Mexican Court Drops Genocide Charges Against Ex-President for 1968 Student Massacre
A federal judge in Mexico dropped genocide charges Saturday against a former president, Luis Echeverría, for his role in a student massacre 38 years ago. The statute of limitations had expired, the judge said.
Mr. Echeverría, 84, was accused of ordering security forces to crush a student rally in Mexico City on October 2, 1968. Officials say the crackdown left about 30 people dead, while human-rights groups say as many as 300 died that day.
Mr. Echeverría was interior minister at the time and was known for his intolerance of dissident groups who rejected Mexico's one-party rule. He belonged to the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which held control of Mexico for more than 70 years until Vicente Fox of the conservative National Action Party was elected president in 2000.
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Mr. Echeverría, 84, was accused of ordering security forces to crush a student rally in Mexico City on October 2, 1968. Officials say the crackdown left about 30 people dead, while human-rights groups say as many as 300 died that day.
Mr. Echeverría was interior minister at the time and was known for his intolerance of dissident groups who rejected Mexico's one-party rule. He belonged to the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which held control of Mexico for more than 70 years until Vicente Fox of the conservative National Action Party was elected president in 2000.
Joel Ortega, a Mexico City resident who witnessed the massacre as a student protester, was not surprised by the decision to free Mr. Echeverría. Mr. Ortega said the ruling was yet another legal setback in efforts to bring justice to victims of Mexico's dirty war.
"Unfortunately, Mexico's justice system still works to protect those in power," Mr. Ortega said. "It now appears that our legal efforts are reaching a limit."