Former Guerrero prosecutor charged in Ayotzinapa case

Original translation

CNN Mexico: "The former prosecutor in Guerrero, Alberto López Rosas, has been charged for allegedly obstructing the investigation of a confrontation between student teachers and authorities that resulted in the death of two young men.

The Attorney General (PGR) presented evidence against the official “for diverting from, obstructing, and concealing the investigation,” charges which could come with a sentence of up to 13 years in prison, the office said in a press release.

According to PGR investigations released in February, it was concluded that the crime scene was tampered with, some evidence disappeared, and local police fired on the students. López Rosas was the head of the state attorney’s office at the time.

This past December 12, Jorge Alexis Herrera Pino, 22 years old, and Gabriel Echeverría de Jesús, 21, died from gunshot wounds during a clash between students and security forces. The students of the Ayotzinapa Normal School blocked a tollbooth on the Sol Highway in Chilpancingo, Guerrero, demanding reforms in the institution. In the disorder, the two youths were shot and a gas station was burned down.

A week following the protest, López Rosas presented a video and accused the Federal Police of having shot into the crowd, maintaining that by the time the local police had arrived, the two students were already dead.

At this point, six arrest warrants have been issued for officials accused of obstruction of justice. They have all been released on bail.

In February, a Mexican judge issued arrest warrants for nine current and former civil servants in the Guerrero Attorney General’s Office." Spanish original 

Translation: Michael Kane, Center for International Policy intern