Mexican judge orders former Guerrero governor to stand trial in Ayotzinapa case

Prosecutors allege Aguirre concealed evidence, not direct abduction

A Mexican judge ordered former Guerrero governor Ángel Aguirre to stand trial on charges stemming from the 2014 forced disappearance of 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College, ruling that prosecutors presented sufficient evidence to proceed.

After a detention hearing this week, the judge also upheld a pretrial detention order requiring Aguirre to remain at the Altiplano maximum-security federal prison in the state of Mexico.

Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office alleges that although Aguirre did not directly participate in the students’ abduction, he was responsible for the disappearance and concealment of key evidence after the events of Sept. 26 and 27, 2014. The charges therefore center on alleged concealment of evidence rather than the underlying attack.

That attack occurred in Iguala, Guerrero, where on the night of Sept. 26, 2014, a group of students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College — a school that trains teachers to work in rural communities — was attacked by local police officers working with organized crime. Six people were killed and 43 students disappeared after being taken by force.

The case is one of the most prominent and deadly human rights cases in Mexico’s recent history, the Mexican newspaper Milenio reported. UPI, in its reporting on the trial order, characterized the case as one that “has become a symbol of impunity, institutional corruption and alleged collusion between state security forces and drug cartels” over more than a decade.

The case against Aguirre comes under what prosecutors have described as a “new investigative model” that followed a review of evidence. Prosecutors based part of their case on testimony obtained this year, including that of a former official with Guerrero’s Superior Court of Justice who allegedly heard Aguirre order destruction of incriminating material.

Investigators allege the cover-up was intended to protect Aguirre’s nephew and outside adviser, Ernesto Aguirre Gutiérrez, who allegedly was aware of the situation and had ties to the Guerreros Unidos criminal organization, the newspaper La Jornada reported.

Aguirre’s legal defense team, led by attorney Guillermo Barradas, presented 31 pieces of evidence seeking to challenge the former governor’s alleged connection to efforts to destroy incriminating material. His lawyers also argued that prosecutors’ witness testimony lacked credibility and consistency, the outlet LatinUS reported.

Aguirre is one of the highest-ranking former officials to face prosecution in connection with the case. In October 2014, public pressure over the disappearance of the 43 students led him to step down as governor of Guerrero.