MEXICO CITY (AP) — It’s been 10 years since Verónica Rosas set up a Christmas tree. The sorrow brought on by the disappearance of her son in 2015 has been too overwhelming.

Before the 16-year-old vanished in a Mexico City suburb, mother and son yearned for the winter season. They loved buying natural Christmas trees. To brighten them up, they hung Diego’s favorite decorations: figurines of Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

“It’s been too hard and I have not been able to set up a tree,” said Rosas, who recently met with other grieving relatives to make Christmas ornaments in remembrance of missing loved ones.

The gathering was hosted by the Catholic Diocese of Ecatepec, near the capital, where residents endure robbery, femicide and other crimes.

Rosas and a dozen more families showed up carrying

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