Officials with Mexico’s Secretary of the Interior announced they will file a criminal complaint regarding leaked witness testimony from the mass murder of 43 education students from Ayotzinapa in 2014. The leaked documents claim that Mexico City’s current police chief and several military officials were on the payroll of Guerreros Unidos–the cartel blamed for the massacre. The records also state that military officials took part in the kidnappings.
This week, the Commission for the Truth and Access to Justice announced intent to file a criminal complaint against the public official who leaked case documents claiming, that they “endanger the quest for the truth.”
Reforma published excerpts of the documents which state a leader within Carteles Unidos identified only as Juan “N” claimed that in 2014, Omar Harfuch, then regional head for Mexico’s Federal Police, received $200,000 U.S. monthly to allow the criminal organization to operate freely and with protection.
Harfuch is the current Mexico City Police Chief who, in June 2020, survived an assassination attempt by cartel gunmen. After the initial story by Reforma, Harfuch took to social media to claim the allegations were false.
The document reportedly revealed that Juan “N” claimed he had two entire military battalions on the cartel’s payroll and they helped kidnap the 43 students. The witness reported that in a matter of days, the criminal organization killed 80 victims, including the 43 students.
The 2014 Ayotzinapa massacre drew international attention. The 43 students had hijacked a bus to go to a protest, but were intercepted by police and cartel forces and never heard from again. Mexico’s government was accused of falsifying case information to cover up the involvement of military and police. In the past, officials claimed that the 43 students were incinerated in an open pit, but that theory has since been debunked.
Gerald “Tony” Aranda is a contributing writer for Breitbart Texas.