Almost eight years after the disappearance of the 43 students, authorities arrested the attorney general in charge of the investigation and issued arrest warrants for 64 military and police officers. Former attorney general Murillo Karam was arrested Friday night at his home in the capital, Mexico City, for “forced disappearance”, torture and perversion of justice, the Attorney General’s Office said.
Hours after the arrest, prosecutors also issued arrest warrants for 44 police officers, 20 members of the armed forces and 14 members of the Guerreros Unidos gang. They are accused of involvement in the students’ disappearance in 2014.
Students disappeared on the way to the demo
The 43 students from a left-wing teacher training school in Ayotzinapa, southern Mexico, disappeared on the night of September 27, 2014 near the town of Iguala, in the state of Guerrero, as they headed for a demonstration in Mexico City. So far, only the remains of three victims have been identified. Key eyewitnesses were reportedly tortured and killed during the investigation.
APA/AFP/Emmanuel Dunand Former Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam Arrested
The then-in charge Attorney General Murillo Karam is considered the architect of the “historical truth”, the official statement made in 2015 under then-President Enrique Pena Nieto about the background to the crime. As a result, the students were kidnapped by corrupt police officers and handed over to drug lord Guerreros Unidos. Gang members are said to have mistaken the students for members of a rival cartel, murdered them, and burned the bodies.
Truth Commission presented a report
However, the students’ families and independent experts from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights questioned the official results of the investigation. A truth commission created in 2019 by Nieto’s successor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, concluded in a report presented on Thursday that the soldiers were also complicit in the students’ disappearance.
“Their actions, omissions or involvement made possible the disappearance and execution of the students and the murder of six other people”, said the head of the Ayotzinapa Truth Commission, Alejandro Encinas, in the presentation of the report. He spoke of a “crime of state”.
NGO: Complaint for “very difficult” families
The Truth Commission report also identified three hypotheses for the escalation of violence: First, the local Guerreros Unidos drug cartel may have identified someone among the students with ties to a rival gang. Second, the large group of young people were mistaken for adversaries. Third, one of the hijacked buses contained hidden drugs or cash.
The youths’ parents wanted to scrutinize the report thoroughly before commenting, he said. The content was too difficult for them, said the human rights organization Centro Prodh. Until now, students had been searched with the assumption that they might still be alive.
President: Hold those responsible to account
President López Obrador then demanded that the truth be known and those responsible “punished”. The case must not be closed. The Attorney General will continue to work to bring those responsible to justice. “We’ve said from the start that we’re telling the truth, no matter how painful it may be,” said López Obrador.
The head of state had already said in March that there were investigations into naval soldiers. These would have manipulated evidence during investigations, in particular in a garbage dump where human remains were found.
Soldier smuggled to training seminar
The head of the Truth Commission, Encinas, also said on Thursday that the armed forces had smuggled a soldier to the Ayotzinapa teachers’ college. The soldier reported on the students’ activities. His whereabouts are also unknown since the students’ disappearance.
Former attorney general Murillo Karam was once considered the heavyweight of the PRI party, which ruled Mexico for more than 70 years until 2000. The party described his arrest on Friday as politically motivated.