HomeNewsBriefExperts Debunk Mexico Govt's Version of Disappeared Students Case
BRIEF

Experts Debunk Mexico Govt's Version of Disappeared Students Case

AYOTZINAPA / 8 DEC 2015 BY ELIJAH STEVENS EN

Based on new analysis of evidence, the panel of experts tasked with reviewing Mexico's Iguala case has reiterated that the 43 students who disappeared in 2014 could not have been burned in a trash dump, as the government has claimed.

The Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (Grupo Interdisciplinario de Expertos Independientes – GIEI) analyzed new scientific evidence that shows a fire did not occur in the trash dump during the days when the students were allegedly killed and then incinerated, the panel said.

According to the Attorney General’s original story, local police had stopped buses carrying student protestors and then handed the students over to a local criminal gang, the Guerreros Unidos. According to the government’s official narrative, the Guerreros Unidos then took the students to a trash dump in the municipality of Cocula, where they killed and burned them.

The GIEI’s study, requested by the Attorney General and conducted in September 2015, analyzed meteorological data on Cocula during the dates of the disappearances, September 26-27, 2014, reported El Universal. Along with satellite records and photographs, the meteorological data showed that it rained in the Iguala region during this time period, and that there were no fires detected in Cocula at the time.

The GIEI was appointed by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and is made up of five judicial experts from across Latin America.

InSight Crime Analysis

The GIEI previously released an extensive report on the Iguala case in September, in which they concluded that -- based on an analysis of how long it would take and how much firepower was needed to burn 43 bodies -- the students could not have been burned in the Cocula trash dump. This additional analysis of satellite photos and meteorological data is another nail in the coffin of this theory.

SEE ALSO: Mexico News and Profiles

Moving forward, the GIEI reiterated that the Mexican government needs to start seriously pursuing other lines of investigation, now that the Guerreros Unidos trash dump story has been fully debunked. According to the GIEI, this should include re-interviewing members of the military who were present that night, during the initial clash between students and police, and who have been identified as important witnesses.

Mexico's Attorney General's Office has already conducted interviews with at least 11 military officials, without allowing members of the GIEI panel to be present. The GIEI has recommended that these interviews be repeated, as the testimony compiled thus far leaves many questions unanswered, and it is unclear what questions the Attorney General's Office asked the witnesses.

Some Mexican researchers have theorized that the missing students were burned in either a military or privately owned crematorium. Members of the GIEI have said that looking into this theory is an important line of inquiry for the investigation.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights-backed panel presents their findings regarding Mexico's Iguala case.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

BRAZIL / 31 DEC 2021

Prediction of the criminal dynamics for 2022 is even harder than most years, as it involves predicting the march of…

FEATURED / 29 APR 2021

Methamphetamine use in Mexico has grown exponentially in recent years and now rivals marijuana as the drug most cited by…

CARIBBEAN / 3 JUN 2022

Gangs in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince are rounding up homeless and at-risk teens, who are increasingly being used as…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…