Families mark 11th anniversary of Ayotzinapa disappearances with renewed call for truth and justice
Protests in Mexico City highlight ongoing demands for accountability as authorities pursue new leads and families await answers
MEXICO CITY — Families of 43 disappeared students marked the 11th anniversary of the Iguala case with a renewed call for truth and justice, as thousands of protesters filled a central boulevard in the capital on Friday.
Investigators say the students were abducted in Iguala on Sept. 26, 2014, while en route to Mexico City for a protest, and were killed by a local cartel with ties to government and security forces. The case has fueled deep distrust of authorities after investigators created a parallel version of events in the initial investigation, a cover-up that has haunted the case for years. Although dozens have been arrested over the years, no one has been convicted, and the faces of the 43 remain a constant reminder in monuments and graffiti across Mexico City.
The Ayotzinapa case has been described by authorities as a "state crime" since 2022, with prosecutors saying the youths were attacked by police in collusion with a local cartel trafficking heroin, acting with the complicity of local, state and federal officials, including the military. While government statements say investigations are ongoing, relatives say they have not achieved clarity about what happened to their loved ones, and their cries for justice carry renewed urgency each year.
"After 11 years, the demand remains the same: their whereabouts; the truth, however painful it may be; and justice," said Hilda Hernández, mother of César Manuel González, in a video message in which several relatives urged Mexicans to join the march.
Authorities say more than a hundred people have been arrested in connection with the case. Some have been released due to procedural irregularities, but dozens remain on trial — including former Attorney General Jesús Murillo Karam, who faces charges of torture, forced disappearance and obstruction of justice.
Among those sought for questioning is Tomás Zerón, the case’s first chief investigator, who is living in Israel, and several others in the United States — extraditions that President Sheinbaum has said she is pressing for with the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump.
Governments come and go, but the families say the case remains unresolved, a symbol of corruption and violence that has shaped Mexico's modern history. "We want the truth, and we want justice," Clemente Rodríguez, father of Christian Rodríguez, says in a video accompanying the protests.
Yet the human toll continues: more than 133,000 people are listed as missing in Mexico, a figure cited by families and observers as part of a broader crisis that has persisted for years.