"It is an inexplicable joy, we are finally listened to! Even 9000 km away, Mr. Rodriguez Moreno's relief is palpable over the phone. Six years ago, this Mexican lost his 19-year-old son, who mysteriously disappeared with 42 other students in Iguala, in the state of Guerrero, in the south of the Latin American country. After a long mobilization and hundreds of demonstrations relayed to Europe, the investigation finally seems to advance in Mexico.
This week, the Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero announced that a person was detained and 46 arrest warrants had been issued against municipal officials. A giant step in the investigation taken up by the government of Lopez Obrador, who promised during his presidential election that there would be no impunity "neither in this case so sad nor in any other".
At the time, "no investigations or prosecutions"
"These crimes have not been investigated or prosecuted in the procedures carried out at the time by the Office of the Attorney General," said prosecutor Gertz. He also said that certain evidence had already been found during this investigation and sent for identification to the University of Innsbruck. Results are expected "immediately".
"For the first time, a government has won our confidence", rejoices with the Parisian father of Christian Alfonso Rodriguez Telumbre. These advances are, according to him, a real "hope" to find the missing children.
The first prosecutor in charge of the investigation, under the chairmanship of Peña Nieto, had concluded in 2014 that the 43 student teachers from the Ayotzinapa teacher training school had been kidnapped by the Iguala police in September 2014 and then handed over to the group criminal Guerreros Unidos, who had killed them before burning their bodies in a trash can. According to Gertz, the facts happened differently. But the new prosecutor has not yet specified his thinking.
Cartel leader arrested
In recent days, however, all eyes have been on a man, alleged leader of the Guerreros Unidos cartel known as El Mochomo . José Angel Casarrubias Salgado was arrested on the morning of June 24 while the prosecutor's office announced it with great fanfare by designating him as "a notorious participant" in the disappearance of the students.
But on Wednesday, a federal judge in the state of Mexico ordered the release of El Mochomo , saying there was insufficient evidence to keep Casarrubias in prison. The case is so sensitive, however, that in the afternoon, agents of the federal public prosecutor's office obtained a new arrest order in order to avoid humiliation, just before Casarrubias left the Altiplano prison. .
Former Mexican official hunted down
At the same time, Interpol issued a search alert for the former head of the Criminal Investigation Agency, AIC, now non-existent, Tomás Zerón. The former Mexican official is accused of the crimes of torture, enforced disappearance, alteration of the crime scene, loss and concealment of evidence in the Ayotzinapa case.
A national arrest warrant had already been issued on March 10, but Zerón fled the country. However, according to prosecutor Gertz, the authorities have already located him.
Hope also to locate the victims
The Prodh center, a human rights organization which provides legal advice to relatives, considered that the arrest of Casarrubias, a fugitive since 2014, is "relevant" because "it can contribute to the elucidation of the 'affair'.
Newsletter - Essential news
Every morning, the news seen by Le ParisienI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more
"It is essential that his collaboration in the investigation of the whereabouts of the victims is encouraged and that the links of his family and his criminal organization with the security forces of the three levels of government are examined," said l NGO on his Twitter account.
#Ayotzinapa Relevant
detención de uno de los presuntos líderes del grupo criminal involucrado, junto con diversas autoridades, en la desaparición de los 43 estudiantes de Ayotzinapa, to contribute to the slavery of the caso. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/FDCWzPlezv
The next step for families: wait for the Covid-19 cases to drop in the country before joining President Lopez Obrador in the Mexican capital during a meeting.
