Ten Years after Ayotzinapa, Government Impunity Stains the Pursuit of Justice

[Judi Lynn]

Thursday, September 26, 2024
Omar Gómez Trejo

On Sep. 26, 2014, in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico, 43 students from the nearby Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' School were disappeared by security forces working with a drug cartel. This tragic episode is one of the darkest known in recent Mexican history.

Since that night, I have witnessed the unwavering hope, dignity, and determination of the students’ families. Their relentless pursuit of truth and justice, alongside the creativity and vision of their lawyers, have kept national and international pressure on this case. Each successive governmental administration has committed to resolve the case, only to later fall short.

After the disappearance, the families and lawyers did something unprecedented. They requested that the government of then-President Enrique Peña Nieto invite an Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) to provide technical assistance and conduct an independent review of the government’s investigation. These international experts unraveled the false narrative that the government had created in an attempt to neatly explain and close the case. Their work showed that responsibility for the disappearances went well beyond municipal police and cartel members: State and federal authorities also played a role. Peña Nieto’s defense secretary never allowed the experts to question members of the Army during their investigation. In 2016, the government, uncomfortable with the GIEI’s reports and press conferences, unceremoniously ejected them from the country.

In 2018, the Ayotzinapa families convinced the new president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to take on their case as a central human rights commitment of his government. This led to the creation of a truth commission, an investigative unit for the case within the Attorney General’s Office, and the return of the international experts to find answers.

More:
https://elfaro.net/en/202409/opinion/27569/ten-years-after-ayotzinapa-government-impunity-stains-the-pursuit-of-justice