It’s Been Three Long Years Since 43 Ayotzinapa Students Disappeared in Iguala J. Tadeo - Global Voices | |
go to original September 26, 2017 |
A new research project by Forensic Architecture has compiled data from the day they disappeared. By plotting the movements of hundreds of people connected to the scenes of the crime, the publishers say they’ve highlighted inconsistencies in the government’s account of what happened. (The Newsmakers)
Update: Mexicans Protest Ayotzinapa Kidnappings on 3rd Anniversary (teleSUR)
September 26 marks three years since the violent events in Iguala, Mexico, a city in the southwestern state of Guerrero, led to the disappearance of 43 student teachers from the Escuela Normal Rural Raul Isidro Burgos in Ayotzinapa.
The Ayotzinapa case, as it's become commonly known, has gone cold. Due to the lack of advancements in the investigation, its relevance has waned in the public's eye. However, the fate of these students remains a mystery and cause for controversy.
The most accepted story claims that the students, riding in buses that they had commandeered to attend a protest, were taken into custody by local police. They were then handed over to a local criminal organization identified as Guerreros Unidos, or “Warriors United.”
The criminal group acted on the orders of Iguala’s mayor and his spouse, known as the “Imperial Couple” for their extravagance and abuse of power. The infamous couple was linked to the Party of the Democratic Revolution, one of the opposition parties to the current government in Mexico.
The official version, partially confirmed by experts from University of Innsbruck, Austria, states that the students were then killed and their corpses burned in a landfill in the town of Cocula, also in Guerrero. But this story has been disputed by public opinion and some experts who consider it infeasible that a fire or mass pyre in that location could have been strong enough to incinerate the remains of every single student.
Other skeptics claim that the students were last taken to a military camp, a version not entirely refuted by others unsatisfied with the official story, as Mexico’s government has denied access to army facilities.
The only known truth is that these 43 students have not reappeared and their families continue the demand hard evidence and explanations.
Over 100 people have been detained since November 2014 for their alleged involvement in the case, including the main leaders of Guerreros Unidos and the “Imperial Couple.” However, no one has been declared criminally responsible for what happened — that is, not a single sentence has been handed down, 36 months after it happened.
Translated by Stephanie
Read the rest at GlobalVoices | Español
Related: In Pictures: 3 Years of Protests for Mexico's Ayotzinapa 43 (teleSUR)
Related: Obstructed Justice in Mexico: Ayotzinapa Three Years Later (Inter Press Service)
Related: On Third Anniversary, Relatives, Activists Remember Missing Mexican Students (NBC Latino)
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