Officials from the Specialized Prosecutor for Disappeared Persons in Nayarit, State Prosecutor’s Office, and investigative personnel have been arrested for their alleged responsibility in cases of forced disappearance.
Tepic, Nayarit, September 8, 2023. – On September 7, 2023, through an operation led by the Attorney General’s Office, various arrest warrants were executed in this state against public servants of the State Prosecutor’s Office of Nayarit, allegedly involved in multiple cases of forced disappearance. Among those arrested are public prosecutors and the current Specialized Prosecutor for Disappeared Persons.
It is important to remember that between June and September 2017, numerous cases of enforced disappearance occurred in Nayarit, in which, according to multiple testimonies, the involvement of agents from the State Prosecutor’s Office of Nayarit and other public servants was documented. Due to impunity and lack of search efforts, in 2020, family groups of disappeared persons, together with organizations such as IDHEAS, Strategic Litigation in Human Rights, and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), submitted 39 Urgent Actions to the Committee Against Forced Disappearance (CED). Later on, Justicia Transicional México (JTMX) joined the efforts, given its impact on the search for truth and justice in the region and the protection of witnesses who have provided information to clarify the events.
For more than six years, family members and accompanying organizations have denounced the involvement of Nayarit authorities in various cases of enforced disappearance and other crimes committed in the region, which we have argued constitute crimes against humanity. However, authorities never listened to the families, often ridiculing them. They also sought to downplay what had happened and ignore the families, banking on forgetfulness and impunity. Therefore, we view the efforts of the Attorney General’s Office with great hope and enthusiasm, considering it an important step towards truth and justice for all victims of enforced disappearance and other crimes during the «Terror» period in Nayarit. Thus, we urge federal authorities to continue their investigations, listening to the victims and their families.
«For six years, we have been denouncing what was happening in Nayarit, but the authorities never wanted to listen to us…»
We urge the Nayarit State Prosecutor’s Office to cooperate and provide all possible information to the competent authorities, as well as to act impartially in the present case.
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IDHEAS, Litigio Estratégico en Derechos Humanos
Federación Internacional por los Derechos Humanos (FIDH)
JT MX. Justicia Transicional en México (JTMX)
Colectivo Familias Unidas por Nayarit
Colectivo Por Nuestros Corazones
Colectivo En Búsqueda de Verdad y Justicia
Colectivo Renacer por Amor a Ellos.