A federal court left open the possibility of reopening the case of Mario Aburto Martínez, sentenced for the murder of Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta, following a judicial resolution made public on Tuesday, March 31. The decision orders the reinstatement of the procedure derived from an amparo, which could modify the course of the criminal process. The Eighth Collegiate Court on Criminal Matters of the First Circuit established that the file must be returned to the originating court for a new review, after detecting possible irregularities in the process. Among the points mentioned are omissions in the assessment of evidence in Mario Aburto's case and the lack of participation of all parties involved. According to the ruling, the objective is to guarantee due process and to again review key elements of the case, particularly those related to alleged human rights violations. The resolution does not immediately determine the total reopening of the case, but it does allow a judge to rule again on the elements presented, including those that were not previously considered. What recent precedents exist in the Mario Aburto case? In January 2026, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation took on two amparo review trials to determine if Mario Aburto has already served his sentence for the murder of Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta in 1994. The Supreme Court seeks to establish criteria on how to analyze a criminal process for homicide under the traditional system, in order to guarantee the rights of both the convicted and the victim. Additionally, in previous rulings, it was pointed out that the 45-year sentence could have been based on an incorrect criterion, since the applicable penalty in Baja California in 1994 contemplated a maximum of 30 years. Recently, the case of the death of Colosio Riojas has gained relevance due to the detention in 2025 of Jorge Antonio Sánchez Ortega, a former CISEN agent, who is pointed to as the presumed second shooter. What has Luis Donaldo Colosio Riojas said about the Mario Aburto case? Recently, the senator from Citizen Movement, Luis Donaldo Colosio Riojas, asked President Claudia Sheinbaum to stop using the murder of his father for political purposes. The legislator questioned why the federal government had not opted to grant a pardon to Mario Aburto, considering that, as it is a crime of state, the head of state has that faculty. In his statements, he maintained that no government in more than 30 years has achieved justice in the case, so he raised the need to close the issue and focus on preventing similar events from happening again. He also criticized the intention to reopen the investigation with the hypothesis of a second shooter, pointing out that this line had already been explored previously and does not represent a new finding. Colosio Riojas affirmed that the case has been politicized and reiterated that, personally, he has already forgiven Mario Aburto Martínez, also insisting that the country must move beyond that attack that occurred 32 years ago.
