Family members and friends of the 43 disappeared students of Ayotzinapa marching to demand justice with their photos at the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City, May 26, 2023. Photo: Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro.
The Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (IGIE), operating under the mandate of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR), has released its final report on the Ayotzinapa forced disappearance case that occurred on the night of September 26-27, 2014, in the state of Guerrero, Mexico. According to the experts’ findings, several officials who were part of the army and the Mexican government, under the leadership of then-president Enrique Peña Nieto, were found to be directly involved in the case. Moreover, they were aware of the fate that befell the 43 teaching trainee students who were disappeared and presumably murdered.
In the report published on Tuesday, July 25, the experts further highlighted that those officials had concealed and manipulated information related to the case.
Sexto y último informe del GIEI sobre el caso Ayotzinapa – YouTube https://t.co/i6vihqk6tc
— GIEI Ayotzinapa (@GIEIAYOTZINAPA) July 25, 2023
According to the report, the disappearance of the students involved members of the army, police, and state intelligence agencies, who were well aware of the students’ situation throughout the entire ordeal.
Furthermore, armed forces officials reportedly manipulated crucial information and conducted covert operations at the school.
In the previous year, videos came to light, revealing how witnesses in the case were threatened and tortured by police and army officials following the incident.
The experts also revealed that while the police and army members were attacking the students before forcibly disappearing them, the police received nearly 500 calls reporting the ongoing crime.
The report also stated that soldiers who had claimed to be off-duty or at military centers on the night of the incident had been identified as actually being present at the location where a group of students were taken as captives.
The Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts, under the mandate of the IACHR, joined the investigation of the Ayotzinapa Case to assist the parents of the 43 students.
The most significant progress in the case has been the arrests of Jesús Murillo Karam, who was the prosecutor general of Mexico at the time of the incident, as well as of several military officers involved in the case.
Controversies emerge as IGIE announces end of its mission
In its sixth and final report, the IGIE announced that it will not seek the renewal of its mandate from the Mexican government once its term expires on July 31.
Ángela Buitrago, a member of the IGIE and a former attorney from Colombia, expressed during a press conference that the experts encountered obstacles from various state institutions. These challenges have led them to question whether they can continue to contribute further to solving the case once the group’s term comes to an end.
New Evidence in Ayotzinapa Disappearance Case Contradicts Official Version
“Precisely because of the same opacity with which the case has been handled, we could only contribute to the extent that we could fulfill our commitment, and collect and present all the information,” she said.
The parents of the disappeared students have expressed their helplessness as the departure of the IGIE has been confirmed.
In response to this situation, Mexico’s Andrés Manuel López Obrador made an announcement reaffirming his commitment to “revealing the entire truth” surrounding the case and emphasized that it was the members of the IGIE who decided to conclude their work in Mexico. On Monday, July 24, he held a meeting with the two remaining members of the group, Ángela Buitrago and Carlos Beristáin.
“I met with them—the two of them who stayed and concluded their work,” President López Obrador said during his morning press conference on Tuesday. “I thanked them for what they have done, a good investigation… We are going to continue with the investigation. A lot of progress has been made; I commented to them that in very few places—I believe that in no country in the world does a government carry out an investigation, and above all, execute a decision to punish those responsible.”
He further mentioned that his government’s Commission for Truth and Justice for the Ayotzinapa Case has officially classified the Ayotzinapa forced disappearance case as a “state crime.” As a result, there have been arrests of public officials, including both military and civilian personnel, due to their involvement in the case. The president underlined that the investigation will persist and move forward.
(Telesur) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/KZ
