Mexico to Investigate the Massacre of Central American Migrants

The Mexican Supreme Court ordered Wednesday the Attorney General's Office to open an investigation into the killings of 72 migrants that occurred six years ago in the town of San Fernando, Tamaulipas. 

The massacre took place in August 2010, when 58 men and 14 women from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Ecuador and Brazil were killed. The migrants were expected to be on their way to the United States. 

The remains of the bodies were found in 2011 in several mass graves in the San Fernando region. 

Officials believe local members of the violent Los Zetas drug cartel were involved in the crime, but the state has failed to bring the culprits to justice.   

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For more than five years, relatives of the victims have been requesting an inquiry into the deaths and that those responsible be prosecuted, but they have seen very little success on the matter. 

However, this week's court ruling also said that Salvadorans Bertilia Parada and Alma Yesenia Releageño, relatives of two of the deceased, are to be recognized and treated as official victims. This grants them certain rights, such as access to the files of the deceased and the investigation, as well as access to experts working on the case and reparations.

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Parada has long been demanding to see proof that her son Carlos Osorio was among those killed after Mexican officials notified her of his death, saying they would ship the cremated remains to her. Parada, however, has demanded to see details of the investigation.    

“This ruling will serve to reveal the truth, to justice. That there are reparations for everyone,” Parada said to the media. 

Even though only two of the relatives of the 72 murdered migrants have been granted this special victim status by the Supreme Court, it is believed to be a positive measure since it sets a precedent for the other relatives of those killed.

Another 16 relatives from Guatemala, El Salvador and Brazil of those who were killed in San Fernando, have been registered with Mexico's National Registry of Victims (Renavi). They continue to get support by the Executive Committee for Victims, an independent government body.  

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Relatives of the victims claim that the investigations carried out so far have been inadequate, that the state has not been guaranteeing the right to truth, while there have been flaws in the process of identification and return of remains.

Amnesty International said in a statement that the lack of progress in investigating the massacre of San Fernando is another example “of the negligent response of the Mexican government to the deep human rights crisis in the country.” 

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