The Japan Times - Activists campaign for Mexico's missing people near World Cup stadium

About 130,000 people have been officially recorded as missing in Mexico since 2006, when the government launched its controversial anti-drug operation.

Some experts say the real number could be even higher. In April, a United Nations report deemed the crisis so grave that it labeled it a "crime against humanity."

Activists and families searching for their loved ones put up images of their faces near Azteca Stadium in Mexico City on Sunday, where the country will kick off its World Cup campaign against South Africa on June 11.

"We are making this visible so that tourists who come to this city see that we do, in fact, have a disappearances crisis," Vanesa Gomez, who has been searching for her daughter since last year, told AFP.

"The ball is coming home, so when will our children?" some of the activists shouted, while some spray-painted graffiti of protest slogans.

Gabriel Diaz, who is searching for his missing sister, said: "Just as the World Cup is important for Mexico City, the people who are missing should be just as important."

Mexico expects around five million tourists to visit for the World Cup, which it is jointly hosting with the United States and Canada.

H.Hayashi--JT