Guerrero/National: “Important Steps on the Route to Know the Truth of what Happened” in Ayotzinapa Case

@Tlachinollan

The arrest of Jose Angel Casarrubias, alias “El Mochomo”, leader of Guerreros Unidos, a criminal group implicated in the disappearance of the 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Normal Rural School in Iguala in September 2014, generated expectations of finding key information on the whereabouts of the student teachers and towards the clarification of the case.

Vidulfo Rosales Sierra, lawyer for the relatives of the 43, stated that “when the events occurred, Jose Angel Casarrubias was the main leader of the Guerreros Unidos crime group. He directed, ordered, and all the evidence gathered indicates that he was the one in charge of the criminal group, which is why he has inside information on the whereabouts of the 43 students.” The lines of investigation suggest that Guerreros Unidos was protecting the municipal president of Iguala, Jose Luis Abarca, who had given orders to proceed against the 43 student teachers. However, Rosales recalled before the media that several of the detainees in the case have been released, a situation that could be repeated in this latest arrest when on July 1st, a federal judge ordered the release of Casarrubias based on technical rigor over the evidence presented by the then Attorney General of the Republic (PGR) in 2014.

Regarding the detention, the ProDH Center stated that “since he was a fugitive since 2014, it is essential that his collaboration with the investigation of the victims’ whereabouts be encouraged and that the links of his family and his criminal organization with the security forces of the three levels of government continue to be investigated.”

For its part, the La Montaña Tlachinollan Human Rights Center acknowledged that the arrest of Jose Angel Casarrubias, the arrest warrant against Tomas Zeron and the 46 arrest warrants issued against Guerrero officials, advances presented by Prosecutor Alejandro Gertz Manero on June 29th, “constitute important steps on the route to knowing the truth of what happened on September 26th, 2014 in Iguala. These are the first steps in which the political will that this government has shown in the Ayotzinapa case is condensed.”

However, it stated that “truth and justice are far from being achieved. The authorities must prosecute and sanction members of the security forces that operated in Iguala on the night of September 26th, directly and indirectly to attack Ayotzinapa students, and they will be challenged to implement legal mechanisms to approach the detainees and obtain information on the whereabouts of the missing youths. It is important to detain the highest level officials who constructed the historical lie with the deliberate intention of hiding the truth and the whereabouts of the 43 missing students, therefore, it is urgent that the immediate arrest and extradition of Tomas Zeron de Lucio architect of the so-called “historical truth” and fugitive from justice proceed.” The Prosecutor’s Office has reported that Zeron fled the country and is wanted by Interpol. He is accused by the FGR of torture and a series of irregularities in the case of the 43 students.

In the case of the 46 arrest warrants against public servants from various municipalities in the state of Guerrero, who are allegedly involved in the disappearance of the 43 normal students from Ayotzinapa, they are for the crimes of forced disappearance and organized crime, for facts that had not been investigated or prosecuted by the previous administrations of the last Attorney General of the Republic.

The prosecutor has also announced that other officials at various levels are expected to be brought to justice in the coming days, as well as to give information about the human remains that were sent to the University of Innsbruck.

For more information in Spanish:

Ordenan liberar a “El Mochomo”, presunto implicado en caso Ayotzinapa (El Informador, 1ero de julio de 2020)

Vidulfo Rosales celebra que se ejerza acción penal por desaparición forzada por caso Ayotzinapa (Proceso, 30 de junio de 2020)

Pasos importantes en la lucha por la verdad y la justicia en el caso Ayotzinapa (Tlachinollan, 30 de junio de 2020)

Fin a “verdad histórica” en caso Ayotzinapa; va Interpol por Zerón: FGR (La Jornada, 30 de junio de 2020)

Tomás Zerón huyó de México y es buscado por la Interpol por el caso Ayotzinapa (Animal Político, 30 de junio de 2020)

Otorgan suspensión a ‘El Mochomo’ (La Jornada, 30 de junio de 2020)

Detienen a Ángel Casarrubias, ‘el mochomo’, líder de Guerreros Unidos, implicado en caso Ayotzinapa (Animal Político, 29 de junio de 2020)

Detención del ‘Mochomo’: «un paso importante para encontrar a los 43» (Pie de página, 29 de junio de 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Guerrero/National: 68th Global Action for Ayotzinapa (June 4, 2020)

National/International: Mexico and IACHR Formalize Reinstallation of IGIE for Ayotzinapa Case (May 11, 2020)