“Crime of the State”

On August 18, 2022, as the eighth anniversary of the atrocity in Iguala neared, a Mexican government “truth commission” admitted that local, state, federal, and military officials had colluded to kidnap the students, murder them, dispose of their bodies, and then to cover up these actions.  Calling the events of Sept. 26-27, 2014 a “crime of the state,” Mexican officials admitted that “[a]t all times the federal, state and municipal authorities had knowledge of the students’ movements...Their actions, omission and participation allowed for the disappearance and execution of the students, as well as the murder of six other people.”

The truth commission’s announcement also confirmed that a Mexican military informant had infiltrated the group well before the attacks took place.  The commission acknowledged that the military was “aware” of the events in Iguala, but it did not admit the military’s active role in the atrocity.

The day after the truth commission’s report was announced, Mexican prosecutors announced the arrest of  Mexican Attorney General Jesús Murillo Karam. He was charged with multiple counts of torture, forced disappearances, and obstruction of justice.  Murillo Karam oversaw the Mexican government's investigations from 2014 to 2018.  He is the principal author of the "historical truth" narrative that the Mexican government used to effectively exonerate Mexican police, military, and political leaders, even in the face of considerable counter-evidence.   

 Tomás Zerón, the director of the Mexican Criminal Investigation Agency, was also indicted, but he fled to Israel to avoid extradition.  Zerón had arranged for the Mexican government to purchase the powerful Pegasus software from Israeli government . He also authorized its use to spy on the Ayotzinapa students well before Sept. 26, 2014.  Zerón and Murillo Karam also are accused of using the Pegasus software to spy on international investigators and journalists covering the Iguala story. 

 Within weeks, however, a Mexican judge suspended the charges against Murillo Karam citing “shoddy work” by prosecutors.  On April 13, 2024, he was rearrested and placed under house arrest.  Zerón continues to fight extradition from Israel and has formally requested asylum.