Normalistas May Have Been Alive Until October 4

"Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

Military commanders could have been aware of the location of the students until that date

A part of the 43 Normalista students from the Normal Rural school of Ayotzinapa who disappeared on the night of September 26, 2014 could have been alive up to a week later, according to audios and documents from the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena), revealed the Group of Interdisciplinary Independent Experts (GIEl).

The Group indicated that in official encrypted texts found during the review of Sedena files, it is established that military commanders may have been aware of the location of the Normalistas until October 4, that is, a week after the disappearance of the students.

"These files that we found in Sedena show that on September 26 and October 4 there were telephone interceptions that talked about the young people, that talked about where the young citizens had to be sent, and some of them are from October 4, that is, several days after the events. These communications show that a portion of the young individuals would be alive in those days," explained Carlos Beristain, a Spanish doctor and psychologist, who was part of the Truth Commission in Colombia.

In his report, the GIEI specialists emphasize that these "technical telephone interventions" were not proportionate to the investigation or the search for the disappeared.

"The documents confirm that the Army (as well as the Cisen) had intervened the communications of relevant actors in the events, even when they were occurring, without judicial authorizations for this or the full content of the same is known," the document states. .

"In a Sedena document dated October 5, 2014, some of these interventions from September 26 and October 4, 2014 are included. This means that the military and Cisen authorities were informed in real time of what was happening. However, this information was not shared with the authorities in charge of the investigation, nor is there evidence that any specific search activity had been carried out," he adds.

In addition, at a press conference, the GIEl stated that a group of young people was brought that night before the control judge of Iguala, at that time Ulises Bernabé.

"Yes, a group of young people was taken that night to the municipal railings, probably the group of young people who were abducted on Juan N. Álvarez Street. We believe so. We do so in this third report that now we publish," he explained.

"Indeed, the control judge lied to us and has lied in different statements, that is also why and that is another of the questions, why, if the arrest warrant had been issued, was the arrest warrant cancelled, when this is an individual who undoubtedly participated in the concealment of their whereabouts?", Guatemalan Claudia Paz, a specialist in criminal law questioned.  

Diario Mx