By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
WASHINGTON, United States – Ten anonymous plaintiffs are suing former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo for alleged crimes against humanity. Zedillo, an international studies professor at Yale University, says these accusations are slanderous. Zedillo supposedly played a large part in a 1997 massacre of 45 people in a small Mexican village.
Ernesto Zedillo was the president of Mexico from 1994 to 2000. According to CNN, Zedillo was the last of a 71-year string of presidents who belonged to the Institutional Revolutionary Party. The party is still very popular throughout Mexico.
On December 22, 1997, in Acteal, Chiapas, a group of paramilitaries descended upon the town armed with assault rifles. The paramilitaries, who were trained and armed by the Mexican military, killed 45 men, women, and children as young as two months old.
Just three years earlier, a group of Zapatista rebels had sparked an uprising demanding more rights. The paramilitaries (along with Mexican military figures, supposedly) were sent to kill Roman Catholics who sympathized with the Zapatista rebels, according to The Washington Post. The current lawsuit further questions Zedillo’s attempts to cover up of the massacre by telling the media that the deaths were due to local infighting, reported CNN.
The ten unnamed plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in a U.S. District Court in Hartford, Connecticut, where Zedillo now lives. The lawsuit can proceed in the United States even though the killings happened in Mexico. Under the Alien Tort Claims Act and Torture Victim Protection Act, United States federal courts have jurisdiction over the case, according to CNN. The plaintiffs are children and family members of the 45 people killed in 1997. As reported by The Washington Post, the plaintiffs’ attorneys said the total damages sought are in the millions of dollars.
Still, Zedillo maintains his innocence, suggesting the claims are “fabricated” and “obviously false,” reported The Washington Post. Zedillo cited his record of “pursuit for rule of law, respect to human rights, economic and social development in the poorest regions of Mexico and the achievement of full democracy in [his] country.”
Further, immediately after the killings in 1997, Zedillo issued a statement saying, “Those who participated in the planning and execution of this crime must receive the full rigor of the law . . . since nothing can justify the atrocity which they have committed,” as reported by Hispanically Speaking News.
The biggest issue is the government cover-up of Zedillo’s actual involvement. Attorney Roger Kobert for the anonymous plaintiffs told The Associated Press: “My clients are seeking justice . . . against a man we’re confident will be shown to have played a significant role in causing them harm.”
Zedillo told CNN that he would “respond accordingly” to authorities, all the while maintaining his innocence.
For more information, please visit:
Hispanically Speaking News — Former Mexican President Zedillo Being Sued for 1997 Massacre — 22 September 2011
Asia One News — Mexican Ex-President Sued for War Crimes — 21 September 2011
The Washington Post — Ex-President of Mexico Zedillo, Now Yale Professor, Sued in Conn. Over 1997 Villager Killings — 21 September 2011
CNN — Mexican Indian Villagers Accuse Former President in U.S. Court — 20 September 2011
