Mexico: Weekly Newsletter
We hereby share an unofficial translation of an excerpt on Mexico from the Weekly Newsletter from January 19th, published by Sol Rojo Mexico.
In recent days, we have spoken out about the forced disappearance of Colombian professor Dr. Leonardo Escobar from the Ibero-American University of Puebla (Ibero Puebla), which occurred on January 2 after his arbitrary detention in the state of Nuevo León. In the context of the demonstrations demanding his safe return, which took place on January 16 at Ibero Puebla—and were supported by academia, collectives, and organizations throughout the country—the professor was found alive, according to a brief statement issued by Ibero that afternoon. The facts still need to be established and responsibilities determined, but it is great news that Dr. Leonardo Escobar is alive amid the sea of disappearances that plague our country.
Similarly, colleagues from the Montaña Tlachinollan Human Rights Center and the Popular Front of la Montaña have released a statement reporting… “On Wednesday, January 14, Judge Mariela Soraya Alfaro Zapata of the Unitary Trial Court issued a guilty verdict against Jorge Rodríguez Gómez, alias La Chiva, for the disappearance of indigenous human rights defender Arnulfo Cerón Soriano. He will serve a 25-year prison sentence and pay damages […] The disappearance of the defender was planned on October 10, 2019, when, on Jorge’s orders, a group of seven armed individuals entered the witness’s home. They deprived her of her liberty and, under threat, forced her to hand over Arnulfo […] Upon learning of Arnulfo’s disappearance, the Popular Front of la Montaña mobilized to block the road to Chilpancingo. They formed search brigades and only found his truck with the keys in the ignition, but nothing was known of his whereabouts […] On November 20, 2019, Arnulfo was found 3.4 meters underground, with signs of torture […] Six years and two months later, this sentence has been handed down. It is significant, although insufficient given the seriousness of this heinous crime and the high-impact crimes committed in the municipality of Tlapa, without the authorities intervening to contain the wave of crime”.
The analysis of our comrades is correct because, although the sentence contains punitive justice against one of those responsible for the disappearance and murder of our comrade Arnulfo Cerón, the peoples and communities of the Montaña de Guerrero do not have access to justice in the terms that are needed. From the ongoing demand for the safe return of our comrade Dr. Ernesto Sernas García, who was disappeared by the old State on May 10, 2018, in Oaxaca, we salute the organized and timely response of the university community of Ibero Puebla and the struggle of our comrades in the Popular Front of the Montaña de Guerrero, and we insist on the need to build a United Front to stop the war against the people and State terrorism.
Punish the guilty and bring them to justice!
Truth and justice!
Dr. Ernesto Sernas García, they took him alive, we want him back alive!
