Mexico | Families of victims of the “dirty war” demand justice

The families of those missing or killed during the “dirty war” waged between 1960 and 1990 in Mexico to stifle any opposition to the authoritarian government in place are urging the country's new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, to “end impunity”.

Time is running out, argue the victims' families, to bring to justice the soldiers responsible for the worst abuses that occurred during this period, including the perpetrators of “death flights” which cost the lives of hundreds of dissidents thrown into the air. sea ​​from the air.

A “truth and justice” commission unveiled a lengthy report in August that identified hundreds of people to be investigated, but M^me Sheinbaum has still not indicated what follow-up she intends to take, deplores César Contreras León.

“His silence is becoming worrying. Especially since it is urgent to act before it is too late,” notes this Mexican lawyer attached to Centro Prodh, which represents many families of victims.

“Many Mexicans think that those responsible for the abuse are dead, but that is not the case. The soldiers were recruited when they were young and many are still alive and well. Some continue to hold public office, including in the security sector,” he says.

No army official has been convicted in court in connection with the “dirty war”, notes the lawyer, who explains the situation in particular by the obstruction practiced by its leaders.

Announcing the commission's conclusions, one of its leaders, David Fernández Dávalos, deplored that archival documents had been altered or destroyed, complicating the task of investigators.

Silencing dissent

Calls to M's predecessor^me Sheinbaum, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to force the army to cooperate have remained without action even if the politician, related to the left-wing movements repressed during the “dirty war”, is at the origin of the historical commission.

Tyler Mattiace, an analyst with Human Rights Watch, indicates that the ambiguous attitude of the former head of state partly reflects the importance of the links that his government maintained with the army and the responsibilities which were entrusted to it in the framework of the fight against drug cartels.

“There is perhaps also an element of naivety,” underlines Mr. Mattiace, noting that the head of state has tended to defend the idea that the methods used during the “dirty war” are no longer appropriate. current affairs today, a point of view contested by human rights organizations.

The commission's report nonetheless shed light on a number of serious abuses committed by the military, who used, with state backing, torture, extrajudicial executions and forced disappearances to silence dissent. .

Important information has notably been brought to the attention of the public relating to the “death flights”, long considered a simple “rumor” among the Mexican population, notes César Contreras León.

Various documents have shown that the army shot down hundreds of dissidents in the 1970s before dropping them into the sea from the air to make their bodies disappear.

According to a former member of the military police, the detainees were taken to a military air base near Acapulco and summarily executed with a bullet to the back of the head before being placed in bags weighted with stones to be thrown into the Pacific Ocean.

The witness claimed that around 1,500 people were eliminated in this way and that three or four flights could take place each night to dispose of the bodies. He said some people were “still alive” before being thrown into the sea.

“A big shock”

The commission also reported a list, obtained by a journalist, which contained the names of 183 victims of the “death flights”. The document, transmitted by an army deserter to an activist in the early 2000s before being put aside for uncertain reasons, created a stir in Mexico.

Many families who have been waiting for decades to find out what happened to a missing loved one experienced “a great shock” when they saw their name in the document.

The information it contains is not easy to confirm even if several details suggest that it is credible, notes César Contreras León.

The commission's final report identified nearly 600 people who could be investigated for abuses during the “dirty war.” How many of them are alive, however, is uncertain.

“As we investigate those responsible, more information will come out. The soldiers who participated in the abuses have a duty to speak out while they still can,” concludes César Contreras León.