Main suspect in Iguala missing students case, has charges dropped after his human rights violated

Lucio R. Borderland Beat by C.E.M.

Last year the case of the 43 missing students took a big hit, when the 22 Iguala municipal police charged with kidnapping and delivering the students to Sidronio Casarrubias, (leader of Guerreros Unidos), successfully gained injunctions.  The injunctions require that prosecutors acquire greater evidence against the suspects, and explain the inconsistent testimony of witnesses, or the 22 will be released and charges dropped.  It is expected they will go free.

The latest action in the case is a even harder to swallow.  Even by Mexico standards.  In an appeals court Mexico was forced to withdraw charges against Casarrubias, who was the key suspect in the case and was charged with ordering the September 2014 killing and incineration of the 43 students.

The killer’s suspect’s “human rights” were violated

The First Criminal Collegiate Court in Toluca found five violations of human rights, and ordered the charges against Casarrubias revoked.  The evidence in the case was deemed “invalid” because the suspect’s claims of being tortured by police and prosecution agents before his formal statement, was ruled valid.

Just like that….charges for taking the lives of 43 young students, disintegrate.

What comes to mind is the long list of human rights violations found against Dr. Manuel Mireles, autodefensa leader, when he was arrested.  Yet the political prisoner still sits in a prison cell awaiting his date with “justice”. 

Body of Hernandez

Former Iguala Mayor José Luis de Abarca and his wife, María de los Ángeles Pineda Villa, were also charged in the case, but it was always my position that in this limited scope of criminality, they were in fact not guilty.  They are guilty of great crimes, but not this one.  I don’t think they were needed and it was as simple as that.  I had written about the case that should have been brought against Abarca, and that is the case of Arturo Hernández Corona, social activist, who according to eye witnesses Abarca shot and killed.  

On the day before the murder, in a public forum, Abarca and his wife threatened Hernández, Abarca saying. “stop fucking around with me, I have people that work for me, that can take care of this”. 

The next day Hernández and 7 others were accosted while driving on the hwy and taken to farm fields.  Abarca drove up with a woman in the vehicle.  The woman never exited the vehicle, and although witnesses could not be positive, she was thought to be the mayors wife.  The witness who gave testimony was one of two of the kidnapped, slated for death, but escaped when the sicarios became drunk and sloppy. 

Before pulling the trigger Abarca taunted Hernández saying, “I told you to stop fucking with me, now I will take pleasure in killing you.” 

Case ignored

Nothing became of the case, not after a Mexican priest, activist Saltillo Bishop Raul Vera, went to Washington DC  to testify at the Commission of Human Rights about the case, and not after Amnesty International became involved and petitioned the Federal Government to intervene in the case.

Not until months after the disappearance of the 43 students, was attention paid to the case.  Abarca was then charged with the murder.

At the end of it all, a few of low rung narcos will do a little time, but the 22 police, G.U. leaders, the mayor and his wife will probably be cleared in the case of the students.

Attempting to gain some credibility, prosecutors said that although the charges are dropped against Casarrubias in the case of the 43, no worries, he won’t be released just yet; he faces charges of weapons and drug trafficking charges.

I am sure that makes everyone feel a whole lot better.

To read the post about the Hernandez murder use this link