine Mass Graves as Micro-Spaces of Exception in Northern Chihuahua, Mexico, 2008–2024

  • Salvador Salazar Gutierrez
  • Vladimir Hernández Hernández

The objective of this article is to analyze the phenomenon of clandestine graves in northern Chihuahua as an expression of atrocious violence and forced disappearance in Mexico, in order to understand how these spaces operate as necropolitical mechanisms that articulate practices of extermination, silencing, and territorial control. The study involved reviewing statistical data and local and national news reports, as well as conducting semistructured interviews with members of the Paso del Norte Human Rights Center (cdh Paso del Norte). It was found that the northern region of the state accounts for more than half of the mass graves recorded between 2008 and 2024, which points to a systematic pattern of violence, impunity, and institutional collapse. These clandestine graves contain not only bodies but also territorial markers that instill a culture of terror throughout the region.