The Attorney General of the Republic, Alejandro Gertz Manero, held a press conference this week where he stated that there were no indications that there was an extermination camp in Teuchitlán, Jalisco, as had been suggested. This statement triggered the anger of the groups of missing persons, who felt betrayed by both the prosecution and Claudia Sheinbaum.
During the conference, Gertz criticized the media for not adequately investigating the information presented by the families of the victims and questioned whether President Sheinbaum truly has the political will to address the serious problem of disappearances in Mexico. Despite the lack of legal evidence that recruits were being incinerated at Rancho Izaguirre, he did not deny that murders were occurring at the site.
The prosecutor sought to temporarily protect the country's image before the international community by denying the existence of extermination camps in Mexico. Following his statements, the President of the Senate, Gerardo Fernández Noroña, stated that he already knew it was a training center, not an extermination camp, pointing out the lack of clarity in the investigations.
Although Gertz offered to work more closely with the families of the victims, he did not present a long-term strategy. There is an urgency to establish more effective coordination among the different authorities involved in containing the organizations that recruit and disappear people. The lack of detailed information and the need to assume political responsibilities were evident during the press conference.
