Mexico Admits “Crime of the State”
On August 18, 2022, as the eighth anniversary of the atrocity in Iguala neared, a Mexican governmental “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 stated, "At 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 student group. This allowed the government to track the movements of the students long before the attack took place. This admission, long-alleged by parents of the missing students, was a surprisingly candid statement after eight years of denials and silence.
While the commission's announcement acknowledged the military was "aware" of the events in Iguala, it stopped short of acknowledging the active role of the military in the atrocity, which human rights groups have repeatedly asserted.
“Historical Truth” Attorney General Arrested
On August 19, just one day after the truth commission's announcements about the complicity of the Mexican government in the atrocity, authorities announced the arrest of former attorney general Jesús Murillo Karam. His arrest was the first of any high-profile individuals in the case. Murillo Karam oversaw the Mexican government's investigations from 2014 to 2018. He came to be vilified by many Mexican citizens as corrupt, incompetent, and aloof. He now faces charges of "forced disappearance, torture and obstruction of justice." The Mexican authorities also announced more than 80 additional arrest warrants have been issued.
Murillo Karam is widely identified as the principal author of the Mexican government's "historical truth" narrative that was used to effectively exonerate Mexican police, military, and political leaders, even in the face of considerable counter-evidence.
