Guerrero: Army opposes historical sentence in case of Bonfilio Rubio

The parents of Bonfilio Rubio with a picture of him. Photo: @ Tlachinollan

On 2 December 2011, in an unprecedented sentence, relatives of Bonfilio Rubio Villegas, an indigenous Naua who in 2009 was arbitrarily killed by soldiers of the Mexican Army, received a sentence from the federal justice system which contested the extension of the military courts over the case of this homicide.  Regardless, the Secretary of National Defense (SEDENA), representing President Felipe Calderón, called the sentence into question via a presentation of review.  The Tlachinollan Mountain Center for Human Rights, which has accompanied the relatives of Rubio Villegas throughout the process, has denounced that “SEDENA clearly shows that it will not change its defense of the applicability of military courts and, beyond failing to comply with the juridical obligations demanded by the constitutional considerations, shows that the Army is not nor will be subjected to civil control or reformed with the Code of Military Justice.”

On 20 June 2009, Bonfilio Rubio Villegas was was killed by soldiers of the 93rd Infantry Batallion of the Mexican Army; minutes prior, they had investigated the vehicle in which the youth had been traveling together with 40 others.  After the revision carried out by the soldiers who made up the checkpoint located near the city of Huamuxtitlán, Guerrero, the driver of the bus continued with his journey, and the soldiers indiscriminately opened fire against the bus of passengers, resulting in the death of Bonfilio.

For more information (in Spanish):

Ejército se opone a sentencia histórica en materia de derechos humanos, actuando en representación de Felipe Calderón (Tlachinollan, 29 January 2012)

Ejército se opone a sentencia histórica en materia de derechos humanos, actuando en representación de Felipe Calderón (Cencos, 31 January 2012)

Indígena naua ejecutado extrajudicialmente por Militares (Tlachinollan, 12 December 2012)

En Fallo histórico: Gana Amparo familia de indígena naua ejecutado extrajudicialmente por elementos del Ejército mexicano. (Tlachinollan, 12 December 2012)

Claman justicia por otra víctima de militares (El Universal, 31 January 2012)