Mexico: controversial acquittal in Ayotzinapa case sparks criticism

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. Abarca 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 bars 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 Office “to appeal against this unfortunate act of impunity.”

As recently explained by The Brazilian Report, independent investigations finished this year revealed several legal inconsistencies and interferences that buried the official narrative 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 acquitted José Abarca.

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