Re: Javier Torres Cruz
To: Senor Gobernador
From: Prof. H. Ihmig, Gail Davidson
Date: 2010-03-01
On December 22 2008 we sent you a letter denouncing the kidnapping of campesiono Javier Torres Cruz, a campesino from the community of La Morena in the Sierra de Petatlán, who testified against cacique Rogaciano Alba Álvarez for involvement in drug trafficking, in the homicide of lawyer Digna Ochoa and in numerous other assassinations. The governor of the state of Guererro indicated at that time that his government was not making any investigation into the accused. Meanwhile, Rogaciano Alba was detained in another state in Mexico, in Jalisco and it is beyond doubt that he occupied an important position in the Sinaloa cartel. “When will the Rule of Law be established in Guerrero?” we asked more than one year ago. Now we repeat the question.
On February 16th of this year a convoy with troops from the 19th Infantry Battalion, accompanied by a group of civilians led by Misael Orozco Serna, El Chirris; people who are identified as being people of Rogaciano Alba, burst back into the community of La Morena, fired their weapons, prior to terrorizing other locations.
While Javier Torres had fled, his uncle Isaías Torres Rosas was shot in the back, and his brother Adolfo was killed by shots from the military. Two persons, Huber Vega Coria and Anselmo Torres Quiroz, Javier Torres Cruz’s 80 year-old grandfather, were arrested and accused before the Second District Court, based in Acapulco, of smuggling arms and growing drugs.
There is no news of an investigation of the military incursion into the community of La Morena and neighbouring communities with its fatal consequences.
As persons committed to the respect of human rights in Mexico we demand:
- a thorough and impartial investigation into the violent eruption of the army in the communities of Sierra de Petatlán, the continuous persecution of Javier Torries and the probably complicity of the military with supporters of cacique Rogaciano Alba and that the perpetrators of illegal acts be taken to court.
- that the detained campesinos receive humane treatment and that there is a fair examination of the charges used as justification for the violence.
- that the protectionary measures in favour of Javier Torres Cruz granted by the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) in December 2008 be implemented.
- the integration of the complaint by Javier Torres Cruz alleging Rogaciano Alba as intellectual author in the Ochoa case as well as in other murders in the case against him for crimes again health.
