Mexico’s government will present new investigative leads as families mark 12 years since the disappearance of 43 students.
Mexico’s government will present new findings in the investigation into the disappearance of 43 Ayotzinapa students on Monday, as their families mark the 12th anniversary of the case and renew demands for answers about what happened to them.
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Human Rights Undersecretary Arturo Medina and special prosecutor Mauricio Pazarán will present new investigative leads, including scientific findings from the analysis of telephone records and information related to new arrest warrants, President Claudia Sheinbaum said.
The announcement comes as the students’ families lead a march through Mexico City, where relatives, students and supporters are demanding progress in determining the whereabouts of the young men who disappeared in Iguala on Sept. 26, 2014.
Sheinbaum said her administration had agreed with the Attorney General’s Office to pursue investigative hypotheses that had not been explored by previous governments. She also reiterated her commitment to maintaining direct dialogue with the parents of the 43 students, ensuring their access to information and respecting the right to peaceful protest.
Families await new findings
Melitón Ortega, a spokesman for the families, said the parents were awaiting Monday’s presentation, particularly information on the search for the students, arrests and extradition requests.
He said the government had proposed a new scientific methodology during a meeting with the presidency on Aug. 27 to advance the investigation.
The families, however, continue to press for further action. María de Jesús Tlatempa, mother of missing student José Eduardo Bartolo Tlatempa, called on Sheinbaum to stop supporting the military and focus on the Ayotzinapa case.
She also called for the return of the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts, whose departure remains a major concern for the families. Tlatempa said the group left after it was no longer given the conditions needed to continue its investigation. She identified its return as one of the families’ main demands of Sheinbaum, who has committed to fulfilling that request.
At the same time, relatives have challenged administrative decisions that absolve the Mexican Army of responsibility, insisting that investigations should not rule out the involvement of military personnel in the students’ forced disappearance.
Text Reads: Twelve years after the disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa student-teachers, their parents demanded answers regarding their children’s whereabouts, while also insisting that President Claudia Sheinbaum bring back the group of experts and deepen existing lines of investigation.
At a rally in Mexico City’s Zócalo—held as part of their campaign “Ayotzinapa: 12 Years of Struggle, 43—The Light That Does Not Go Out”—the families once again raised the questions asked since the night of September 26, 2014: What happened that night? Who attacked the 43 students? Who took them away? Why? And, above all, where are they?
The anniversary also brought the families to Mexico’s Supreme Court, where Chief Justice Hugo Aguilar Ortiz met with a delegation of parents to follow up on cases before the court.
Aguilar offered to review the proceedings impartially and maintain communication with the families on the progress of the trials.
Isidoro Vicario, the families’ legal representative, asked the court to objectively examine appeals that overturned the official account known as the “historical truth.” The families’ legal team also urged the court to resolve injunction proceedings ordering the Defense Ministry to immediately provide more than 800 military records requested by international organizations.
Meanwhile, protesters and students from rural teacher-training colleges held a rally outside government institutions in the capital, criticizing the lack of definitive answers about the students’ whereabouts. The groups also accused the judiciary of delaying criminal proceedings and demanded the removal of security barriers around the National Palace.
March draws hundreds in Mexico City
The march began shortly after 5 p.m. from the Angel of Independence toward the Zócalo under the slogan “Ayotzinapa: 12 years of struggle, 43 the light that does not go out.”
Parents of the 43 students led the procession carrying photographs of their children. Other generations of their families, including children and grandchildren, joined the mobilization, wearing light-blue shirts bearing the faces of the missing students.
Hundreds of students from rural teacher-training colleges traveled to Mexico City in more than 30 buses. Representatives of the Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez and Tlachinollan human rights centers, Serapaz, UNAM student groups and other civil and social organizations also joined the march.
At the rear of the procession, a group of people dressed in black and wearing face coverings damaged urban infrastructure, including a metal bicycle-service station on Paseo de la Reforma. The families called on participants to keep the demonstration peaceful and avoid actions unrelated to their protest.
The march advanced slowly toward the Zócalo, where the parents planned to hold a rally. After 6 p.m., the front of the demonstration entered the square without the difficulties encountered a year earlier, when concrete barriers on 5 de Mayo Street obstructed access.
The government’s new report is due Monday, Sept. 28, as the families continue to demand answers about the fate of the 43 students who disappeared in Iguala 12 years ago.
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