Judge Approves Release of 8 Soldiers Linked to Disappearance Case of 43 Students in Guerrero

"Morogris" for Borderland Beat

In 2013, 43 students from Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' College went missing in Iguala, Guerrero. They were kidnapped by Guerreros Unidos with the assistance of the Iguala and Cocula municipal policemen.

On Saturday, a motion for the release from prison of 8 out of the 15 soldiers involved in the 2013 mass disappearance of 43 students in Guerrero was granted by federal judge Raquel Ivette Duarte Cedillo.

The soldiers granted release are Gustavo Rodríguez de la Cruz, Omar Torres Marquillo, Juan Andrés Flores, Ramiro Manzanares Sanabria, Roberto de los Santos Eduviges, Eloy Estrada Díaz, Uri Yashiel Reyes, and Juan Sotelo. The only condition for their release is that they will be required to pay a fine of MXN$50,000.

The abduction and vanishing of 43 students in Iguala, Guerrero, in 2013 stands as one of the infamous incidents in Mexico's ongoing cartel wars. The soldiers implicated in the case have been alleged to have sold weapons to members of Guerreros Unidos, the criminal group accountable for the abduction of the students.

Despite initially drawing significant attention from top government officials, prosecutors have struggled to secure convictions for numerous suspects over the years. The case has been marred by conflicting statements and even tainted by coerced confessions obtained through torture.

Many individuals implicated in the case have either been acquitted, seen reductions in their sentences, or have been released from custody. For instance, last week, the ex-mayor of Iguala and his wife saw their 10-year sentence overturned due to a "lack of evidence."

Judge Duarte Cedillo has presided over various court cases related to the Iguala mass kidnapping. In the previous year, she authorized the arrest warrant for 16 soldiers suspected of involvement. The arrest warrant included the former commander of the 41st Infantry Battalion, Colonel Rafael Hernández Nieto, along with soldiers from the 27th and 41st Infantry Battalions. It is important to highlight that Hernandez Nieto was not granted release in this recent motion.

Sources: Milenio; Borderland Beat archives