Mexican judge rules ex-president can't be tried for genocide

By The Dallas Morning News and Los Angeles Times

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most read articles Most e-mailed articles

MEXICO CITY — A federal judge ruled yesterday that former President Luis Echeverria cannot face prosecution for his alleged involvement in a student massacre in 1971 because the 30-year statute of limitations has run out.

In the closely watched case concerning the government's "dirty war," Judge Julio Cesar Flores issued a terse statement that the charge of "genocide" against the former president and 11 other officials could not go forward given the time that had elapsed. It would have been the first time a Mexican president faced criminal charges.

Flores did not rule on the men's innocence or guilt.

Special Prosecutor Ignacio Carrillo Prieto said he would immediately ask Attorney General Rafael Macedo de la Concha to put the matter before Mexico's Supreme Court.

Carrillo had asked Flores to issue an arrest warrant for Echeverria, 82, who was president from 1970 to 1976, along with former Interior Minister Mario Moya Palencia, former Attorney General Julio Sanchez Vargas and others.

The men were accused of orchestrating what is known as the "Corpus Cristo" massacre of demonstrators by police in Mexico City on June 10, 1971, when a paramilitary squad called the Falcons opened fire on protesting students, witnesses said, killing at least 30. Carrillo has said his investigation shows at least 80 died.

Some analysts had lauded Carrillo decision to recommend charges, calling it a step in the right direction and a clear message that no one, even a former president, enjoyed complete impunity.

But Carlos Humberto Toledo a legal- and military-affairs expert in Mexico City, said the decision "came down to the basic truth that Mexican law carries statutes of limitations even for crimes like these, and that in these cases, time simply ran out."

Many observers have said that the case against Echeverria appeared weak, with little direct evidence connecting him to the killings. Even had he been arrested this weekend, no one expected him to spend time in jail or face a trial.

The rejection represents a serious setback for President Vicente Fox, who swept to office in 2000 on promises he would prosecute those responsible for the killings of hundreds of dissidents during Mexico's "dirty war" of the 1960s, '70s and '80s.
 
Now Fox has little to show for his promises, and the political fallout for him and his National Action Party may be significant.

Those who supported him four years ago in ousting the long-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), including various human-rights groups, are increasingly disappointed with Fox, said Jorge Chabat, a professor at the Center for Economic Teaching and Research here.

"Fox won under the flag of transparency and rule of law, so now people who voted for him are disenchanted," Chabat said.

Many of the "dirty war" deaths, including the so-called Corpus Christi massacre, occurred during Echeverria's presidency. Echeverria, a member of the PRI, was also interior minister in charge of national security in the late 1960s when the government's oppression of leftist dissidents reached its peak of notoriety with the so-called Tlatelolco massacre in Mexico City in October 1968, where witnesses claim 300 were killed.

Victims' families expressed outrage yesterday.

"We won't permit that Echeverria and his people go without punishment," said Robert Garcia Flores, brother of Juan Garcia, a student killed in the 1971 massacre. "Sooner or later they will pay for their actions."

Human-rights activists also criticized the ruling.

"Today's decision is a tremendous disappointment for the human-rights community and the families of the students who were killed," said Kerry Howard, deputy director of the Americas for Amnesty International. "We hope this is a temporary hurdle and that the authorities find swift and effective means to overcome the impunity that has haunted this case for decades."