Luis Donaldo Colosio Riojas, son of the presidential candidate of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who was murdered almost 30 years ago, asked President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to pardon his father's confessed murderer, Mario Aburto Martínez.
Colosio, who is currently mayor of the city of Monterrey, in the state of Nuevo León, said that the case has been “very handled,” which is why he requests that it be closed, according to the newspaper Milenio.
“It is not fair to the people, including the family, that they are giving, I do not want to say false hope, but that they are recycling the issue in order to get a political crack,” said the official, quoted by Milenio.
“Appealing to the president's compassion, I say that he better pardon Mario Aburto, that he pardon him, that he give a final closure, that allows both my family and Mexico to heal,” he said.
[They challenge the protection of Mario Aburto, convicted of the murder of Luis Donaldo Colosio]
Mario Aburto Martinez, in a file photo after his arrest, at the Almoloya de Juárez federal prison, near Toluca, Mexico. Associated Press
Colosio added that justice was left to him for the murder of his father.
“What I ask is that justice be done, but if justice cannot be done, at least it starts with forgiveness,” he commented in statements to the media.
Aburto was arrested on March 23, 1994, accused of killing Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta with a .38 caliber pistol.
Colosio was shot several times in the head after concluding a campaign event in the Lomas Taurinas neighborhood of Tijuana.
The investigations determined that Aburto had been the only person who attacked the popular presidential candidate.
In 2023, from prison, Aburto confessed that he had been beaten after his arrest.
“When I was in Tijuana [...]
they took me to torture in the river area
in the wee hours of the morning,” he stated.
[He is the only one convicted of the murder of Luis Donaldo Colosio and could be free. The prosecution wants to avoid it]
Luis Donaldo Colosio greets reporters in Mexico City, after being named PRI candidate for the presidential elections. Associated Press
Aburto's mother and sister also revealed that they had been victims of abuse by agents of the Public Ministry.
“When they took us to the PGR [Attorney General's Office], they stripped us naked and my daughter was little, she was about 8 years old,” said Aburto's mother.
In 2021, the National Human Rights Commission of Mexico reviewed the case and determined that “the purpose or purpose of the torture to which [Aburto] was subjected caused him to admit having engaged in the conduct for which he was accused.” .
For its part, the prosecution confirmed to Noticias Telemundo in October 2023 that it had decided
to open an investigation to review the allegations
of torture against Aburto.
Even President López Obrador spoke in favor of a review of the case and said that the incident “was a state crime.”