Families from Nayarit filed a lawsuit against the former attorney general of the state, Edgar Veytia, in Washington, D.C., for tortures committed under his command, seeking to establish his responsibility and obtain compensation for the damages suffered. The organization Guernica 37 Centre highlighted that this action aims to bring visibility to the violations and advance towards the justice sought by the plaintiffs, who trust in the judicial process to achieve it.
For more than four years, the G37 Centre, along with Baker McKenzie and the Legal Clinic at the University of California in Irvine, investigated the events in Mexico in collaboration with the organization JTMX. The initiative began locally and was led by Nayarit citizens in an effort to claim justice and uncover the truth behind the alleged tortures.
The plaintiff families hope that this process will help establish the extent of the violations suffered and advance towards justice. Veytia has been notified of the lawsuit and has 30 days to decide on his defense in the U.S. court. The G37 organization recalled that during his tenure as prosecutor, Veytia was involved in serious human rights violations, known as "The Terror in Nayarit."
The allegations of abuse cover the period when the families were in the custody of security agencies operating under Veytia's orders. The violations went unpunished under local authorities, which is why the plaintiffs seek for this legal action to reveal the truth, establish responsibilities, and prevent future abuses. Veytia, detained in 2017 on drug trafficking charges, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2019 after cooperating in a judicial case.
