Mexico Investigating 17 People After New Review of Phone Calls in Ayotzinapa Case

Mexico City — Federal prosecutors are reviewing 17 people who surfaced in a new analysis of phone calls made during the 2014 disappearance of 43 teacher-training students in Ayotzinapa, the Mexican government announced.

Arturo Medina Padilla, the deputy secretary for human rights, said the study examined calls placed on the night of Sept. 26 and the early hours of Sept. 27, 2014, when the students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers’ College vanished in Iguala, Guerrero. The review identified clusters of communication between people previously named in the investigation, the owners of a funeral home, personnel tied to the Forensic Medical Service (SEMEFO) and other figures who had never given statements or appeared as witnesses, he said.

Speaking at his daily morning press conference on Tuesday, President Claudia Sheinbaum said the investigation remains open and that its goal is still to establish what happened to the students and to determine responsibility based on evidence.

Funeral Home and Bone Fragments Under Scrutiny

Medina said authorities are examining each of the 17 profiles after identifying communications that had not been analyzed in sufficient depth. One of the main leads points to a funeral home whose owners also took part in SEMEFO operations and whose ties are now part of the investigation.

During raids on the properties, officials found blank official documents that had already been signed, a firearm, an unregistered crematorium oven and various bone fragments. Medina said the remains analyzed so far have not matched any of the missing students, and that testing continues with the participation of the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team.

Students’ Phones and Missing Court Videotapes

Sheinbaum also highlighted the analysis of phones belonging to the students that were used after their disappearance. She said technical data allowed investigators to identify the later use of some devices and link them to specific individuals. One point under review involves the holding cells, or barandilla, in Iguala, where various accounts have placed students on the night of the events.

Another line of inquiry focuses on videotapes from the Palace of Justice in Iguala. The disappearance of that footage has prompted new proceedings against people accused of possibly helping conceal evidence.

Extradition Request for Tomás Zerón Continues

Sheinbaum confirmed that the process to seek the extradition of Tomás Zerón de Lucio, former head of the Criminal Investigation Agency, is still underway. Zerón is in Israel.

The president said the Federal Prosecutor’s Office has made internal adjustments to speed up extradition procedures and noted that she sent a message to Israel’s president requesting support within that country’s legal framework.

Asked about the possible responsibility of other former officials, Sheinbaum declined to anticipate conclusions, saying it is up to prosecutors to decide based on evidence. She also drew a distinction between accusations over the students’ disappearance and proceedings related to the construction of the so-called “historical truth.”

“The investigation is not closed,” Sheinbaum said, adding that it will not end “until we know the truth, justice is done and we know where the young men are.”

The federal government says the new leads are meant to complement witness testimony with technical, scientific, documentary and telephone evidence as it pushes to clarify the case.