Translated by Jesús Ronquillo / Circuito Frontera
The defense of Juan Carlos Meza Cumplido, coordinator of Grupo Beta, who is accused of being one of those involved in the March 27 fire at the Provisional Stay B of the National Migration Institute (Instituto Nacional de Migración, INM)) in Ciudad Juarez, where 40 migrants lost their lives and 27 more were injured, stated that the Attorney General of the Republic Office (Fiscalía General de la República, FGR) omitted evidence in the trial.
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Daniel Álvarez, attorney of Legal Estudio Jurídico and legal representative of Juan Carlos Meza Cumplido, told Circuito Frontera that the FGR omitted evidence in the trial of his client, such as the videos of the security cameras inside the federal precinct.
He was also charged, even though he was assigned to the Tornillo area, 60 kilometers from the place where the incident occurred.
#INM | La defensa de Juan Carlos Meza Cumplido, coordinador del Grupo Beta, implicado en el caso del @INAMI_mx , donde el pasado 27 de marzo, 40 personas perdieron la vida y 27 más resultaron lesionadas, utilizará más de 16 horas de grabación de las #camaras de #seguridad. pic.twitter.com/DYwq2iBKqt
— Circuito Frontera (@Circuitofronte1) April 21, 2023
The litigant explained that another evidence presented by the FGR against his client is a document in which Juan Carlos’ name appears as the person in charge of Internal Protection of the INM, however, this document does not have any signature.
«It is a piece of evidence that the Prosecutor’s Office tells the judge that they have, in which Juan Carlos’ name appears as the person in charge or head of the internal protection unit, however this document lacks the signature of all those involved. It is like an unsigned contract, as long as it does not have the person’s signature it cannot bind him in any way».
He mentioned that his defense is currently focused on the indirect amparo trial that seeks to question the validity of the indictment of Juan Carlos Meza, due to the details of his alleged responsibility.
The lawyer stated that, in this case, the indirect amparo seeks to repair the violated rights, as it is in its final stages.
He said that the judge in charge of the amparo will gather reports from the authorities involved in the violation of Juan Carlos Meza’s rights and, once this information is gathered, a constitutional hearing will be held in which the judge will analyze the elements presented. Subsequently, the judge has 90 days to issue his ruling regarding the amparo lawsuit.
What progress has been made in the investigation?
It should be recalled that last Sunday, August 13, federal authorities reported progress in this case and reported the repatriation of the 40 deceased victims to their places of origin.
In addition, 3.5 million pesos are expected to be paid to the relatives of each of the deceased victims, which is equivalent to 140 million pesos, as part of the reparation for damages, filed by the Executive Commission for Attention to Victims (Comisión Ejecutiva de Atención a Víctimas, CEAV).
Also, so far, 10 people have been indicted, eight public servants of the National Migration Institute: Francisco Garduño Yáñez; Antonio Molina Díaz; Salvador González Guerrero; Juan Carlos Meza Cumplido; Eduardo Apodaca Magallanes; Daniel Goray Yosioka; Rodolfo Collazo de la Torre, and Gloria Liliana Ramos García.
As well as two migrants: Jaison N., and Carlos Eduardo C., both Venezuelan nationals.
