Mexican prosecutor accuses ex-governor of ordering key videos related to Ayotzinapa case hidden

Mexico's Attorney General's Office (FGR) has accused former Guerrero Governor Ángel Aguirre Rivero of ordering the destruction of video recordings linked to the 2014 disappearance of 43 students from Ayotzinapa. Aguirre has been arrested on charges of forced disappearance and offenses against the administration of justice.

Attorney General Ernestina Godoy stated that new evidence and testimonies gathered this year indicate the former governor's alleged involvement in "destroying evidence" to conceal the students' whereabouts. The missing recordings were reportedly captured by cameras outside the Iguala Justice Palace and showed municipal and state police detaining a bus carrying students.

Initial investigations claimed the images were unavailable due to technical failures. However, Godoy asserted that new inquiries revealed this explanation was false. A protected witness confirmed the existence of the recordings in January, identifying an individual who allegedly took them to Aguirre and reporting threats that led to silence. A second witness stated in May that the then-governor instructed high-level officials to eliminate any evidence connected to the events near the Justice Palace.

Godoy affirmed that the FGR possesses evidence proving the "concealment order was issued directly by the then-governor" with the participation of senior state officials. The FGR obtained an arrest warrant for Aguirre, who governed Guerrero from April 2011 to October 2014, resigning after the students vanished. The disappearance of the 43 students remains one of Mexico's most severe human rights violations, with only three students' remains identified to date.