The Zapatista National Liberation Army denounced the behavior of the Mexican government of Enrique Peña Nieto for “rewarding” people whom the rebel organization accuses of perpetuating impunity in the case of the 43 forcibly disappeared students from the Ayotzinapa teachers college.
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The National Indigenous Congress together with the Zapatista National Liberation Army, known as the EZLN, issued a statement Thursday condemning the naming of Tomas Zeron as a government security advisor.
Relatives of the 43 Ayotzinapa students announced last week that they were cutting off all dialogue with the Mexican government after Zeron resigned for allegedly tampering with evidence and was then awarded a promotion.
“(The) cynicism and perversion of the political class (...) not only continues to pretend to search for the missing comrades, but instead, with the growing evidence showing the guilt of terrorist narco-state, rewards those responsible for lying and trying to distort the truth even more,” read the statement by the EZLN, referring to Zeron.
“This is what we see when we look up to those in power, for those who murder, engage in cover-ups and lies: rewards and protection – for those who are outraged and protest against injustice: blows and prison,” continued the statement.
Tomas Zeron de Lucio was the former director of criminal investigations responsible for overseeing the Ayotzinapa case and is seen as the person responsible for defending the government's official version of events.
The government’s official version of events asserts that local police apprehended the students – who had commandeered a bus to travel to a protest – and handed them over to the gang known as Guerreros Unidos, who authorities claim killed the students and burned their bodies in a garbage dump in the town of Cocula.
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A number of outside investigations have alleged that the official version of events is not credible. The latest investigation, released this month, found that the immense size of a blaze necessary to burn 43 people was simply not possible in the dump.
An internal investigation by Mexico's Attorney General's office concluded that Zeron did, in fact, engage in irregular behavior in his handling of the case of the 43 students. Specifically, Zeron is accused of conducting investigations at the Cocula dump without the accompaniment or permission of the Public Prosecution. He is further accused of violating the civil rights of a key witness, Agustin Garcia Reyes.
The Attorney General's Office announced Wednesday that they have identified more than 40 different locations in the state of Guerrero where they believe there may be mass graves.
For nearly two years, the Mexico's Attorney General's Office steadfastly maintained that its official version of events was correct and refused to search for the missing students, attempting to convince the public that their remains were left at the Cocula dump.