Although the arrest of General José Rodríguez Pérez for his alleged responsibility in the disappearance of the 43 normalistas from Ayotzinapa in Iguala, Guerrero, is a relevant action for the case, “there is concern” among the parents of the young people “because we see a dosage in the execution of arrest warrants” against the military, affirmed the lawyer of the relatives of the victims, Vidulfo Rosales.
In an interview, in the context of an assembly with popular organizations, he questioned: “why if the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena) was notified of 20 arrest warrants, it only executes four, what happens to the rest?”
He reiterated that until yesterday they had not received notification of the arrest of Rodríguez Pérez, who was commander of the 27th Infantry Battalion of Iguala and according to the recent report of the Commission for Truth and Access to Justice (Covaj), allegedly ordered the execution and disappearance of the last six students who remained alive in a place known as “bodega vieja”.
Formalism in the case of Abarca
Regarding the decision of Judge Samuel Ventura Ramos to acquit the former mayor of Iguala of his responsibility in the case –which has already been notified to the relatives of the students–, Rosales mentioned that this happened because the evidence provided by the Federal Public Ministry “ they were exhibited in certified copies of another preliminary investigation”, which, he considered, “seems very formalistic to us” on the part of the judge. However, he said, there is also evidence “that was obtained through torture and that was shocking.”
For this reason, he grants the freedom to José Luis Abarca “and to 19 other people who are basically municipal policemen, among them Felipe Flores, who was the secretary of Public Security in the municipality of Iguala”. Given this, he said that they expect the Attorney General’s Office to challenge the judge’s decision in the coming days.
For his part, Melitón Ortega, a member of the Committee of Parents of the 43 of Ayotzinapa, explained that a month after the Covaj report was presented, “we still need explanations” about its content and “we have not seen other people. That is worrying for us. We have heard and seen the general’s arrest on social networks, but not officially; more action is required from the authorities.”