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January 15, 2015

Mayor Charged for Student Disappearances in Mexico; Families Launch Community Search Teams 
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Federal prosecutors in Mexico have formally charged the mayor of Iguala
for the kidnapping of 43 students in late September. Police had accused
Jose Luis Abarca and his wife of spearheading the attack, but it is the
first time he has been indicted. The students were allegedly abducted by
local police working with drug gangs, and according to one report,
possibly federal forces as well. Parents of the disappeared students
meanwhile have launched a civilian search in the region of Guerrero
where the students were last seen. Hundreds of people — including
members of community police forces, Ayotzinapa students, and members of
civil society — are scouring rural areas where they have received
tips that the students may be held captive. Emiliano Navarrete, the
father of one of the missing students, is helping coordinate the search.

Emiliano Navarrete: "I personally have gone to more than 100 places to
look for my son and we haven’t found them, not even one of the
students. From my perspective it is because the government, the military
is holding them. This was all planned by them, including the governor.
The government definitely knows where they are but they don’t want to
give us the answer. This enrages me as a Mexican, I am embarrassed when
I realize what government exists and what kind of government we have
here in Guerrero state."

 

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