A federal judge in Mexico acquitted José Abarca, the former mayor of Iguala — in the southwestern state of Guerrero — who was previously accused of being involved in the kidnapping, killing, and concealment of bodies of 43 students from the Ayotzinapa all-male school who disappeared in 2014.
The courts decided that there was insufficient evidence to tie Mr. It encompasses to the crimes. He and his wife were arrested shortly after the men’s disappearance, under the accusation that they collaborated with the Guerreros Unidos cartel, whose members admitted partial responsibility for the crime.
However, the mayor will remain behind as he also faces other unrelated criminal accusations, including homicide and money laundering.
The decision favoring Mr. Abarca was highly criticized by officials. Mexican Undersecretary for Human Rights Alejandro Encinas said that the judge who ruled on the acquittal was responsible for releasing another 77 people accused of torture in the 2014 disappearance of the Ayotzinapa 43. He urged the Mexican Prosecution unfortunate “to appeal against this act of impunity .”
I say it. Newly the judge of Tamaulipas, Samuel Ventura Ramos, who released 77 perpetrators involved in the disappearance of students from #Ayotzinapatoday he acquitted José Luis Abarca, one of the principals involved in the disappearance of the muchachos
— Alejandro Encinas (@A_Encinas_R) September 14, 2022
As recently explained by The Brazilian Report, independent investigations finished this year revealed several legal inconsistencies ands that buried the official narrative interference surrounding the Ayotzinapa 43 case. Former Prosecutor General Jesús Murillo Karam, one of the fathers of the narrative pulled down by the Ayotzinapa Case Truth Commission (CVAJ), was arrested on charges of obstruction of justice, among other crimes.
In its official report published in August, the commission also indicated many judicial problems that contributed to the previous opacity around the disappearances in Iguala, mentioning the same judge that acquired José Abarca.