More grotesque alumni of The School of The Americas continue to spread misery in the infuriating documentary exposé Spring Of The Vanishing, directed by Andrew Glazer.
In 2018, in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, Jorge Dominguez, an American teenager born in Dallas, disappeared one night and was never seen again. He had been picked up by the Mexican Marines during anti-drug cartel operations, one of 49 regular people who disappeared while in the custody of the Marines. For six months, Marines roamed the streets, grabbing people from the sidewalks or even from inside their houses.
His mother, Maria Elena Dominguez, has spent the years since seeking answers as to what happened to her boy. She is joined by many more Mexican women wanting to hold accountable the soldiers who murdered their spouses and children. However, this has been difficult, as the Mexican military has been working with the U.S. to help combat the Zapas drug cartel. As long as they get results, the U.S. is willing to deny all accusations levied against them.
As it so happens, much of the military was trained at the infamous School of The Americas, a torture training center set up to train contras. So they don’t blink an eye if some children from the U.S. get murdered while ostensibly trying to save the lives of U.S. children from drugs.
Glazer has left no bloody stone unturned here, as Spring Of The Vanishing puts every grisly detail under the microscope. Even though I am a seasoned doc watcher, I was impressed by the level of detail and specifics. If you ever desired a narcotic nutshell history of the drug game in Mexico, put this in your pocket and walk away quickly.
Turns out Nuevo Laredo’s police force was so corrupted by the drug cartels that the city did away with them altogether. As someone who staggered the streets of Nuevo Laredo 25 years ago (you could smoke in their movie theaters back then), the idea of that city without cops is chilling. Nowhere near as chilling as armed forces rounding up citizens to make crackdown quotas, as seems to be the case here.
“…Marines roamed the streets, grabbing people from the sidewalks or even from inside their houses.”
The part where the small children look for their uncle in a field of corpses is downright horrifying. Glazer does keep it balanced, as the U.S. counterparts to the anti-narcotic operations get to say the darnedest things in clear and measured denials.
These women just won’t go away. As their crusade for justice continues, Glazer adds new developments and new details to the horrors. The dance that the Mexican government does around holding their armed forces responsible is utterly frustrating.
Also frustrating is how the U.S. continues to not acknowledge the fallout of all the terror training they did with foreign troops that then turned around and killed a lot of children. So this offers plenty for those of us who have been pissed off about this for a long time as well as for the first-time pissed-offers.
Of course, Glazer does a truly admirable job of allowing both sides to make their case. That the other side’s case lands in the laugh-riot zone just shows they really need to make better cases. Covering up misdeeds is difficult when you have angry family members relentlessly pursuing answers for years.
The fury that these women hold could burn a hole through a mountain and with good reason. Spring Of The Vanishing is a whole lot of ugliness framed by a fight that isn’t going to end. Just know due to outrage, you may need some drugs afterward. Or during.
"…puts every grisly detail under the microscope"
