Chiapas: Arrest Warrant for Ex-Mayor of Arriaga as Possible Intellectual Author of Murder of Defender Sinar Corzo

On February 7th, a judge ordered the arrest of David Parada Vazquez, now ex-mayor of Arraiga, as the suspected intellectual author of the murder of the human rights defender Sinar Corzo Esquinca on January 3rd.

“The investigations make it possible to establish the existence of the act that the law indicates as a crime of homicide and the likelihood of the intellectual authorship of the former Arriaga mayor,” the State Attorney General’s Office (FGE in its Spanish acronym) reported. For the same reason it had informed “in time and form to the Honorable Congress of the State that an investigation for homicide is instructed for the aforementioned mayor, for which the commissions of the Interior and Constitutional Points, Justice and Surveillance of the State Congress determined that the request for Declaration of provenance against David Parada Vazquez, presented by the FGE, complies with the requirements established in the Law,” an assessment that led to his dismissal on February 7th.

So far, four arrest warrants have been issued for the murder of Corzo Esquinca against Rogelio “N” and/or Artemio “N”, Fernando “N”, Julio Cesar “N” and Apolinar “N”, the last being the father-in-law of Parada Vazquez, who since the beginning of last October was mayor of Arriaga, for the Chiapas Unido party.

The FGE stated that “now, the former municipal president should be brought before the courts and respond for the behavior that is reproached, with the certainty that both the arrest warrant and the process of declaration of origin have been the result of legality in the investigations and that David Parada Vazquez can not allege violations of fundamental rights because the Prosecutor has always attended to the rules of due process.”

Corzo Esquinca was part of the Coloso de Piedra Citizen Committee for the Defense of Human Rights. Hours before his death, he had met with Arriaga municipal authorities to discuss issues related to the construction of La Linea highway and the improvement of fishing communities.

For more information in Spanish:

Giran orden de aprehensión contra alcalde de Arriaga, Chiapas, por homicidio de Sinar Corzo (Aristegui Noticias, 7 de enero de 2019)

Giran orden de detención contra ex alcalde por asesinato de Sinar Corzo (La Jornada, 7 de enero de 2019)

Congreso de Chiapas avala desafuero de alcalde presuntamente implicado en asesinato del activista Sinar Corzo (Animal Político, 7 de enero de 2019)

Tras desafuero, ordenan captura del alcalde de Arriaga por asesinato de Sinar Corzo (SDP Noticias, 7 de enero de 2019)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas: Detienen a tres presuntos responsables del asesinato del defensor Sinar Corzo Esquinca, incluyendo suegro del alcalde de Arriaga (18 de enero de 2019)

Chiapas: Movilizaciones para exigir justicia en el caso del asesinato defensor de derechos humanos Sinar Corzo. Todas las líneas de investigación siguen abiertas afirma fiscal.

(15 de enero de 2019)

Chiapas: Asesinan al defensor de derechos humanos Sinar Corzo Esquinca (4 de enero de 2019)

Chiapas: denuncian criminalización de defensores medioambientales en San Cristóbal de Las Casas (28 de diciembre de 2018)

Nacional : 161 defensores y 40 periodistas asesinados en el sexenio que termina, Red TdT (30 de noviembre de 2018).